Incident management team

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Incident Management Team (IMT) is a term used in the United States of America to refer to a group of trained personnel that responds to an emergency.

Contents

Although the incident management team concept was originally developed for wildfire response, use has been expanded into what is now known as "All-Hazards Incident Management Team”. [1] An AHIMT can respond to a wide range of emergencies, including fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami, riots, spilling of hazardous materials, and other natural or human-caused incidents.

Types

A Type 2 Incident Management Team assumes management of a fire emergency. 02c1349.jpg
A Type 2 Incident Management Team assumes management of a fire emergency.

In the United States, there are predominantly five types of incident management teams (IMTs). An incident such as a wildland fire is initially managed by local fire departments or fire agencies, but if the fire becomes complex additional resources are called in to address the emergency over the larger geographic area or greater level of impact. [2] IMTs are "typed" according to the size, scope and complexity of incidents they are capable of managing and are part of an incident command system. [3]

To manage the logistical, financial, planning, operational, safety and community issues related to the incident/emergency, an Incident Management Team will provide the command and management infrastructure that is required.[ citation needed ]

Organization

Incident management starts as the smallest unit and escalates according to the size, scope and complexity of the emergency. The five types of IMTs are as follows, according to the US Fire Administration: [3]

In 2024, the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) transitioned all Type 1 and Type 2 IMTs to Complex IMTs (CIMTs). [4]

Subsystems

An incident management team consists of five subsystems as follows:[ citation needed ]

References

  1. Stambler, Kimberly S.; Barbera, Joseph A. (23 August 2011). "Engineering the Incident Command and Multiagency Coordination Systems" . Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. 8 (1). doi:10.2202/1547-7355.1838. ISSN   1547-7355.
  2. "About IMTs". www.wa-imt2.org. Archived from the original on 2006-01-18. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  3. 1 2 "USFA Technical Assistance Program Overview/IMT Roadmap". www.usfa.dhs.gov. Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  4. "Incident Workforce Development Group (IWDG) Update". National Wildfire Coordinating Group. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.