The New Zealand
Coordinated Incident
Management System
(CIMS)
An Introduction
CIMS
• A structure to manage emergency
incidents
• Defines rules for the organisation
involved
Key components of Emergency
Management
• Reduction
• Readiness
• Response
• Recovery
Where can CIMS be used?
Planned events
Unplanned events
Official visits
Road accidents
Concerts
Natural disasters
Sports events
Search and rescue
CIMS focuses on where
organisations meet
CIMS Principles
• Common terminology
• Modular organisation
• Communications
• Incident Action Plans
• Span of control
• Incident facilities
• Resource management
Lead Agency
• Authority for control
• Determined by
statute
agency protocols
agreements
Lead Agency Examples
Incident
Lead Agency
House Fire
NZ Fire Service
Earthquake
Ministry of Civil Defence/
Civil Defence Emergency
Management Group
Civil Disturbance New Zealand Police
Marine Pollution Maritime New Zealand
Rural fire
Rural Fire Authority
Support Agency
• Contributing services or
resources to a lead agency
Command, Control and
Coordination
Four Key Components
• Control
• Planning / intelligence
• Operations
• Logistics
The foundation on which CIMS is
built
Incident Management Diagram
Responsibilities of the IC
• Assume control
• Establish ICP
• Protect life and property
• Establish CIMS structure
• Appoint, brief, and task staff
• Initiate IAP planning cycle
• Liaise with outside organisations
Operations
• Manage operational activities
• Provide input to the IAP
• Set the operational structure
• Identify resources
• Implement IAP
Planning / Intelligence
• Gather and disseminate
information
• Analyse incident data
• Identify resource requirements
• Prepare IAP
• Maintain resource status and
location
Logistics
Provide and maintain:
• Personnel
• Materials
• Facilities
• Services
Incident Facilities
Incident Action Plan
Outlines objectives and management
of incident and describes:
• Management structure
• Objectives, strategies and tasks
• Critical elements
• Communication and information
flow
• Safety plan
Multi-Incident Response
Advantages of CIMS
• Common incident management
structure
• Systematic information
management
• Standardised key management
principles