The national incident management system: a multi-agency approach to emergency response in the United States of America.

This paper outlines the development of a universal incident management system across all of government in the United States of America called the National Incident Management System. The system has been incorporated into the National Response Plan and the procedures of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies, using the United States Forest Service's National Interagency Incident Management System as a model. This model has enhanced USDA's effectiveness in a wide range of emergencies that might affect American agriculture, including natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pest and disease outbreaks, and wilderness and other types of fires), nuclear and conventional events, or the accidental or deliberate introduction of a biological, chemical or radiological agent threatening the United States food supply, critical infrastructure or economy.