Volunteer fire department perceptions of ICS and NIMS

Abstract

A mail survey designed to explore perceptions of the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was sent to volunteer fire fighters and department chiefs in Spring of 2008. The data demonstrated that both ICS and NIMS were not well perceived among responding volunteer fire chiefs and volunteer fire fighters in North Dakota. Rather than indicating issues with the ICS or NIMS systems themselves, respondents' comments revealed concerns with the systems to be rooted in their status as volunteers and their residence in rural areas.