NIMS compliance

[floridacyclist]

I think that the easiest way to get the classroom classes would be to encourage some of our people to get the ICS TTT like I did. Not only does that mean that  we get to pick the schedule and train our own people, but that we get to do the training for other agencies as well - a good PR move I think.

Incidentally, the Sheriff's Office agreed in theory to come help run next weekend's exercise portion of our local Ranger school, just like they would a real mission. I think they appreciate the chance to practice real SAR, we get to learn how the chain really works, and maybe next time they need some search assets, they'll remember those sharp cadets they did the exercise with. You can see the ops order at http://www.rideforfatherhood.org/rangerschool.pdf .

The scenario is basically a Cessna 150 disappeared enroute to Tallahassee somewhere near Lake Talquin. The Ground Team will have about 5mi of humping and bushwhacking to get there at which time they will find a real crashed airplane with real moulaged victims. After backboarding and carrying them a mile or so to the ICP/helispot to meet the Leon Co paramedics, a medevac chopper will come to evacuate the more critical victim. Once's he's loaded up, the exercise will end, they get a tour of the ambulance and chopper, and we have a hotwash.

This is why we need to learn our ICS/NIMS.

[isuhawkeye]

Thats a great operation for Florida.  Excellent job in building those relationships. 

As far as NIMS goes...

Don't forget that ICS is only a component of NIMS.  To be NIMS compliant we need to type our resources, Participate in JIC's, and meet the established certifications, and standards to function in those roles.

[floridacyclist]

I'll settle for baby steps as long as we're taking steps. It beats sitting around with our thumbs up ours arsenals.

[isuhawkeye]

I agree completely, I just hope that this issue stays in the fore front so that we can continue to provide mission support

[Nick]

To be NIMS compliant we need to type our resources, Participate in JIC's, and meet the established certifications, and standards to function in those roles.

As for resource typing, remember the NIMS Search & Rescue Resources Typing has resource types that were almost written for CAP (Air Search Team, Airborne Reconnaissance, Radio Direction Finding Team, and Wilderness Search and Rescue Team) -- it's just a matter of reading what their requirements are and ensuring you organize teams in the same fashion.  Typing CAP resources is almost too easy with this model, and it helps to lay to rest the question we've had in previous threads about "hey guys, what kind of stuff should you have for a ground team?"

[isuhawkeye]

exacly

[Nick Critelli]

We tasked ISUHawkeye with creating a CAP 101 - NIMS ICS Compliance Matrix.  Here it is.  Get busy. ICS 100,200,and 800 are all on-line.  They're simple and you can do the whole set over a weekend.  See attached.  Feel free to use it but give ISUHawkeye and IAWG credit.


NICK CRITELLI

[floridacyclist]

How do you figure CUL needs 300?

Yes, the online courses are convenient, but you learn so much more in a classroom setting even if you then go home and take the test online (which is how we teach ours). Even FEMA says that they prefer the classes be taught then tested rather than just doing it all online.

Make a squadron training event out of it!

[isuhawkeye]

good point.  Logistics section should be 400, and not just three hundred

[Nick]

Although this is something I know can't be addressed at this level, it might be nice to see some recommendation be passed up to NHQ/DOS about standardization of ALL the CAP ES duty titles to conform with ICS.  Yeah, any of us that's been around CAP for a while is stuck on a lot of the old titles, and NHQ is off to a good start with the majority of titles, but not everyone in the ICS world is going to know what a ground team is, and they sure as hell won't know "GTM" (abbreviations are bad for interoperability, mkay? )  Something more like Ground Search Strike Team (Leader/Member), Air Search Observer and Air Search Scanner (= Tech Specialists), etc. and it'll be a nice comprehensive alignment.  But, just a thought...

[floridacyclist]

I remember when I first came back into CAP that they were starting to play with ICS; we had to memorize which CAP mission title was equivalent to which ICS title such as Mission Commander = Incident Commander.

It didn't really start making sense until we actually started changing over to ICS titles for the senior command and control positions. It won't surprise me if we eventually go all the way with the rest of the titles as well.

[Dustoff]

Thats a great operation for Florida.  Excellent job in building those relationships. 

As far as NIMS goes...

Don't forget that ICS is only a component of NIMS.  To be NIMS compliant we need to type our resources, Participate in JIC's, and meet the established certifications, and standards to function in those roles.

And don't forget my favorite - Preparedness!!!

Go back to the 700 class and take a look at all the things that come under the "Preparedness" heading.  There's alot to work to be done!!!

Jim

[alice]

I got my answer from National today on my original question. The requirements are going to pretty much follow what we outlined above, and yes we can start teaching it that way in order to try to get a jumpstart on NIMS compliance.

>Everyone will pretty much need ICS100 and IS700 NIMS

>Team and Unit Leaders (GTL, CUL, MO if you consider them the aircrew commander) will need 200

>Branch Directors and possibly MSA (because they might be EOC staff unless they make a seperate qualification for that) would need ICS300

>Command and General Staff (IC, MIO, MSO, LO, FSC, LSC, OSC, PSC, AL) would need ICS400 and IS800 NRP.

>This is by no means comprehensive and definitely not authoritative. Just throwing some of the requirements together off the top of my head based on what was said today and what I know of FEMA recommendations...


Any word from CAP HQ when those will be requirements for us?

According to FEMA Region IX last week, NIMS has been required of all states but until this year, self-certification was OK.  Not this year.  FEMA is rolling out new "metrics"  on states this year - and I suspect the fed world, too.  No more pencil whipping.  FEMA will be looking at who has actually passed its online and residential NIMS classes.

As long as CAP is tasked as a state resource in many states for SAR and disaster relief, and so many of our wings depend on their state funds, we can't play the game of we-are-USAF/fed-only on NIMs compliance.  We must start paying closer attention to what the states and counties must do to get FEMA money.

In 2007, FEMA expects to get back many of its directorates - and money - that were taken away by DHS before Katrina thanks to the the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.  Instead of having about 650 million to hand out in grants, FEMA expects to have 4.5 billion.

No reasons CAP wings can't start strongly encouraging our members to do the necessary NIMs courses if our HQ can't move fast enough to suit our local county and state needs - plus FEMA's needs.

[RiverAux]

backchannel word is that national is working on this issue.  They do need to get going on this.  The basic requirements aren't that difficult though applying some of the resource typing and credentialling would be. 

[DNall]

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/rm/credentialing.shtm says:
Credentialing

The NIMS Integration Center is developing a national credentialing system that will help verify, quickly and accurately, the identity and qualifications of emergency personnel responding to an incident. The National Emergency Responder Credentialing System will document minimum professional qualifications, certifications, training and education requirements that define the standards required for specific emergency response functional positions.

The Center is using working groups to identify job titles to be credentialed and the qualifications and training required. Working groups will focus on the following: Incident Management, Emergency Medical Services, Fire/Hazardous Materials/ Law Enforcement, Medical and Public Health, Public Works and Search and Rescue. Although subject matter experts for these working groups have already been identified, the NIC welcomes your participation into our stakeholder review group. As a stakeholder, you will receive updates on working groups' progress and will be able to review draft documents under development.

The back-channel I've heard is that they are having trouble with a few stubborn local agencies using the labels incorrectly, and so within the next year or two will be moving to actually issuing FEMA certification cards. You'd still be trained & vouched for by your agency on most of it, just the instructors would have to be cleared.

If it goes down that way, you're talking about no more time to play games.

[lordmonar]

Looking at the proposed NIMS job description....CAP is NOT going to be able to certify any Wilderness SAR technicians.

Now...this I hope is someone's primary job at National!

Screw new rank requirements, the NB structure or anything else....if FEMA is going to hold the gun to eveyone's head to meet these requirments...someone needs to be down in Colorado working with the NSAR people and developing some new GT requirements.

[Nick]

Just out of curiosity, what's going to be the flaming deficiency for awarding wilderness SAR qualifications?  From my reads on it, ground team members should at least qualify for Wilderness SAR Team Type IV members.

[DNall]

Looking at the proposed NIMS job description....CAP is NOT going to be able to certify any Wilderness SAR technicians.

Now...this I hope is someone's primary job at National!

Screw new rank requirements, the NB structure or anything else....if FEMA is going to hold the gun to eveyone's head to meet these requirments...someone needs to be down in Colorado working with the NSAR people and developing some new GT requirements.

Sincerely:
What can't CAP do? And, what do you want NHQ fixing?

CAP already faught & lost to have the standards lowered. Been fighting for a few years, with a consistent absolutely no chance in hell. This is orders & CAP is expected to carry them out.

As are everyone else in the country. Including others not being able to use non-compliant orgs w/o losing their funding. I don't see what the big deal is. This is nothing private volunteer SaR clubs haven't been meeting for decades, and I haven't noticed anythign we can't handle. Could you be more specific about your concerns.

[DNall]

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/sar_jobtitle_111806.pdf

SAR Job Title 35:  Wilderness Search and/or Rescue Technician
Description:  A Wilderness Search and/or Rescue Technician is a member of a Wilderness SAR Team who searches for and rescues those in trouble in urban/suburban as well as other environments.45

REQUISITE CRITERIA
The table below lists minimum requisite criteria, based on existing protocols and standards, for a Wilderness Search and/or Rescue Technician to participate in the NIMS Integration Center's National Emergency Responder Credentialing System.

Category
Criteria
Training
Fulfillment of requirement(s) as stated in the following standard(s) :
1. MRA 105 Operational Level; or ASTM F-2209 or NASAR SAR Tech II; or equivalent
2. NFPA 472 HazMat Awareness and/or OSHA 1910.120(Q)(6)(i), HazMat     Awareness Training or equivalent basic instruction on responding to and operating in a CBRNE incident
3. Bloodborne/Airborne Pathogens per OSHA
4. DOI AM B-3 or equivalent
Completion of the following baseline criteria:
5. OSHA 1910.120 and/or 1910.134(f) Respiratory Protection
6. Risk assessment
7. Hazard mitigation, including lifting, dealing with animals and possible armed subjects and criminals
8. PPE for 4 seasons in any of the anticipated areas of operation
9. Use of related SAR tools and devices
10. Various SAR Standards
11. Legal Aspects of SAR EMS, SAR risk, liability, insurance, and injury and death of members
12. SAR ethics, including dealing with families, confidentiality and media
13. Team and crew safety issues
14. For drivers: Driver's safety
15. Personal and team physical, medical and behavioral wellness, fitness, and limitations
16. Wilderness weather
17. Survival and bivouac in four seasons in any anticipated areas of operations
18. Use of other resources including canines and other animals
19. Recognizing possible child predator situations
20. Awareness for search around swift/flood water, underground spaces
21. HazMat awareness to include drug labs
22. Animal technical rescue awareness
23. Documentation and record keeping for SAR and EMS
24. Field Communications, interoperability, equipment, proper use of phones, radios, data
25. Medical aid of self, team members, and customers
26. Customer evacuations, choices, methods, equipment
27. Helicopter operations in SAR for all seasons in all anticipated areas of   operations,  including;
* Types of Helicopters in SAR
* Risk Continuum: low risk to higher risk helicopter use
* Related FAA regulations
* Personal capabilities and limitations and preflight prep
* Helicopter capabilities and limitations
* Safety Briefing/ Aircraft familiarization, storage, Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) introduction
* Safety rules, dos and don'ts
* Helicopter-related Communications for SAR personnel
* Night operations
* Customers on helicopters, control of, consent issues
* Basic emergency procedures on ground and in flight
* Uses of helicopter adjuncts, such as NVG and FLIR
* Basic physiological effects of flight on personnel, customers and equipment
* Special-Use issues, hazards, and mitigation
* Ingress and egress training and practice in all methods to be used on operations, such as hover ingress-egress, etc.


Completion of the following courses and/or curricula:
27. ICS-100: Introduction to ICS
28. ICS-200: Basic ICS
29. FEMA IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction
30. CERT (G-371) or equivalent for disaster related responses46

Experience
1. Finger print and background check
2. Participation in an AHJ currency program

Physical/ Medical Fitness
Completion of the following baseline criteria:
1. Medical requirements established by the AHJ
2. Minimum physical fitness standards as required by the AHJ, such as:
* MRA 105.1 Fitness
* CO WSAR Fitness
* NWCG Pack Test "Arduous"
* MCSOMR/CAMRA Mountain Rescue Specific Physical Ability Test (MRSPAT)
* NIMS WSAR Type II and IV Fitness
3.     CDC/ WHO recommended inoculations

Certification
1. Any of the following or equivalent:
* MRA 105.1 Operational Level
* NASAR SAR Technician II or greater
* Colorado State SAR Board WSAR Technician Type II or greater
* Appropriate equivalent State certification

[lordmonar]

Just out of curiosity, what's going to be the flaming deficiency for awarding wilderness SAR qualifications?  From my reads on it, ground team members should at least qualify for Wilderness SAR Team Type IV members.

Helo ops. (task 27)

And medical. (task 25)

Now..there is no reason why we should not be able to these things...put we have to change some cap regulations/policies first.

Like I said....we need to get our National ES guys on this ASAP.