Reducing traffic congestion & improving roadway safety are high priorities for the Fed. Highway Admin. (FHWA). The purpose of this guide is to introduce the Incident Command System (ICS) to stakeholders who may need to provide specific expertise, assistance, or material during highway incidents, but who may be largely unfamiliar with ICS organization & operations. These stakeholders include transportation agencies & companies involved in towing & recovery as well as elected officials & gov¿t. agency managers. This document may also be beneficial to public safety professionals who are familiar with ICS but may not fully understand how ICS concepts are applicable to transportation agencies. Illustrations.

Reducing traffic congestion and improving roadway safety are high priorities for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Traffic incidents are a major source of both highway congestion and safety problems. Incidents are estimated to cause approximately half of all traffic delay. Crashes that result from other incidents account for approximately 16 percent of all crashes and cause 18 percent of freeway deaths. For these reasons, FHWA strongly endorses the establishment and use of good traffic incident management. Effective transportation system management and operations depends on the aggressive management of temporary disruptions (caused by traffic incidents, work zones, weather, special events, etc.) in order to reduce the consequences of these disruptions and return the system to “full capacity.” The Incident Command System (ICS) is the systematic tool for the command, control, and coordination of an emergency response. ICS allows agencies to work together using common terminology and operating procedures for controlling personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications at an incident scene. The purpose of this Simplified Guide is to introduce the ICS to stakeholders who may be called upon to provide specific expertise, assistance, or material during highway incidents but who may be largely unfamiliar with ICS organization and operations. These stakeholders include transportation agencies and companies involved in towing and recovery, as well as elected officials and government agency managers at all levels. This document may also be beneficial to public safety professionals, who are familiar with ICS but may not fully understand how ICS concepts are applicable to transportation agencies.

This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Incident Management Handbook (IMH) is designed to assist EPA personnel in the use of the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) doctrine during incident response operations and planned events.--Taken from Purpose (p. i-iii).

Completely updated to reflect the changes in the December 2008 release of the National Incident Management System. Developed and implemented by the United States Department of Homeland Security, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) outlines a comprehensive national approach to emergency management. It enables federal, state, and local government entities along with private sector organizations to respond to emergency incidents together in order reduce the loss of life and property and environmental harm. National Incident Management System: Principles and Practice, Second Edition translates the goals of the NIMS doctrine from theory into application, and provides straight-forward guidance on how to understand and implement NIMS within any private, emergency response, or governmental organization. The Second Edition features: Up-to-date coverage of the most current NIMS guidelines Progressive rural- and urban-based case studies, including completed ICS forms, help readers understand their roles within the various components of NIMS Helpful tables and graphics to simplify complex subject matter and reinforce important NIMS concepts National Incident Management System: Principles and Practice is ideal for: • Fire, rescue, EMS, and law enforcement personnel • Federal, state, tribal, and local governmental employees • Health care professionals and hospital workers • Any employee working for a private company that may be directly involved in response operations Listen to a Podcast with National Incident Management System: Principles and Practice, Second Edition contributing author Dr. Donald W. Walsh to learn more about this training program! Dr. Walsh discusses how the text incorporates scenarios to address the latest information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, how the author team’s diverse backgrounds help make the text appealing to a wide audience, and more. To listen now, visit: http://d2jw81rkebrcvk.cloudfront.net/assets.multimedia/audio/NIMS.mp3.

This book follows all NIMS ICS (National Incident Management System--Incident Command System) processes and principles. Beyond Initial Responsewas written to fill a significant gap in ICS training. Critical ICS position-specific training is difficult to get, yet responders have the responsibility to effectively operate in an ICS organization. This book removes the gap, instills confidence, knowledge and assurance that is required to be successful in an ICS command. Major focus areas: 1) the ICS Planning Process discussed in extensive detail, 2) ICS positions (13 critical positions thoroughly covered in depth), and 3) Unified Command: what it takes to be successful. This book is an invaluable reference tool that contains numerous job aids, checklists, illustrations and sample documents enabling the user to seamlessly work within the Incident Command System. In addition, it is an excellent support source for ICS training, contingency planning and response operations. Beyond Initial Response should be within arms length whether you are training or deploying.

With full color photographs and other illustrations.