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msar-riders - [MSAR] ICS, NIMS, EMAC, standards / Shenandoah Park Fiasco

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [MSAR] ICS, NIMS, EMAC, standards / Shenandoah Park Fiasco
  • Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 12:46:47 -0700

From: "Marie Lester" <marie.lester@gmail.com>
I am still struggling through all these acronyms, but am I correct in
thinking that the NIMS instruction/test is supposed to address the
order of communication and command in such situations?

The trigger for developing ICS (Incident Command System) was in CA at a huge fire in the Oakland hills years ago. They had mutual aid problems with equipment that didn't work together, a confusing lack of a defined command structure, etc. ICS was the result, along with statewide mutual aid radio channel standards, and standards for fire hydrant hose size and fittings, etc.

ICS is the foundation for SEMS (Standardized Emergency Management System) in CA to address mutual aid structure, processes and requirements up to the state level. After 9-11 the feds took ICS/SEMS as a model to create NIMS (National Incident Management System) to roll out to develop consistency nationwide. NIMS essentially addresses how to expand ICS for management of a larger incident within a state, plus adding federal level resources and potentially including interstate mutual aid resources.

Normally interstate mutual aid resources (non-federal) would go through EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact http://emacweb.org/ ), which is an agreement between states. The expectation now is all mutual aid resources responding intrastate / interstate will meet national standards for that type of resource, and be prepared to work an incident using ICS and NIMS.

National standards for MSAR as a resource type are still in progress, being developed through ASTM (www.astm.org ). At the core is an expectation for the riders to be trained ground searchers meeting de facto ASTM minimum national standards - for example, NASAR's ( www.nasar.org ) Fundamental SAR training / SARTECH II program meets the ASTM F2209 land searcher standards - then meet requirements (still being identified) for various knowledge, skills and abilities specific to being MSAR as a specialty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
www.ceoates.com/msar








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