If a Unified Command (UC) were set up, divisions could have been based on geographical areas. This would have allowed autonomy at a given site for the situation they faced, yet provided an integration of resources at a higher level.
Additionally, if an IMS method was integrated, public health authorities could have been brought into the mix, allowing them to know the number of patients and which hospitals were capable (and had room) for the type of injuries the patients suffered. Of course, this would have also provided clearly defined lines of who would be responsible for each aspect, and where strike teams and task forces were needed to improve the response. It also would have expedited the incident from a response into a recovery mode. This is based on the assumption that with a fully collaborative effort, ending the response mode would have occurred more quickly. Let us not forget that had an IMS method been used, the integration of the subway authority would have likely reduced the death and injury toll because that authority would have been informed sooner about the type of incident, thereby reducing the spread of the sarin contamination.
While there is no way to know for sure, it is believed that the Tokyo sarin attack and the Oklahoma City Bombing may have caused some countries around the world to rethink how they respond to major disasters. In other cases, major incidents that occurred in their country caused the responding agencies in other countries to create a system to better manage future incidents.
Chapter 2 Quiz
1 Incident management isA way of understanding how to train first responders.The skill of making decisions that will mitigate the negative effects of an emergency incident.The skill of motivating people to follow your orders.A method of making sure that all the paperwork is completed.
2 True or False: The utilization of a proven IMS method usually causes disasters to last longer.
3 The use of an Incident Management System (IMS) method helps to reduce the __________ of an incident.CooperationLifecycleCollaborationCommunication
4 True or False: If an incident is managed, and resources are used in an efficient manner, it will usually reduce the negative effects of that incident.
5 What are the three common attributes of any emergency incident?
6 True or False: The Tokyo sarin incident was well managed, even without using an IMS method.
7 In the Tokyo incident, how did hospitals confirm that the method of attack was sarin gas?
8 Yes or No: Did the way the Tokyo incident was managed increase the number of patients that needed to be seen at the hospital?
9 What proven IMS method was used to manage the response in the Oklahoma City incident?
10 What mitigation measure was taken in the Oklahoma City incident when communication with some hospitals could not be made?
11 True or False: Placing mobile command centers in close proximity to each other at the Oklahoma City incident helped to facilitate communications, especially agencies that were using different frequencies.
12 A Family Assistance Center was set up for immediate family members at the Oklahoma City incident. Name three organizations that were included in providing comfort.
13 True or False: The military and the National Guard was under a different IMS method than the rest of the agencies on scene at the Oklahoma City Bombing site.
14 What agency was in charge of the criminal investigation of the Oklahoma City incident?The Oklahoma State PoliceThe Oklahoma City Police DepartmentThe FBIThe ATF
15 True or False: Using an IMS method, the Oklahoma City incident had fewer issues than the Tokyo incident which did not use an IMS method.
Self‐Study
Final Report (1996). Final Report: Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Bombing April 19, 1995. Stillwater, OK: International Fire Service Training Association.
Fire Engineering (1995). Report from Fire Chief. Fire Engineering 148: 10. Retrieved from https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-148/issue-10/features/report-from-fire-chief.html#.
Manzi et al. (2002). Critical Information Flows in the Alfred P. Murrah Building Bombing: A Case Study. Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/194411NCJRS.pdf.
Murakami (2000). Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche. New York, NY.
Pangi (2002). Consequence management in the 1995 sarin attacks on the Japanese subway system. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 25: 421–448.
Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum (n.d.). Community response: Crisis management. Retrieved from https://oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/okcnm-community-response-crisis-management.pdf.
Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management (n.d.). After action report: Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing 19 April 1995 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Retrieved from https://www.ok.gov/OEM/documents/Bombing%20After%20Action%20Report.pdf.
Shariat et al. (1998). Summary of Reportable Injuries in Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Bombing Injuries. Oklahoma State Department of Health. Retrieved from https://www.ok.gov/health2/documents/OKC_Bombing.pdf.
Smith (2010). Guardmembers remember Oklahoma City bombing. U.S. Army News (25 October). Retrieved from https://www.army.mil/article/37587/guardmembers_remember_oklahoma.
3 Incident Management in Other Countries
The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.
Albert Einstein
All too often, we take for granted the incident management system (IMS) methods that began in the United States. Many believe that these methods that were developed in the United States are used around the world, or they would believe that they are not used anywhere except a few select countries. Either train of thought would be a major misconception. As we will see in this chapter, most countries have adapted an IMS method to manage incidents.
As a disclaimer, the information in this chapter was taken from various research rather than first‐hand knowledge. Because the majority of the information came from the Internet, it is possible that some information in this chapter may be incomplete or incorrect. We apologize in advance for any misinformation.
While the current IMS system in the United States is the National Incident Management System (NIMS), most countries utilize a totally different IMS method. Some countries utilize the Incident Command System (ICS) component of NIMS, while others use similar bits and
