Disaster Response Capabilities

By John “Skip” Coleman

One of the basic rules of the fire service for most of us is “Prepare for the usual, and have contingencies for the unusual.” I emphasize “most of us” because there are some departments that, for whatever reason, usually size, have the resources to fund and prepare for the most unusual event that could happen in their community. In today’s fire service, with economic and staffing issues as they are, it’s hard enough to properly staff and support fire and rescue protection for the community you serve, let alone take on “technical” specialties that require vast amounts of staffing, tools, and training that almost always equate to money. Most of us do not have the resources and have to have contingencies.

All of us—regardless of our department’s size, number of trained personnel, and amount of specialized equipment—must realize one thing: In a real disaster, we will have to respond and stand alone for a period of time. The question is, “How long can we stand alone, and what are we capable of until help arrives?”

This month, I was only a little surprised at the results. I thought that more departments would have to rely totally on mutual aid in a disaster in their community. Only seven of the 22 respondents stated that they had no capabilities at hand; 15 stated that they had the capability of urban search and rescue (USAR) response but would most assuredly have to receive assistance in a disaster. Several respondents were from large cities; all said they had specific capabilities but would have to rely on mutual aid.

Question: If a disaster occurred in your community, would you be able to call on your department’s USAR team/capabilities, or would you have to rely on mutual aid?

“BIGGER” DEPARTMENTS RESPOND

Richard Kelley, battalion chief, Oklahoma City (OK) Fire Department: In a disaster, our department has worked with the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security and approximately 30 other fire departments, law enforcement agencies, public works, and private subject matter experts in the state to provide USAR response. Oklahoma has the equipment cache of two Type I USAR Task Forces: one in the Oklahoma City Metro Area and one in the Tulsa Metro Area. We are self-sufficient for 72 hours, from food and water to force protection and communications.

Thomas Dunne, deputy chief, Fire Department of New York: USAR Task Forces from all over the country responded to New York City and provided vital support when the terrorist attacks occurred on 9/11. The experience reinforced the fact that no community is entirely self-sufficient when dealing with manmade or natural catastrophic events.

Michael T. Metro, assistant chief, Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department: We have two USAR teams—one in the South County and one in the North County. We also have a Type I deployable team with a full second roster and a number of regional USAR vehicles we can call on for mutual aid if needed.

Kevin Galt, firefighter/paramedic, Fort Lauderdale (FL) Fire Rescue: Granted, our skill level meets only the NFPA 1670 Operations level training overall, and our equipment cache is much smaller. We also have a fully staffed technical rescue and a hazmat team to assist. These teams, along with the equipment caches, emergency operations plan, and our own emergency operations center within the city, make us capable of handling a significant portion of the initial response to any disaster.

“SMALLER” DEPARTMENTS RESPOND

Robert Metzger, chief, Golden Gate (FL) Fire Control and Rescue District: In southwest Florida, disaster potential exists with every hurricane season. We maintain a state-certified Type II USAR team, which is deployable locally and statewide. In addition, neighboring fire districts maintain additional significant capabilities similar to those of our team that may be used through mutual aid.

Gary Seidel, chief, Hillsboro (OR) Fire Department: Any effort to strengthen our mutual-aid, automatic-aid, and state-aid agreements in specialized disciplines is a win for all departments and the citizens we serve.

Jeffrey Schwering, captain, Crestwood (MO) Department of Fire Services: If the event affects only a certain part of the county, everyone plays a part, if necessary. In a large-scale event, we would be on our own—no USAR capabilities—for as long as it takes.

Rick Lasky, chief, Lewisville (TX) Fire Department:We do not have our own USAR team; however, we are big believers in the USAR concept. If the need arises for a USAR response within our community, we have TX-TF1 and TX-TF2 on which we can rely. TX-TF2 runs primarily out of Dallas and can be here quickly. The team members are highly experienced and well trained. If we had an incident or a disaster and needed their response, we could count on them.

To read all the responses, go to www.fireengineering.com.

John “Skip” Coleman retired as assistant chief from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue. He is a technical editor of Fire Engineering; a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board; and author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997), Managing Major Fires (Fire Engineering, 2000), and Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer, Second Edition (Fire Engineering, 2008).

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