ABSTRACT
CONTENTS Introduction............................................................................................ 358 History.................................................................................................... 359
FIRESCOPE and Fire Ground Command .................................... 359 Incident Command System............................................................ 360
Overview of NIMS ................................................................................. 361 The Incident Command System ............................................................. 362 Challenges of Incident Management ....................................................... 364
Situational Awareness ..................................................................... 364 Communications............................................................................ 365 Resources ....................................................................................... 365
Conclusion.............................................................................................. 366 References ............................................................................................... 367
Introduction In the first half of the first decade of the new millennium, the United States was struck by two of its worst disasters-one man-made and one natural. The events of September 11, 2001, terrorized a nation and brought the issues of terrorism and homeland security to the forefront in citizen’s mind. Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans in 2005 changed our focus back to the threats from natural disasters. Together, these two events provide a fitting context for a discussion on how to bring order to the chaos that ultimately arrives with each disaster.
