Policy Statement

Federal Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 5 establishes the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS established a single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident management to ensure that all levels of government across the nation have the capability to work efficiently and effectively together using a national approach to domestic incident management. NIMS provides a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state and local governments to work together to prepare for, respond to and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of the cause, size or complexity, and provides for interoperability and compatibility among federal, state, and local capabilities and includes a core set of concepts, principles, terminology and technologies covering the Incident Command System, Unified Command, training, management of resources, and reporting.  

The Presidential Directive requires that all Federal departments and agencies shall make adoption of the NIMS a requirement for providing federal preparedness assistance through sponsored programs, post award accounting, or other activities to local governments; and the State of Georgia has enacted law (O.G.G.A. 38-3-57) that all local public safety and emergency response organizations, including emergency management agencies, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical services, shall implement the standardized unified incident command system and that those agencies that do not establish such system shall not be eligible for state reimbursement for any response or recovery related expenses.  

The UGA NIMS Policy requires that all UGA personnel who routinely respond to campus emergencies or those who directly or indirectly make incident management decisions regarding building level or campus wide emergencies participate in NIMS training. The following campus personnel will receive NIMS training according to their appropriate training level as defined in the UGA NIMS Training Profile:

• Administrators at the department head level or above
• Building Safety and Security Representatives
• Emergency Response Team (Core Team and Support Team)
• Campus emergency responders (UGA Police, UGA HART, Fire Safety, etc.)
• All others not specifically identified who are tasked with building emergency planning, safety or security assignments

This policy includes UGA Athens campus personnel and Extended Campus personnel. TheUGA NIMS Training Planhighlights the specific level of training that each identified UGA campus representative is required to achieve. For procedures and other inquiries related to UGA NIMS compliance, contact the UGA Office of Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845 or prepare@uga.edu.

Reason for policy

Effective March 28, 2006, the University of Georgia hereby adopts the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as established under HSPD and the Unified Command System as established under O.C.G.A. 38-3-57 as its system of preparing for and responding to disaster incidents and directs all incident managers and response organizations within the University of Georgia to train and exercise and use these systems in their response operations.

Policy definitions

Incident Commander (IC)

The IC is the individual responsible for all incident activities, including the development of strategies and tactics and the ordering and the release of resources. The IC has overall authority and responsibility for conducting incident operations and is responsible for the management of all incident operations at the incident site.  

Incident Command Post (ICP)

An ICP is the field location at which the primary tactical-level, on-scene incident command functions are performed. The ICP may be collocated with the incident base or other incident facilities and is normally identified by a green rotating or flashing light.

Incident Command System (ICS)

ICS is a standardized on-scene emergency management construct specifically designed to provide for the adoption of an integrated organizational structure that reflects the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries. ICS is the combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents. It is used for all kinds of emergencies and is applicable to small, as well as large and complex, incidents. ICS is used by various jurisdictions and functional agencies, both public and private, to organize field-level incident management operations.

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

NIMS is a system mandated by HSPD-5 that provides a consistent nationwide approach for federal, state, local, and tribal governments; the private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work effectively and efficiently together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from, domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity. To provide for interoperability and compatibility among federal, state, local, and tribal capabilities, the NIMS includes a core set of concepts, principles and terminology. HSPD-5 identifies these as the ICS; multiagency coordination systems; training; identification and management of resources (including systems for classifying types of resources); qualification and certification; and the collection, tracking and reporting of incident information and incident resources.  

Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP)

The Office of Emergency Preparedness is responsible for homeland security initiatives and coordination of emergency management activities at UGA.  

Related information

OEP's Website

FEMA's Website

UGAAlertEmergency

NotificationSystemActivationProtocols ›  

Responsible University Senior Administrator: Vice President for Finance and Administration

Responsible University Administrator:  Senior Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration

Policy Owner: Office of Emergency Preparedness

Policy Contact: Director

Phone: 706-542-5845