FEMA independent study courses.

Free, self-paced courses from FEMA's Emergency Management Institute. The first four are the general ICS/NIMS foundation most agencies require. The fifth is the one actually written for telecommunicators, not adapted from a police or fire course.

Start here: create your FEMA SID

FEMA SID

Create your FEMA Student Identification (SID) (opens in new tab)

You'll need one to get a certificate after finishing a course. It ties to a login.gov account. Takes a few minutes to set up, one time only.

The courses

IS-100.c

Introduction to the Incident Command System (opens in new tab)

The starting point. Covers ICS history, structure, and how it fits with NIMS. Most agencies require this first.

IS-200.c

Basic ICS for Initial Response (opens in new tab)

For anyone likely to take a supervisory role during an incident. Builds directly on IS-100.

IS-700.b

An Introduction to the National Incident Management System (opens in new tab)

The national framework ICS sits inside. Required alongside IS-100 almost everywhere.

IS-800.d

National Response Framework, An Introduction (opens in new tab)

How local, state, and federal response fits together during a large-scale incident.

IS-144.a

TERT Basic (opens in new tab)

Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce Basic, the one course on this list actually written for dispatch, not adapted from a police or fire curriculum.