Case Study
Taylor Driscoll
FSC 224 Fall 2014
October 14, 2014
Boston Marathon Bombing Case Study
Disasters unfortunately occur without notice and happen so often that there was a call for a national command system. Thus, NIMS was born. NIMS, is the National Incident Management System. Developed by the Department of Homeland Security, the program was established in March of 2004. It is intended for coordination between government agencies in the USA. Incident Command Systems are substantially beneficial when major disasters happen and multi agencies are involved. It creates a clear understanding and is a useful tool in quickly tending to a situation.
The Boston Marathon Bombing started at approximately 2:50 pm on April 15, 2013 when two bombs exploded within about 12 seconds of each other. The bombs were 50 to approximately 100 yards apart. The bombs were stowed in pressure cookers and contained metal shards and nails and were all concealed inside of backpacks. The backpacks were placed next to barricades that were close to the finish line. The bombs killed 3 people and injured 264 people.
The response of officials to this terrorist attack is a great example of the ICS system works. Events that happen in this magnitude put a strain on resources and personnel. Police, Fire, EMS and the Massachusetts National Guard were responders to the incident and contained it rather quickly. (Mangeri) Having all these agencies was beneficial to the ICS system because of the communication they had through the planning. The Next Generation Incident Command System played a big part in the organization of resources available. Introduced in 2012 it gave first responders a virtual whiteboard that showed the location of water and aid stations as well as real time traffic and weather. This tool was helpful to first responders because any of them could mark the map to show an incident that happened or warn emergency vehicles of traffic in the way. (Keating)
The Incident...