1. What is the primary purpose of the National Incident Management
System (NIMS)?
Answer: NIMS provides a consistent nationwide framework and approach that
enables government at all levels, the private sector, and nongovernmental
organizations to work together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from,
and mitigate the effects of incidents regardless of cause, size, location, or
complexity.
2. Who developed NIMS?
Answer: NIMS was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) at the direction of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5).
3. What Presidential Directive mandated the development of NIMS?
Answer: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), signed by
President George W. Bush in 2003.
4. NIMS is applicable to what types of incidents?
Answer: NIMS is applicable to all incidents regardless of cause, size, location, or
complexity, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, technological hazards,
and planned events.
5. What does NIMS stand for?
Answer: National Incident Management System.
6. What are the three main components of NIMS?
Answer: The three main components of NIMS are: Resource Management,
Command and Coordination, and Communications and Information
Management.
7. Which federal agency is responsible for managing and maintaining
NIMS?
Answer: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), within the
Department of Homeland Security.
8. What is the IS-700.B course about?
Answer: IS-700.B is an introduction to the National Incident Management
System (NIMS), covering its purpose, principles, components, and how it is
applied to manage incidents effectively.
9. True or False: NIMS applies only to large-scale national emergencies.
,Answer: False. NIMS applies to all incidents, regardless of size, cause,
complexity, or location, including everyday emergencies.
10. What is the relationship between NIMS and the National Response
Framework (NRF)?
Answer: NIMS provides the template for managing incidents, while the NRF
provides the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident
response. NIMS is a component used within the NRF.
Section 2: NIMS Guiding Principles
11. What are the guiding principles of NIMS?
Answer: The guiding principles of NIMS are: Flexibility, Standardization, and
Unity of Effort.
12. What does 'flexibility' mean in the context of NIMS?
Answer: Flexibility means NIMS components can be utilized for incidents of any
size and scope, and can be adapted to meet the unique needs of different
jurisdictions and organizations.
13. What does 'standardization' mean in NIMS?
Answer: Standardization refers to consistent terminology, organizational
structures, processes, and procedures that enable diverse organizations to work
together effectively.
14. What is 'unity of effort' in NIMS?
Answer: Unity of effort means that all participating agencies and organizations
coordinate their activities toward common objectives, even if they have different
organizational structures or legal authorities.
15. What is the significance of common terminology in NIMS?
Answer: Common terminology ensures clear communications and mutual
understanding among all parties during incident response, preventing confusion
that can arise from using different terms for the same functions.
16. NIMS is intended to be 'scalable.' What does this mean?
Answer: Scalable means that NIMS structures and processes can be expanded
or contracted based on incident complexity, allowing the system to handle both
small everyday incidents and large national emergencies.
17. What is meant by 'interoperability' in the context of NIMS?
Answer: Interoperability refers to the ability of different agencies, organizations,
and jurisdictions to work together using compatible communications systems,
procedures, and resources.
18. What role does NIMS play in preparedness activities?
, Answer: NIMS guides preparedness activities including planning, training,
exercises, and resource management to ensure organizations are ready to apply
NIMS principles during actual incidents.
19. Which principle of NIMS ensures organizations can work together
without being part of the same agency?
Answer: Unity of effort ensures that organizations with different authorities and
structures can coordinate and work toward common objectives.
20. Why is standardized training important under NIMS?
Answer: Standardized training ensures that responders from different
jurisdictions and agencies have the same baseline knowledge and skills,
enabling seamless integration during multi-agency incident response.
Section 3: Incident Command System (ICS)
21. What is the Incident Command System (ICS)?
Answer: ICS is a standardized, hierarchical on-scene emergency management
system that provides an integrated organizational structure for managing
incidents of any size and complexity.
22. ICS was originally developed to address what problem?
Answer: ICS was originally developed in the 1970s to address problems with
multi-agency coordination during large wildland fires in Southern California,
where communication failures and organizational confusion hampered response
efforts.
23. What are the five major management functions in ICS?
Answer: The five major management functions in ICS are: Command,
Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration.
24. Who has overall responsibility at an incident under ICS?
Answer: The Incident Commander (IC) has overall responsibility for managing
an incident, including developing objectives and directing all operational
activities.
25. What is the 'span of control' recommended in ICS?
Answer: The recommended span of control in ICS is one supervisor to between
three and seven subordinates, with five being ideal for effective supervision.
26. What is a Unified Command in ICS?
Answer: A Unified Command is an ICS structure used when an incident involves
multiple jurisdictions or agencies that share authority and responsibility, allowing
all to manage the incident together without losing authority.
System (NIMS)?
Answer: NIMS provides a consistent nationwide framework and approach that
enables government at all levels, the private sector, and nongovernmental
organizations to work together to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from,
and mitigate the effects of incidents regardless of cause, size, location, or
complexity.
2. Who developed NIMS?
Answer: NIMS was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) at the direction of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5).
3. What Presidential Directive mandated the development of NIMS?
Answer: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), signed by
President George W. Bush in 2003.
4. NIMS is applicable to what types of incidents?
Answer: NIMS is applicable to all incidents regardless of cause, size, location, or
complexity, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, technological hazards,
and planned events.
5. What does NIMS stand for?
Answer: National Incident Management System.
6. What are the three main components of NIMS?
Answer: The three main components of NIMS are: Resource Management,
Command and Coordination, and Communications and Information
Management.
7. Which federal agency is responsible for managing and maintaining
NIMS?
Answer: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), within the
Department of Homeland Security.
8. What is the IS-700.B course about?
Answer: IS-700.B is an introduction to the National Incident Management
System (NIMS), covering its purpose, principles, components, and how it is
applied to manage incidents effectively.
9. True or False: NIMS applies only to large-scale national emergencies.
,Answer: False. NIMS applies to all incidents, regardless of size, cause,
complexity, or location, including everyday emergencies.
10. What is the relationship between NIMS and the National Response
Framework (NRF)?
Answer: NIMS provides the template for managing incidents, while the NRF
provides the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident
response. NIMS is a component used within the NRF.
Section 2: NIMS Guiding Principles
11. What are the guiding principles of NIMS?
Answer: The guiding principles of NIMS are: Flexibility, Standardization, and
Unity of Effort.
12. What does 'flexibility' mean in the context of NIMS?
Answer: Flexibility means NIMS components can be utilized for incidents of any
size and scope, and can be adapted to meet the unique needs of different
jurisdictions and organizations.
13. What does 'standardization' mean in NIMS?
Answer: Standardization refers to consistent terminology, organizational
structures, processes, and procedures that enable diverse organizations to work
together effectively.
14. What is 'unity of effort' in NIMS?
Answer: Unity of effort means that all participating agencies and organizations
coordinate their activities toward common objectives, even if they have different
organizational structures or legal authorities.
15. What is the significance of common terminology in NIMS?
Answer: Common terminology ensures clear communications and mutual
understanding among all parties during incident response, preventing confusion
that can arise from using different terms for the same functions.
16. NIMS is intended to be 'scalable.' What does this mean?
Answer: Scalable means that NIMS structures and processes can be expanded
or contracted based on incident complexity, allowing the system to handle both
small everyday incidents and large national emergencies.
17. What is meant by 'interoperability' in the context of NIMS?
Answer: Interoperability refers to the ability of different agencies, organizations,
and jurisdictions to work together using compatible communications systems,
procedures, and resources.
18. What role does NIMS play in preparedness activities?
, Answer: NIMS guides preparedness activities including planning, training,
exercises, and resource management to ensure organizations are ready to apply
NIMS principles during actual incidents.
19. Which principle of NIMS ensures organizations can work together
without being part of the same agency?
Answer: Unity of effort ensures that organizations with different authorities and
structures can coordinate and work toward common objectives.
20. Why is standardized training important under NIMS?
Answer: Standardized training ensures that responders from different
jurisdictions and agencies have the same baseline knowledge and skills,
enabling seamless integration during multi-agency incident response.
Section 3: Incident Command System (ICS)
21. What is the Incident Command System (ICS)?
Answer: ICS is a standardized, hierarchical on-scene emergency management
system that provides an integrated organizational structure for managing
incidents of any size and complexity.
22. ICS was originally developed to address what problem?
Answer: ICS was originally developed in the 1970s to address problems with
multi-agency coordination during large wildland fires in Southern California,
where communication failures and organizational confusion hampered response
efforts.
23. What are the five major management functions in ICS?
Answer: The five major management functions in ICS are: Command,
Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration.
24. Who has overall responsibility at an incident under ICS?
Answer: The Incident Commander (IC) has overall responsibility for managing
an incident, including developing objectives and directing all operational
activities.
25. What is the 'span of control' recommended in ICS?
Answer: The recommended span of control in ICS is one supervisor to between
three and seven subordinates, with five being ideal for effective supervision.
26. What is a Unified Command in ICS?
Answer: A Unified Command is an ICS structure used when an incident involves
multiple jurisdictions or agencies that share authority and responsibility, allowing
all to manage the incident together without losing authority.
