HLSS502Wk6

Disaster Management

In the early 1970’s, a series of wildfires impacted large areas of the state of California. The responses to these fires exposed a variety of issues for effec�vely responding to large scale events involving mul�ple jurisdic�ons and mul�ple agencies. In an a�empt to address the issues iden�fied during post incident analysis, the FIRESCOPE (Firefigh�ng Resources of Southern California Organized for Poten�al Emergencies) was established. One of the key issues observed in the wildfires was the lack of an effec�ve and consistent command and control structure. FIRESCOPE sought to address this issue and in so doing they developed an incident command and control system known as the Incident Command System (ICS).

While FIRESCOPE had developed a standardized command and control system, the implementa�on of this system was le� up to the individual organiza�ons. This factor resulted in a variety of standard command and control systems being implemented. To address this issue of standardiza�on, the Na�onal Wildfire Coordina�ng Group (NWCG) was established in 1974 with the mandate of coordina�ng the fire management programs of various federal and state agencies. In 1981, as a result of the work of the NWCG and other groups, the Na�onal Interagency Incident Management System – Incident Command System (NIIMS-ICS) was created. Over the years, addi�onal command and control systems appeared with varying degrees of adop�on, to include the Fireground Command System, developed by the Phoenix, Arizona Fire Department and the Na�onal Fire Service Incident Management System.

The issue of what cons�tuted a proper incident management system and the construct of a viable incident command system con�nued to be an issue up to the �me of the terrorist a�acks of September 11, 2001 (9/11). While there were requirements for the use of some form of incident command system for responding to hazardous materials incidents, there was no corresponding requirement for the response to crisis or disaster response opera�ons. This fact led to a variety of incident command systems being developed and employed by various agencies. When the terrorist a�acked on 9/11, the na�on did not have a single na�onal incident management system standard established.

The events of 9/11 caused the U. S. Government to examine the federal, state, and local agency’s response opera�ons and the effec�veness of those opera�ons in mi�ga�ng the effects of the mul�ple terrorist a�acks of that day. That review led to the recogni�on of the need for a standardized na�onal incident management system. Homeland Security Presiden�al Direc�ve 5 (HSPD-5), issued by President Bush on February 28, 2003, established

the requirement for the crea�on of a comprehensive na�onal incident management system. As a result of that direc�ve, the Na�onal Incident Management System (NIMS) was developed. NIMS is designed to be an all-hazard incident management system composed of various components, including those of command and management, preparedness, resource management, and communica�ons and informa�on management. Implementa�on of NIMS is supported by the guidance set forth in the Na�onal Response Framework (DHS, 2008b).

One might begin to think that the na�on now has a standardized incident management system. In reality, the manner in which the systems are implemented at the state and local levels has led to a variety of incident management systems actually being established. Part of this has been the concern by some, that NIMS is based off the fire service programs and, while it func�ons well to those types of events, has limita�ons in serving as a model for disaster response, including the integra�on of mul�ple states and mul�ple response organiza�ons. One need not look much further than responses to Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon to see poten�al shor�alls in the current system.