NIMS and ICS
During 2011 and 2012, the Board of Directors of REACT
International, Inc. sought to strengthen our organization’s commitment to the concepts
and principles set forth in the National Incident Command System (NIMS, Presidential
Directive HSPD-5). REACT recognizes and acknowledges the
importance of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command
System (ICS) in the performance of missions at the team level. Federal mandates and
rollout schedules have affected funding to law enforcement, fire and EMS organizations.
While not directly affected, many teams serve local agencies that fall under these Federal NIMS requirements. Teams have in the past been encouraged by the Board of Directors to take FEMA NIMS training online. Your current membership card now contains a checklist of these classes and whether you have received credit for taking them. REACT is now raising the bar for team performance and NIMS compliance. By standardizing REACT resources, we are preparing for improved national, regional and local response/deployment. By tying our resource typing levels to a program of certification, we are encouraging teams to increase membership and capabilities. We hope your team will be up to accepting these challenges.
Resource Typing
If you are unfamiliar with resource typing, we’ll do a brief explanation. In a nutshell
this is what resource typing is. Take a piece of fire equipment or apparatus such as a
pumper truck. You can have a basic pumper capable of pumping 500 gallons per minute with
1 inch hoses or a super duper pumper with 1, 2 and 4 inch hoses and a 1500 gallon per
minute pump. NIMS resource typing has created four degrees or standard levels for each
typed resource and created a national standard for approximately 120 typed resources.
There is a Type IV, Type III, Type II and Type I pumper truck. Type IV is the most
basic. Each higher type has more and more capability. Type I is the most capable.
Incident Commanders can then look up and order these standard resources for incidents
and everyone knows exactly what they are asking for and what they are going to get.
Resource typing can apply to equipment or people or both.
We have chosen to start with the most common activities that REACT teams engage in. We have created a set of standards that are measurable and consistent. There should not be a team that cannot function at a Type IV or Type III level for their most frequent activities. As you strive to achieve certification, your team will be challenged to grow through increased membership and capabilities. This program will bring new encouragement for team drills and individual training in order to become certified as Type II or Type I resources.
Benefits of participating in the program
Becoming a certified, typed team is totally voluntary. Teams are not required to
participate by reaching for and achieving the standard types. However, look at the
benefits. REACT International, Inc. has published this
Resource Guide for entities at every level to see. We want everyone from FEMA down to
your local served organizations to have access to this REACT
Resource Guide for information about your team and it’s capabilities. When they need
these kinds of standard resources they may refer to these documents to request your
team’s assistance with an event. What would be better than to able to report that you
are a REACT certified Type II Parking Control team. The
resource typing chart will contain everything officials and served agencies need to know
about your team capabilities.
Because our REACT Resource Typing Project follows the NIMS format for resource typing, it is consistent with Federal Tier 1 and Regional Tier II typed resources. We do not know if or when our REACT resource types may be regionally or nationally accepted. Wouldn’t you want your team to part of it when that happens?
Common and consistent training and equipment
All typed resources are consistent in regards to training of personnel and equipment
required to achieve each resource type level. This ensures that when a Type III
Communications Team shows up, they will have all the equipment and people available
according this REACT Resource Guide.