The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a framework for managing emergencies and disasters in the United States. NIMS consists of five management characteristics that are essential for effective incident management:
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Comprehensive: NIMS is designed to be comprehensive and cover a wide range of incidents, from natural disasters to technological hazards and terrorist attacks.
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Flexible: NIMS is flexible enough to be used in a variety of situations and can be adapted to meet the specific needs of the incident.
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Scalable: NIMS is scalable, meaning it can be used to manage incidents of any size, from small local emergencies to large-scale disasters.
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Interoperable: NIMS is interoperable, meaning it promotes communication and coordination among different agencies and organizations, including federal, state, local, and tribal entities.
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Compliant: NIMS is compliant with other emergency management systems and standards, including the National Response Framework (NRF) and the Incident Command System (ICS).
In addition to these five management characteristics, NIMS also includes a set of guiding principles, a standard incident command structure, and a range of resources and tools to help incident managers effectively respond to emergencies.