Doña Ana County, NM National Incident Management System

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (9-11 Commission) recommended adoption of a standardized Incident Command System; and

A common Incident Command System (ICS) is vital to the coordinated response to emergencies and critical incidents; and

The President, in Homeland Security Directive (HSPD)-5, directed the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS), which would provide a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state, local, and tribal governments to work together more effectively and efficiently to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size or complexity; and

The collective input and guidance from all federal, state, and local homeland security partners has been, and will continue to be, vital to the development, effective implementation and utilization of a comprehensive NIMS; and

There is a need to ensure that all state and local emergency response agencies have a common system for interoperability and compatibility consisting of a core set of concepts, common terminology, principles, multi-agency coordination, unified command, and identification and management of resources; and

To facilitate the most efficient and effective incident management, it is critical that federal, state, and local organizations utilize standardized terminology, standardized organizational structures, interoperable communications, consolidated action plans, unified command structures, uniform personnel qualification standards, uniform standards for planning, training, and exercising, comprehensive resource management, and designated incident facilities during emergencies or disasters; and

The NIMS standardized procedures for managing personnel, communications, facilities and resources will improve Doña Ana County's ability to utilize federal funding to enhance local and state agency readiness, maintain first-responder safety, and streamline incident management processes; and

The Incident Command System components of NIMS are already an integral part of various incident management activities throughout Doña Ana County, including current emergency management training programs.