The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment.

NIMS provides the template for the management of incidents, while the NRF provides the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident management.

Who has to take NIMS and ICS training?

A: Stakeholders will define the emergency management/response personnel within their jurisdiction, agency, or organization who require ongoing training. This includes all emergency services related disciplines such as EMS, hospitals, public health, fire service, law enforcement, public works/utilities, skilled support personnel, and other emergency management response, support and volunteer personnel, as follows:

Entry Level:

• FEMA IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction
• ICS-100: Introduction to ICS or equivalent

First Line, Single Resource, Field Supervisors:

• IS-700.A, ICS-100, and ICS-200: Basic ICS or its equivalent

Middle Management: Strike Team Leaders, Division Supervisors, EOC Staff, etc.:

• IS-700.A, IS-800.B NRF, ICS-100, ICS-200, and ICS-300

Command and General Staff; Area, Emergency, and EOC Managers:

• IS-700.A, IS-800.B NRF, ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300, and ICS-400