Who Needs 'NIMS' Training?

First responders and those who support response operations are the more obvious candidates for NIMS ICS training. This may include individuals who perform disaster recovery planning, business continuity, continuity of operations planning (COOP), emergency management, emergency preparedness, and other related or similar activities for their respective private-sectored organization. This may also apply to any critical infrastructure sectored organization.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive #8 (HSPD-8) defines a "first responder" as "those individuals in the early stages of an incident, are responsible for the protection and preservation of life, property, evidence, and the environment, including emergency response providers as defined in Section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. § 101), as well as emergency management, public health, clinical care, public works, and other skilled support personnel, such as equipment operators, who provide immediate support services during prevention, response, and recovery operations;" the Homeland Security Act of 2002 provides that the term “emergency response providers” includes “federal, state, and local emergency public safety, law enforcement, emergency response, emergency medical, including hospital emergency, and related personnel, agencies, and authorities.”

Additional individuals needing NIMS ICS training would be those who are involved in the critical mission areas surrounding the incident response, such as protecting against the incident, preventing the incident or recovering from the incident.

Examples of those needing NIMS ICS training include (but are not limited to):

Emergency Management. Personnel directed to coordinate the protection, prevention, response, and recovery for all-hazards incidents, including:

• state, county and municipal Offices of Emergency Management (OEM)
• Emergency Support Function lead and supporting agencies
• Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs)
• professional associations (e.g., American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Architects, etc.)
• human service agencies
• private agencies supporting OEM activities 

Emergency Medical Services Providers. Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, serve as first responders, EMTs and paramedics providing prehospital care, including:

• first responders
• EMTs
• paramedics

Fire Service Providers. Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, provide life safety services including fire suppression, rescue, arson investigation, public education, and prevention. including:     

• firefighters
• company officers
• command-level officers
• fire inspection officers
• Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams
• technical rescue teams

Elected and Appointed Officials. Elected and appointed officials responsible for administration of community health and welfare during an incident, including:

• elected officials
• federal, state, county and city government executives
• chief administrative officers (managers, administrators, supporting staff)
• individuals designated to act as chief official or the organization's "CEO" in the absence of the chief official or the "CEO"

Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Personnel. Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, identify, characterize, provide risk assessment, and mitigate/control the release of a hazardous substance or potentially hazardous substance, including:

• technicians
• specialists
• Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS)
• environmental quality control
• private companies & contractors supporting hazardous materials activities

Health Care Providers. Individuals who provide clinical, forensic, and administrative skills in hospitals, physician offices, clinics and other facilities which offer medical care including surveillance (passive and active), diagnosis, laboratory evaluation, treatment, mental health support, epidemiology investigation, evidence collection, along with fatality management for humans and animals , including:

• physicians
• nurses
• dentists
• pharmacists
• technicians
• facility management
• physician assistants
• nurse practitioners
• medical examiners/coroners
• environmental investigators
• therapists
• veterinarians
• epidemiologists
• security
• medical Records

Law Enforcement. Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, work for agencies at the State, county and municipal levels with responsibilities as law enforcement officers, including:

• patrol officers
• SWAT teams
• bomb technicians
• evidence and forensics technicians
• investigators
• supervisors, shift commanders and chiefs
• prosecutors

Public Health. Individuals whose responsibilities include the prevention of epidemics and spread of disease, protection from environmental hazards, the promotion of healthy behavior, responding to disasters and assistance in recovery as well as assuring the quality and accessibility of health services, including:

• epidemiologists
• environmental engineers
• environmental scientists
• occupational safety and health specialists
• health educators
• public health policy analysts
• community social workers
• psychologists
• mental health providers
• counselors

Public Safety Communications. Individuals who, on a full-time, part-time, or voluntary basis, through technology, serve as a conduit and link persons reporting an incident to response personnel and emergency management, to identify an incident occurrence and help support the resolution of life safety, criminal, environmental, and facilities problems associated with the event, including:

• call takers
• shift supervisors
• medical control centers
• dispatchers (EMS, police and fire)

Public Works. Organizations and individuals that make up the public/private infrastructure for the construction and management of these roles within the federal level. The categories/roles include administration, technical, supervision, and craft (basic and advanced), including:

• environmental services (water quality)
• solid waste
• animal services
• water treatment
• public buildings and parks
• telecommunications, electric districts, and digital cable
• engineering and equipment services

Click [HERE] for list of available NIMS courses.

For more information about registering for a NIMS training course through Infracritical, please contact us at nims.infracritical.com/nimscontact.html.