From left: David Moore, District executive director; Olivia McLean, director of emergency and security management for the South Florida Water Management District; and Eugene Schiller, District deputy executive director of the Division of Management Services, discuss incident command management.
This August, the District’s emergency operations staff completed two required courses that will help the District respond more efficiently and effectively to emergency situations. The Incident Command System (ICS) is the management system employed by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to provide a structure for incident management. The Department of Homeland Security administers the NIMS, which provides a consistent nationwide approach for all agencies to work together during emergency events.
Olivia McLean, director of emergency and security management for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), conducted the training. The SFWMD has been utilizing ICS as the agency’s incident management system since 1992 when Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida. However, McLean says ICS should be used to manage all situations so when an emergency event does occur, staff is familiar and comfortable with the system.
The District’s Governing Board formally adopted NIMS/ICS last year as the standard for incident management at the District. As a condition for federal emergency preparedness funding, all levels of government must be in full compliance with the NIMS by fiscal year 2007. The fiscal year begins October 1.