Glossary of Firefighting - N

N

• National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System - Program developed by the IAFC that prevents injuries and saves the lives of fire fighters by collecting, sharing and analyzing near-miss experiences. It gives firefighters the opportunity to learn from each other through real life experiences, formulates strategies to reduce firefighter injuries and fatalities, and attempts to enhance the safety culture of the fire service.
• NFPA: The National Fire Protection Association, a publisher which provides a methodology of developing a number of standards and practices for *firefighting, equipment, and fire protection in the United States, and also adopted in many other countries. Also, slang for "No Free Publications Available"; used as a criticism of publishers that produce "must-have" documents that are prohibitively expensive.
• NIOSH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. A U.S. agency responsible for investigation of workplace deaths, including firefighters.
• NIMS: The National Incident Management System. A federally mandated program for the standardizing of command terminology and procedures. This standardizes communications between fire departments and other agencies. It is based upon simple terms that will be used nationwide. Currently, U.S. federally required training programs, from DHS and FEMA, are in the process of standardizing many terms and procedures under NIMS.