Resource Mobilization in US NIMS (National Incident Management System) is an area that deals with mobilization of local resources in case of an emergency. This activity determines, orders, and mobilizes personnel, equipment, units, facilities, and supplies of local fire departments, police, EMS, public works, and mutual aid agreements when the initial capabilities are inadequate.
NIMS Resource Management Steps FEMA has a six-step structure known as Identify available assets- FEMA uses pre-incident lists to identify available assets; Acquire/Order through EOCs or dispatch centers FEMA uses EOCs or dispatch centers to identify available assets; Mobilize with transport/logistics FEMA mobilizes using pre-incident lists to identify available assets; Track/Report real-time locations FEMA uses WebEOCs to determine the available assets; Demobilize post-incident FEMA uses EOCs or dispatch centers to identify available assets; Reimburse costs
NIMS Resource Management Steps: Within 8 minutes, structure fires call neighboring engine companies. Pumps/ helicopters of the county are activated by floods. Hazmat summons regional response caches of special teams. EMSystem is used to request additional ambulances to hospitals in case of a surge.
Local Activation Examples:CS requires unified command with the involvement of local/state/federal responders. Stafford Act allows presidential declarations to open resources. The states have mutual aid compacts within their states.
EOC Coordination: Local Emergency Operations Centers are centers of concentration, whereby requests are focused upwards to state and FEMA regions. The compatibility is achieved by the type of resource typing (Type 1 wildland engine vs. Type 3 urban).
Typical Pitfalls: Unsuccessful activation due to bad inventories; tracking failures are a duplication of deployments; neglecting demobilization costs money.
Mobilization is an efficient strategy to bridge the gaps in capacity on the local level: pre-plan, communicate effectively, monitor strictly. Lives and property are at stake on smooth flow of resources.