Introduction
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a consistent nationwide approach for government, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work seamlessly together during domestic incidents. IS-700.B is FEMA’s foundational course covering NIMS principles. This article walks you through the key concepts, followed by a complete revision table and flashcard tips.
Part 1: Study Article
What Is NIMS?
NIMS is a set of concepts and principles for managing all threats and hazards. It is scalable, flexible, and adaptable — applicable to incidents ranging from routine local emergencies to large-scale disasters requiring federal assistance. A basic premise of NIMS is that incidents should be managed at the lowest jurisdictional level possible.
NIMS has three major components: Resource Management, Command and Coordination, and Communications and Information Management.
NIMS Guiding Principles
The guiding principle of standardization facilitates interoperability among organizations during incident response. NIMS requires the use of common terminology and plain language to eliminate confusion across agencies.
The Incident Command System (ICS)
ICS provides a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of on-scene emergency personnel. It is the operational core of NIMS at the field level.
Key ICS Facilities:
- Incident Command Post (ICP) — where the Incident Commander operates
- Staging Area — used to temporarily position and account for personnel, supplies, and equipment awaiting assignment
- Incident Base — where primary support activities are conducted
- Camps — temporary locations within the incident area
Each ICS General Staff section is led by a Chief, who reports directly to the Incident Commander or Unified Command.
The Command Staff (Public Information Officer, Safety Officer, Liaison Officer) are incident management personnel that the Incident Commander or Unified Command assign to directly support the command function.
NIMS Management Characteristics
There are 14 NIMS Management Characteristics. Key ones include:
- Chain of Command and Unity of Command — helps eliminate confusion caused by conflicting instructions
- Management by Objectives — includes developing and issuing assignments, plans, procedures, and protocols to accomplish tasks
- Manageable Span of Control — refers to the number of subordinates that directly report to a supervisor
- Comprehensive Resource Management — includes maintaining accurate and up-to-date inventories of personnel, equipment, teams, and supplies
- Integrated Communications — allows units from diverse agencies to connect, share information, and achieve situational awareness
- Information and Intelligence Management — follows established processes for gathering, analyzing, assessing, sharing, and managing data
- Incident Action Planning — includes documents that record and communicate incident objectives, tactics, and assignments for operations and support
Command and Coordination Structures
MAC Groups (Multiagency Coordination Groups) are the NIMS structure that makes cooperative multi-agency decisions. They are offsite locations where staff from multiple agencies come together — along with Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs).
Unified Command enables organizations with jurisdictional authority or functional responsibilities to support each other while allowing each participating agency to maintain its own authority and accountability.
Area Commands are established to oversee the management of multiple incidents or a very large/evolving situation. Area Commands are frequently established as Unified Area Commands and are particularly relevant when several ICPs are requesting similar, scarce resources.
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs)
EOCs can be activated at different levels:
- Level 1 – Full Activation — all EOC team members are active
- Level 2 – Enhanced Steady-State — only certain EOC team members or organizations are activated to monitor a credible threat
- Level 3 – Normal Operations/Steady-State
The EOC configuration that allows personnel to function with minimal preparation or startup time is the incident support model (also known as the departmental structure). An EOC structure that focuses efforts on information, planning, and resource support may reflect an ICS or ICS-like structure.
Resource Management
In NIMS, resource inventorying refers to preparedness activities conducted outside of (before) incident response.
Key resource management tasks:
- Identify Requirements — determines the type, quantity, receiving location, and users of resources
- Mobilize — activating and deploying resources
- Order and Acquire
- Track and Report
- Demobilize — begins planning as soon as possible to facilitate accountability
The credentialing process involves an objective evaluation and documentation of an individual’s current certification, license, or degree, training and experience, and competence or proficiency. The resource management activity that identifies and verifies that personnel are qualified for a particular position is credentialing.
Mutual Aid: The jurisdiction receiving mutual aid can return/reject resources if they do not meet its needs. Establishing mutual aid agreements to obtain resources from neighboring jurisdictions is an example of preparing/planning resource management activity.
EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact) is a state-to-state system for sharing resources during an emergency or disaster.
Communications and Information Systems
Key principles of communications and information systems:
- Interoperability — the capacity for emergency management and response personnel to interact and work well together
- Technology Use and Procedures — using social media to support activities such as producing maps and incident visualizations is an example of this standard
- Familiarity/Usability — use of communications and information systems that are familiar to users is a key principle
- Ensuring the uninterrupted flow of information describes the principle of Resilience and Redundancy
Incident Reports such as Situation Reports and Status Reports enhance situational awareness and ensure that personnel can access needed information.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5)
HSPD-5 requires all Federal departments and agencies to make adoption of NIMS by State, tribal, and local organizations a condition for Federal preparedness assistance (through grants, contracts, etc.).
The National Integration Center (NIC), established by the Secretary of Homeland Security, manages and maintains NIMS. The NIC does NOT inventory and track all national resources.
Part 2: Revision Q&A Table
| # | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which NIMS structure makes cooperative multi-agency decisions? | MAC Groups |
| 2 | Which type of ICS facility is used to temporarily position and account for personnel, supplies, and equipment awaiting assignment? | Staging Area |
| 3 | Ensuring the uninterrupted flow of information describes which key communications and information systems principle? | Resilience and Redundancy |
| 4 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic refers to the number of subordinates that directly report to a supervisor? | Manageable Span of Control |
| 5 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic helps to eliminate confusion caused by conflicting instructions? | Chain of Command and Unity of Command |
| 6 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic includes developing and issuing assignments, plans, procedures, and protocols to accomplish tasks? | Management by Objectives |
| 7 | Using social media to support activities such as producing maps and incident visualizations is an example of which communications standard? | Technology Use and Procedures |
| 8 | When only certain EOC team members or organizations are activated to monitor a credible threat, which Activation Level has been implemented? | Level 2 – Enhanced Steady-State |
| 9 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic follows established processes for gathering, analyzing, assessing, sharing, and managing data? | Information and Intelligence Management |
| 10 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic includes documents that record and communicate incident objectives, tactics, and assignments for operations and support? | Incident Action Planning |
| 11 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic includes maintaining accurate and up-to-date inventories of personnel, equipment, teams, and supplies? | Comprehensive Resource Management |
| 12 | Which NIMS Management Characteristic allows units from diverse agencies to connect, share information, and achieve situational awareness? | Integrated Communications |
| 13 | ICS provides a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of __________ emergency personnel. | On-scene |
| 14 | In NIMS, resource inventorying refers to preparedness activities conducted __________ of incident response. | Outside (before) |
| 15 | Which NIMS Command and Coordination structures are offsite locations where staff from multiple agencies come together? | MAC Groups and EOCs |
| 16 | Which resource management task determines the type, quantity, receiving location, and users of resources? | Identify Requirements |
| 17 | The capacity for emergency management and response personnel to interact and work well together describes which key principle? | Interoperability |
| 18 | Use of communications and information systems that are familiar to users is a part of which key principle? | Familiarity/Usability |
| 19 | Establishing mutual aid agreements to obtain resources from neighboring jurisdictions is an example of which resource management activity? | Planning/Preparing |
| 20 | Which resource management activity identifies and verifies that personnel are qualified for a particular position? | Credentialing |
| 21 | Each ICS General Staff is led by a(n) __________ who reports directly to the Incident Commander or Unified Command. | Chief |
| 22 | The __________ are incident management personnel that the Incident Commander or Unified Command assign to directly support the command function. | Command Staff |
| 23 | Incident Reports such as Situation Reports and Status Reports enhance situational awareness and ensure that personnel can __________. | Access needed information |
| 24 | The jurisdiction receiving mutual aid can __________ resources if they do not meet its needs. | Return/Reject |
| 25 | Which major NIMS Component describes recommended organizational structures for incident management at the operational and incident support levels? | Command and Coordination |
| 26 | Which EOC configuration allows personnel to function in the EOC with minimal preparation or startup time? | Incident Support Model (Departmental Structure) |
| 27 | Which EOC structure may reflect an organization that focuses efforts on information, planning, and resource support? | ICS or ICS-like structure |
| 28 | A basic premise of NIMS and the National Response Framework is that incidents should be managed at the __________ level possible. | Lowest jurisdictional |
| 29 | HSPD-5 requires all Federal departments and agencies to do which of the following? | Make adoption of NIMS a condition for Federal preparedness assistance |
| 30 | Incident managers begin planning for the demobilization process __________ to facilitate accountability of resources. | As soon as possible |
| 31 | Area Commands are frequently established as __________ and use the same principles. | Unified Area Commands |
| 32 | NIMS is scalable, flexible, and adaptable — applicable to incidents from routine local emergencies to those requiring __________. | Federal assistance (interstate mutual aid) |
| 33 | The NIMS guiding principle of __________ facilitates interoperability among organizations in incident response. | Standardization |
| 34 | Unified Command enables organizations to support each other while each participating agency maintains its own __________ and __________. | Authority and accountability |
| 35 | The credentialing process involves an objective evaluation of an individual’s current certification, training, experience, and __________. | Competence or proficiency |
Part 3: Flashcard Tips & Study Guide
| Tip # | Flashcard Study Strategy | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Active Recall First — Cover the answer and try to recall it before flipping the card | Retrieval practice is the single most effective study method for exam retention |
| 2 | Shuffle the deck every session — Don’t study in the same order | Prevents “order familiarity” — knowing the answer because of position, not knowledge |
| 3 | Use the Leitner Box method — Cards you get wrong go back more often; correct ones cycle less | Focuses your effort on weak spots automatically |
| 4 | Study in short bursts (20–25 min) — Take a 5-min break between rounds | Aligns with the Pomodoro technique; reduces fatigue and improves encoding |
| 5 | Say answers out loud — Verbalize before checking | Engages auditory memory in addition to visual memory |
| 6 | Group related cards thematically — e.g., all EOC questions together, then all resource management | Builds conceptual clusters in memory rather than isolated facts |
| 7 | Create mnemonics for lists — e.g., NIMS characteristics: “My Cats Might Ignore Challenging Animal Conundrums” | Reduces cognitive load for multi-item answers |
| 8 | Test yourself before you feel ready — Start quizzing earlier than comfortable | Research shows premature testing accelerates long-term retention |
| 9 | Link new info to what you know — e.g., Staging Area = “parking lot waiting room” | Analogies anchor abstract concepts to existing memory |
| 10 | Review within 24 hours — Re-test the same deck the next day | Spaced repetition doubles retention compared to single-session cramming |
| 11 | Watch for trick wording — NIMS questions often use “EXCEPT” or “NOT” | Flag these words on sight and read all options before answering |
| 12 | Prioritize your weak cards — Mark cards you miss and return to them first next session | Targeted review is more efficient than reviewing everything equally |
| 13 | Use elimination on multi-choice — Cross out obvious wrong answers first | Even when unsure, removing 1–2 options significantly improves odds |
| 14 | Pair card study with the IS-700.B course units — Review cards after each lesson module | Contextual encoding improves recall under exam conditions |
| 15 | Do a final dry run 1 hour before the exam — One last rapid pass through all cards | Re-activates recent memory without inducing study fatigue |
Quick Memory Hook: When in doubt on the NIMS 700 exam — if the question asks who makes cooperative decisions, it’s MAC Groups. If it asks who manages on-scene operations, it’s ICS. If it asks where multi-agency staff come together offsite, it’s EOCs and MAC Groups. These three distinctions cover roughly 20% of exam questions.