The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is now requiring all Fire Department and Emergency Response Teams to complete the Incident Command System 100 (ICS 100). In addition to this all line officers are to complete the ICS 200 training. The purpose of this training is to get all disaster emergency response units of all levels on the same standard for responses to emergencies. This also includes levels of elected officials in your townships. This training can be completed by clicking on the ICS links to the right as well as the State training coarses. Without completing these trainings, we will be unable to participate in Federal grant programs after October 2006. Below is some Q/A information pertaining to these courses.

NIMS Compliance: What does full NIMS compliance mean?

Question:

 What constitutes "full NIMS implementation" or "full NIMS compliance" in FY2007, starting 10/1/06?

 We've seen that phrase used in NIMS documents, but we can't find a specific description of what it means. Is it just completion of the activities begun in FY2005, or is it something more than that? What is "full NIMS implementation" is supposed to look like at the state, local and tribal government levels. Answer The important thing to realize about NIMS is that it is a participatory effort that needs to involve all types of organizations that may have a role in emergencies. Each participant has a part to play -- fire and rescue, law enforcement, hospitals, transportation systems, public works and all the others -- but they must work together in a coordinated way based on the size and scope of the incident. NIMS and ICS provide structures and procedures to do that. In federal Fiscal Year 2006, states, territories, tribes and local communities will be required to complete a number of activities to comply with the NIMS. Information about the specific requirements can be found on the NIMS Homepage at www.fema.gov/nims. The posted implementation matrices describe the actions that states, and local and tribal jurisdictions must take by the end of FY06 (September 30, 2006) to be compliant with NIMS. For the states, these implementation requirements are in addition to the FY 2005 NIMS requirements as established in the Sept. 8, 2004, letter to the governors. A copy of that letter also is available on the NIMS Web page. Beginning in FY 2007, which starts on Oct.1, 2006, all federal preparedness funding will be conditioned upon full compliance with the NIMS. By completing the FY05 activities as well as the FY06 activities outlined in this matrix, states and territories will have achieved what is considered to be full NIMS implementation by FY07. Local and tribal jurisdictions will achieve what is considered to be full NIMS implementation by completing the FY06 activities outlined in the Local/Tribal matrix, which also may be found on the NIMS Homepage at www.fema.gov/nims.

What about NIMS training for elected officials?

 Question: What is the NIMS Integration Center guidance on NIMS training for elected officials?

Answer

The guiding question for determining if an elected official should have NIMS and ICS training is: Does he or she have a direct role in managing the preparedness, response or recovery activities in connection with an emergency and at what level will they be involved in the process? If city council members do not have a direct role to play, they do not have to have to take the training. For those elected officials who are more directly involved, the NIMS Integration Center strongly recommends they take ICS-100, ICS-200 and IS-700. Additionally, we strongly recommend that elected officials with overall emergency management responsibilities take IS-800 (Introduction to the National Response Plan) if they expect to have significant interaction with federal officials during a federal response under the NRP. All jurisdictions are not the same, so the guidance allows states and local jurisdictions some leeway in matching the training requirements to specific positions. The “FY06 NIMS Training Requirements” document provides the guidance on this issue. It can be downloaded at the NIMS website at www.fema.gov/nims.