Standardizing Incident Command System Training Internationally in the Public and Private Sector

During the wildfires in California in the 1970s, the Incident Command System (ICS) was developed to create a standardized approach for firefighters to use in order to conduct an efficient response effort. Over the last 44 years, this system evolved into an all-hazards system used all over the world to mitigate a myriad of incidents from hurricanes to terrorist attacks to oil spills. Although ICS was developed as a standard system, both internationally and within the United States, this system and the training on this system were not always implemented or conducted in the same manner. The size and scope of the response which followed the 2010 Macondo Well Blowout (Deepwater Horizon) reinforced the need for continual, standardized training in ICS. Public and private sector response organizations have all become engaged in this effort to standardize the training used to prepare responders to participate as members of an Incident Management Team. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) model for ICS is now recognized as this standard internationally. Changes in the regulatory landscape since the implementation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 have served to increase NIMS ICS acceptance and utilization among federal, state and local government agencies, as well as U.S.-based private industry. Recently, response organizations from around the world have begun training in NIMS ICS. This global standardization will enhance the response posture of the entire response community. Examples of training and exercises conducted all over the world will illustrate the initialization of international standardization of ICS.