Which of the following is a major area addressed in the National Incident Management System?

Resource management is a fundamental area addressed in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) because it focuses on the efficient identification, acquisition, allocation, and utilization of resources in emergency response operations. Effective resource management ensures that the right resources are available at the right time and place, which is essential for successful incident response and recovery.

This aspect of NIMS emphasizes the importance of cataloging and tracking resources to optimize their deployment during an incident. By incorporating standardized resource management practices, NIMS facilitates better coordination among various responding agencies and organizations, helping to avoid resource shortages or overlaps and ultimately leading to more effective incident management.

In contrast, while staging, accountability, and mitigation are also important concepts within the broader framework of emergency management, they are more specific components or methodologies employed towards achieving effective incident response rather than major areas outlined in NIMS. Staging refers to the pre-positioning of resources, accountability deals with the monitoring of personnel and resources, and mitigation focuses on reducing the impact of future incidents—all of which support the overall resource management goals established by NIMS.