Overview of NIMS
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) defines the comprehensive approach guiding the whole community - all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), and the private sector - to work together seamlessly to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the effects of incidents.

 

NIMS Is

NIMS Is Not

  • A comprehensive, nationwide, systematic approach to incident management, including the command and coordination of incidents, resource management, and information management
  • Only the Incident Command System
  • Only applicable to certain emergency/incident response personnel
  • A static system
  • A set of concepts and principles for all threats, hazards, and events across all mission areas (Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, Recovery)
  • A response plan
  • Scalable, flexible, and adaptable; used for all incidents, from day-to-day to large-scale
  • Used only during large-scale incidents
  • Standard resource management procedures that enable coordination among different jurisdictions or organizations
  • A resource ordering system
  • Essential principles for communications and information management
  • A communications plan