National Incident Management System

On February 28, 2003, the President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-5, Management of Domestic Incidents, which directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System NIMS. This system provides a consistent nationwide template to enable Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and private-sector and nongovernmental organizations to work together effectively and efficiently to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity, including acts of catastrophic terrorism. This document establishes the basic elements of the NIMS and provides mechanisms for the further development and refinement of supporting national standards, guidelines, protocols, systems, and technologies. Building on the foundation provided by existing incident management and emergency response systems used by jurisdictions and functional disciplines at all levels, this document integrates best practices that have proven effective over the years into a comprehensive framework for use by incident management organizations in an all-hazards context terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other emergencies nationwide. It also sets in motion the mechanisms necessary to leverage new technologies and adopt new approaches that will enable continuous refinement of the NIMS over time. This document was developed through a collaborative, intergovernmental partnership with significant input from the incident management functional disciplines, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations.