Scenario: You are the President of Lawrence College. You and the American Red Cross Shelter Manager have contacted the Incident Command Post concerning the ability to meet the nutritional and long term pharmaceutical needs of the elderly residents. The Liaison Officer requests assistance from theEmergency Operations Center. What NIMS Management Characteristic is being demonstrated?

The choices are:

Modular Organization

Comprehensive Resource Management

Establishment and Transfer of Command

Dispatch or Deployment

Answer:

The answer is "Comprehensive Resource Management."

Explanation:

NIMS Management is also known as "National Incident Management System." This is an approach to incident management that is comprehensive in nature. This provides a standard of framework by which all organizations (from the government to the private sectors) follow whenever an incident occurs.

This approach consists of proven characteristics that are essential in order for it to be followed successfully. Some of these are: Common Terminology, Modular Organization, Management by Objectives, Incident Action Planning, Manageable Span of Control, etc.

Among the characteristics, the scenario above shows the characteristic of "Comprehensive Resource Management." This is all about identifying resources and knowing their types, mobilizing and tracking of reports, planning for the resources, giving certification and credentials to eligible personnel, inventorying stocks, etc.

Contacting the Incident Command Post by telling them about the nutritional needs of the elderly residents is part of this process. Here, you are trying to know the resources available and how you are going to meet them.