U. S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced approval of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Nation's first standardized management plan that creates a unified structure for Federal, state, and local lines of government for incident response. "NIMS gives all of our Nation's responders the same framework for incident management and fully puts into practice the concept of, 'One mission, one team, one fight,'" Ridge said. "I recognize the efforts of the dedicated professionals from state and local governments, law enforcement, the fire and emergency management communities, emergency medical services…