An incident management team (IMT) is dispatched or mobilized during complex emergency incidents to provide a command and control infrastructure in order to manage the operational, logistical, informational, planning, fiscal, community, political, and safety issues associated with complex incidents.
IMTs include people from federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities. They volunteer to perform the collateral responsibilities of incident management response in addition to their regular employment duties.
Complex incident management teams (CIMT) are available for assignment to manage large-scale, complex incidents anywhere in the United States. They most commonly respond to large wildfires, but CIMTs can be assigned to any complex all-risk situation including VIP visits or multi-day special events, search and rescue efforts, and hurricanes, floods, and other disasters. Interagency wildland fire teams were assigned to assist FEMA after the September 11th attack, the 2003 Columbia shuttle recovery effort, and Hurricane Katrina.