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THE CIMS PROTOCOL AND EGOS OUT OF CONTROL
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
formally signed the executive order to establish the Citywide Incident Management System (CIMS)
protocol as the official emergency response plan here in New York City. His decision has been met with resistance by the upper management of the New York City Fire Department
.
 In an official Memo to the
Office Emergency Management, (OMS), the Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said that having the Police Department as the “lead agency” in control of possible terrorists incidents that involve the use of biological or chemical materials, “jeopardizes public
safety”. The FDNY Chief of Department Peter Hayden, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the
FDNY also expressed his dismay at the Mayor’s final decision, saying it is “a recipe for disaster”.
Photo by Angela Jimenez
Courtesy The New York Times
In the same Memo, Scoppetta went on to suggest that the NYPD
had never believed in developing a plan for the two agencies to truly share command at major disasters. His remarks could be interpreted as a back handed slap at Police
Commissioner Raymond Kelly. This reaction to the Mayor’s decision is very revealing. The question “Who is in Charge?”
at the scenes of major disasters is still being challenged in certain quarters of the FDNY. This resistance to the
decision of the highest elected official of the City of New York will be closely watched both Washington and the rest of the Nation. I don’t envy Scoppetta or Hayden
. By their attitudes and statements, they have placed themselves in the precarious position of opposing the Mayor. They now seem to have a vested interest in the failure of the CIMS protocol.
It is time to stop the nonsense of risking the safety of cops and firefighters because of the egos of top officials.
Either get on board or get off. Perhaps an active retirement on the golf course is a better place for those who can’t adapt to the CIMS protocol
? A lot of us retired guys discuss such important issues as we chip and putt out on the greens.We would be more than happy to provide an admiring audience to hear what erstwhile top officials have to say about
CIMS. Maybe we can provide solace to those high ranking bosses who can’t seem to make the necessary adjustments in their attitude.
Links to other articles about CIMS and Emergency Management:
CITYWIDE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CIMS
CHIEFS OF POLICE WMD SEMINAR
TERRORISM IN THE WORKPLACE
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TERRORISM
THE NYPD AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM
THE MCKINSEY REPORT ON NYPD
THE INTERNET AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
THE INTERNET AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (2)
THE SEMINARS ON WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
CITY OF NEW YORK WEB SITE WITH CIMS INFO:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/response/cims.html
RETURN TO NY COP HOMEPAGE
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