U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (2017). National Incident Management System, third edition, October 2017. https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/is700b/handouts/national_incident_management%20system_third%20edition_october_2017.pdf.
Skimmed on 2026-10-22 in NOTE-1072: the Introduction and the Command and Coordination component read in full.
Why this is here
The owner’s U23 proposed NIMS as a temporary collective with well-defined boundaries. A24 drew from it that “Coordinated action need not require that all practical authority flow through one undifferentiated controller.” Bears on CASE-135 and CASE-134.
From the reading, 2026-10-22. NIMS supports A24 in part. Under Unified Command “there is no one ‘commander.’” and each agency keeps its authority; functions are delegated; the Safety Officer can stop unsafe acts. But the doctrine keeps a single command function, a single Incident Action Plan and unity of command (“each individual only reports to one person”), and leaves “Ultimate responsibility” for safety with command. Authority is divided among those who hold the command function, not spread so that no one holds it. For CASE-134, the transfer of command is formalized with a briefing that “captures essential information for continuing safe and effective operations”. For CASE-135, the Brookhollow review’s freelancing and self-dispatch depart from NIMS’s rule that resources not requested “should refrain from spontaneous deployment”. See NOTE-1072.