NIMS SUPPORT CENTER
In 2004, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to provide a consistent nationwide template to enable governments and responders to work together effectively and efficiently to manage incidents and planned events.
To support NIMS implementation, DHS established the NIMS Support Center (NIMS SC) in 2005 – a program that operates under a Cooperative Agreement between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Justice and Safety Center/ Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). The NIMS SC provides direct support to the Incident Management Systems Division (IMSD) of FEMA’s National Integration Center (NIC).
The NIMS SC is designed to develop new first responder tools, enhance technology integration and evaluate and report on products and standards to improve incident management and information sharing throughout the first responder community.
The program provides products and services in the following areas:
- Compliance and Technical Assistance
- Resource Management
- Standards and Product Evaluations
- Training and Exercises
- Guidance Documents and Job Aids
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
NIMS Compliance Assistance Support Tool
The NIMS Compliance Assistance Support Tool (NIMSCAST) is a free, web-based instrument that allows governmental, nongovernmental, and private sector organizations to self-assess and report their progress on NIMS implementation activities. The NIMSCAST developer – Eye Street Software - which already has more than 18,000 users, continues to advance through the development of user-specific content and functionality. For more information, visit http://www.fema.gov/nimcast
Incident Resource Inventory System
The Incident Resource Inventory System (IRIS) is a free database management tool that allows communities to insert NIMS Typed Resources and provide a means to quickly assess these resources to support emergency response operations. The tool provides a standard national resource typed database that is available to support local, state, and regional response operations.
Although housed locally, resources stored in IRIS may be shared with other response organizations. The tool should improve the capability to identify, mobilize and dispatch a typed resource in support of a specific mission.
For more information or to acquire this tool for your use, visit: http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/rm/iris.shtm
NIMS Standards
The NIMS SC identifies standards that provide a benchmark for measuring program and operational performance, and ensures that communications and information management systems are interoperable. The NIMS SC supports standards identification through a rigorous process, which includes objective and subjective evaluations by subject matter experts and a review by practitioners. Through this process, IMSD has recommended a series of interoperability standards supporting preparedness and incident management.
NIMS Reference Architecture and Capabilities Tool
The Reference Architecture and Capabilities Tool (ReACT) is being developed to provide the first responder community with the capability to research and access NIMS reference and related guidance information. ReACT leverages enterprise architecture modeling and provides a “roadmap” of inter-related information to assist emergency managers and emergency responders with dissimilar data systems, to cooperatively share and exchange information. ReACT provides the emergency manager/responder community with technical descriptions of organizations and teams, the means by which they communicate, the systems and networks they use to share information, and the policies and procedures that define their actions and govern the supporting infrastructure.
NIMS Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (STEP)
The NIMS SC’s NIMS Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (NIMS STEP) is designed to provide independent, objective evaluations of commercial and governmental products against NIMS concepts and principles. The program is designed to assist in the implementation of the NIMS, and to enhance interoperable emergency communications and information management systems in support of a common operating picture in the field. Evaluation activities are designed to help create a uniform level of compliance, expand interoperable solutions, and provide the emergency response community with an objective process to evaluate their purchases.
The primary benefit to emergency management/first responders includes a list of product descriptions and key capabilities based on results of an objective evaluation. This information will be shared through a dedicated web site at conferences for public safety professionals. Vendors will futher benefit by receiving a copy of the Product Evaluation Report which could aid in identifying areas for future enhancement of their product.
Model Community Document and Virtual Model Community
The NIMS SC contributes training tools to FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) and other training programs across the nation to add realism and to strengthen the training experience. Among those tools is the Model Community Document (MCD), which describes a notional state for EMI’s staff and students to reference during training and exercise events.
To facilitate the use of the MCD in a training environment, the NIMS SC team developed the Virtual Model Community (VMC), which transitions the MCD into a more accessible, web-based system, allowing for a more robust and interactive experience. The purpose of the VMC is to provide exercise developers, controllers and players with a consolidation of community information that would be available through various real world sources. Enhanced capabilities include community information in text, table, organizational chart, static map, and interactive Geographical Information System based maps. In every section of the VMC, links will guide a user to associated content with additional information.
Development is underway to expand the VMC’s use with other governmental agencies and to include resource modeling and other tools as identified by the using community.
Simulated Emergency Operations Center and Simulation Cell
The SEOC is a state-of-the-art facility capable of providing training, exercise, and real-world support to local, state, regional and federal entities responsible for emergency management. The SEOC can replicate a variety of incidents through the use of simulation modeling, and is capable of presenting local, multi-jurisdictional, or national scenarios in real-time during exercises. The Simulation Cell (SIMCELL) allows controllers and evaluators to monitor the exercise and respond to requests from the participants. Among other capabilities, the SEOC provides users with: Executive decision-making and break out rooms; as well as, video, web and telephone conferencing capabilities.
Guidance Documents and Job Aids
The NIMS SC facilitates the exchange of best practices and develops guides and job aids for emergency responders. Among those documents is the Emergency Responder Field Operating Guide (ERFOG), which aids emergency responders in the use and application of the NIMS Incident Command System during operations. The NIMS SC also provides other publications, including an ICS Forms booklet, and a basic guidance document for Public Information Officers. NIMS-related publications can be found on the FEMA web site at: http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims
NIMS Inbox
NIMS SC analysts respond to questions and manage the activities of the NIMS inbox. Other duties include providing feedback to e-mail and telephone inquiries made by the emergency response community concerning their NIMS information needs. The NIMS SC team also provides IMSD with activity status reports and insight concerning the NIMS inbox.
For additional information about the NIMS SC, please call or email the staff at:
Email: FEMA-NIMS@dhs.gov
Phone 202-646-3850
