NIMS Resource Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of demobilization planning in NIMS resource management?
- To penalize resources that underperform
- To ensure the orderly, safe, and cost-effective release of resources (Correct answer)
- To reassign resources to permanent positions
- To document lessons learned after an incident
Correct answer: To ensure the orderly, safe, and cost-effective release of resources
Demobilization planning ensures resources are released in a systematic way that maintains safety, reduces costs, and returns resources to availability.
Question 2: Under NIMS, which section of the Incident Command System (ICS) is primarily responsible for resource ordering and tracking?
- Operations Section
- Finance/Administration Section
- Logistics Section (Correct answer)
- Planning Section
Correct answer: Logistics Section
The Logistics Section is responsible for ordering, obtaining, maintaining, and tracking all resources needed to support incident operations.
Question 3: What does the term 'resource assignment' mean in NIMS?
- Listing resources in an inventory
- Directing a resource to perform a specific task at an incident (Correct answer)
- Purchasing new resources for future use
- Typing a resource according to national standards
Correct answer: Directing a resource to perform a specific task at an incident
Resource assignment is the act of directing a resource to a specific task or location based on the needs of the incident.
Question 4: When multiple agencies respond to an incident under NIMS, which agreement type allows them to share resources without prior formal contracts?
- Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
- Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
- Mutual Aid Agreement (Correct answer)
- Inter-Agency Protocol
Correct answer: Mutual Aid Agreement
Mutual Aid Agreements establish pre-authorized frameworks for neighboring jurisdictions to share resources during incidents, reducing administrative delays.
Question 5: What is the role of the Resource Unit Leader within ICS?
- Supervising field resources directly
- Maintaining the status of all assigned resources (Correct answer)
- Ordering supplies from vendors
- Writing the Incident Action Plan
Correct answer: Maintaining the status of all assigned resources
The Resource Unit Leader, under the Planning Section, tracks the status of all resources—assigned, available, or out of service—throughout the incident.
Question 6: Which NIMS concept allows an incident commander to request resources based on what a resource 'can do' rather than specifying the exact type of equipment?
- Performance-based ordering
- Capability-based ordering (Correct answer)
- Mission-based ordering
- Task-based ordering
Correct answer: Capability-based ordering
Capability-based ordering lets requestors describe the capability they need rather than a specific resource, giving suppliers flexibility to fulfill the need.
Question 7: In NIMS, 'check-in' of resources upon arrival at an incident serves which primary purpose?
- Billing the receiving jurisdiction
- Enabling tracking, accountability, and assignment (Correct answer)
- Determining union jurisdiction
- Establishing chain of command
Correct answer: Enabling tracking, accountability, and assignment
Check-in ensures all arriving resources are accounted for in the tracking system so they can be properly assigned and their status monitored throughout the incident.
NIMS Resource Management 3
What is the primary purpose of demobilization planning in NIMS resource management?