The National Incident Management System (NIMS) guides all levels of government, nongovernmental, organizations and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from incidents. NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole community with the shared vocabulary, systems and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities described in the National Preparedness System. NIMS defines operational systems that guide how personnel work together during incidents.
Major components of NIMS include:
- Resource Management - standard mechanisms to systematically manage resources, including personnel, equipment, supplies, teams, and facilities both before and during incidents in order to allow organizations to more effectively share resources when needed.
- Command and Coordination - identification of leadership roles, processes, and recommended organizational structures for incident management at the operational and incident support levels and explains how these structures interact to manage incidents effectively and efficiently.
- Communications and Information Management - systems and methods that help to ensure that incident personnel and other decision makers have the means and information they need to make and communicate decisions.