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Hurricane Sandy, firefighting resources update, November 1, 2012

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , , 1 Comment on Hurricane Sandy, firefighting resources update, November 1, 2012

The primary mission of these firefighters is debris removal and road clearance for electrical power personnel.

Hurricane Sandy Firefighting Resources Committed as of November 1, 2012 at 0600.

Connecticut

  • Incident Management Team Type 2 (Grant)
  • Two Type 2IA Crews (MI & MN)

New York

  • Three Type 2 Crews
  • Two Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crews (Cherokee short IHC, and Augusta short IHC)
  • Five 2 person Saw Crews
  • Two Incident Management Team Type 2: (Pisarek) operating at East Farmingdale, and the Maine IMTeam (IC Jeff Currier) operating in Brooklyn.
  • NIMO (National Incident Management Organization) (Quesenberry) assigned to support Nassau County NY.
  • NIMO (Kleinman) assigned to NYC Mob Center in route
  • NIMO (Hahnenberg) assigned to NY State Coordination Center in route

Massachusetts: Fort Devens

  • Incident Management Team Type 2 (Kollmeyer)

Pennsylvania: Harrisburg

  • Incident Management Team Type 1 (Wilder)
  • Two Type 2 crews
  • Five IHC Crews (Fulton, Breckenridge, Los Padres, Palomar, Laguna) arriving 11/1/12

West Virginia: Charleston

  • Type 2 IA Crew

It is interesting that none of the Incident Commanders listed on the web site for the four NIMO teams are participating in this incident. At least one of them, Steve Gage, has moved to another job. There is no way to tell when the web site was last updated. We are checking on this and will have more information later about the NIMO teams.

HERE is a link to a five-minute podcast Jennifer Jones, a Public Affairs Specialist with the USFS in Boise did yesterday with Steve Gage, the new Assistant Director for Operations with the USFS at NIFC, about using IMTeams and fire crews to help with hurricanes and other non-fire emergencies.

Hurricane Sandy, firefighting resources update, October 31, 2012

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

Here is the latest information we have gathered from the National Interagency Fire Center and the Eastern Area Coordination Center concerning the firefighters and incident management teams that are assisting with the recovery from Hurricane Sandy.

This is a very fluid situation. Some resources are arriving at one location and being reassigned in another state. The list is probably not complete or 100 percent accurate, but it will give you an idea of how wildland firefighters are assisting with the recovery.

Firefighting Resources Committed:

Massachusetts:

  • Team: one short Type 2 Incident Management Team (Grant), staged at Fort Devens, MA.
  • Crews: two Type-2 IA fire crews (MI and MN); staged at Fort Devens, MA.

New York:

  • Teams: One short Type 1 IMT (Pisarek) is operating a supply depot. Also en route or arrived are three National Incident Management Organization Teams (NIMO) (Quesenberry, Hahnenberg, and Houseman; Dan Kleinman is the IC on the Houseman team)
  • Crews: Cherokee IHC Short Crew, Augusta IHC, and five 2 person Saw Crews
  • Buying Team: one is assigned to work remotely supporting IMTs.

Pennsylvania:

  • Team: one Type 1 IMT (Wilder) at Middletown, PA is operating a mobilization center.
  • Crews: four crews are en route or have arrived in PA (Laguna IHC, Palomar IHC, Los Padres IHC, and Breckenridge IHC) ; two of them will probably be reassigned to NY

HERE is a link to a five-minute podcast Jennifer Jones, a Public Affairs Specialist with the USFS in Boise did yesterday with Steve Gage, the new Assistant Director for Operations with the USFS at NIFC, about using IMTeams and fire crews to help with hurricanes and other non-fire emergencies.

Update on wildfire resources responding to Hurricane Sandy recovery

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , , 3 Comments on Update on wildfire resources responding to Hurricane Sandy recovery

Since our report yesterday about the wildfire resources being sent to the east coast to assist with the recovery from the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, there has been an increase in the numbers heading east. Yesterday there were 2 Incident Management Teams and 7 crews or portions of crews being mobilized. Today 5 incident management teams and 11 wildfire suppression crews or portions of crews, for a total of more than 200 personnel, are ordered, staged in, or en route to New York, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. One of the IMTeams is a National Incident Management Organization, or NIMO team. (We need to come up with a better name for these teams. “National Incident Management Organization Team” is almost as bad a term as “fire for resource benefits”.)

The firefighters ordered, en route, staged, or on scene include:

  • Two interagency hotshot crews, one 20-person Type 2 wildfire suppression hand crew, one 10-person saw crew, and one short Type 2 incident management team (Pisarek) are staged at or en route to Republic Airport, Farmingdale, New York (Long Island). The IMTeam will be operating a supply depot.
  • Two 20-person Type 2 wildfire suppression handcrews are enroute to Washington, DC. A short Type 2 incident management team has been ordered for Washington, DC.
  • Three 20-person Type 2 wildfire suppression handcrews en route to Pennsylvania. A short Type 2 IMTeam has been ordered for Annville, Pennsylvania.
  • The Southwest National Incident Management Organization team (Houseman) has been sent to Lakehurst, New Jersey. Dan Kleinman will be the Incident Commander.
  • Two 20-person Type 2 wildfire suppression hand crews and one short Type 2 incident management team (Grant) staged at Fort Deven, Massachusetts.

I expect that as responders switch from rescue to recovery and are able to gain access to the impacted areas through blocked roads to access the damage, there will be increasing demands for crews and perhaps IMTeams.

Incident Management Teams dispatched for hurricane recovery

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 8 Comments on Incident Management Teams dispatched for hurricane recovery

Updated at 11:50 a.m. MT, October 29, 2012

Firefighters in the land management agencies have been dispatched to the east coast to be prepared to assist with recovery from the impacts of the mega-storm, Hurricane Sandy.

Incident Management Teams activated

Two short versions of conventional Type 2 IMTeams have been dispatched. Grant’s team from the Eastern Area is pre-positioned at Ft. Devan Mass., and Pisarek’s team from Minn. with 11 people is pre-positioned at Oneida County Airport near Albany, New York.

There is a report that two other teams have been ordered. We will update this article when we have more information.

In addition, two of the National Park Service’s internal Type 2 IMTeams have been activated and staged. The Eastern Region’s team IMT is in Hagerstown, Maryland, and the Midwest Region’s team is in Columbus, Ohio. The NPS has many parks and national monuments along the east coast and in the New York area that are being heavily affected by the storm. More details about the impacts on those facilities today can be found here. Their Morning Report, updated each week day, will have ongoing information.

Crews dispatched

Pre-positioned at Ft. Deven, MA:

  • MN-MFC Type 2 crew
  • MI-HMF/MI-UPC Type 2 crew

Pre-positioned at Oneida County Airport near Albany, NY:

  • MO-MOC Type 2 crew (arriving tonight)

Ordered for or en route to Republic Airport, Farmingdale, NY (Long Island):

  • Augusta IHC
  • Cherokee IHC module
  • 10-person VAF saw crew
  • 20-person crew (TBD)

Federal Emergency Management Agency response

FEMA’s Emergency Support Function (ESF) #4, Firefighting, is the responsibility of the U.S. Forest Service. The agency is the primary link between the interagency wildland fire community, Federal structure-fire-related agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security under the National Response Framework. During disasters and other major emergencies, the USFS coordinates and staffs ESF #4 to be the face of Federal firefighting support to FEMA and other responding agencies.

ESF #4 offices have opened in four locations: FEMA headquarters, FEMA Region I in Maynard, MA, FEMA Region II in Earle, NJ, and FEMA Region III in Philadelphia, PA.

The FEMA blog has more information about how the agency is dealing with the storm.

Information about the hurricane

Here are two Google Maps that provide detailed information:

 

Massachusetts: Dog reports fire, saves house

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Robert Lane and his dog, Max

In Ipswich, Massachusetts yesterday, a dog escaped from his leash, discovered a fire, then like Lassie, barked at his 13-year old master and led him to the fire.

Like a scene out of “Lassie,” Robert Lane, 13, followed his barking dog yesterday to a brush fire burning in the woods behind the family’s home, then ran to a vernal pool to soak his T-shirt in water to try to put out the 10-foot circle of flames.

“I just wanted to get it out as fast as possible,” Robert said.

Discovering the fire was bigger than he thought, Robert ran home to tell his mother, who called the Fire Department at 12:30 p.m. If not detected early by Robert and the family dog, Max, who had escaped its leash, the brush fire could have easily spread and damaged the home and construction business located on their property at 285 High St., David Lane said.

“It could’ve been 10 times worse,” David Lane said by phone last night. “If it wasn’t for the dog getting off the leash, we wouldn’t have a house.”

Firefighters from six communities were able to contain the fire to a 400-by-800 foot area of woods, about three-quarters of an acre, on property across from the Dow Brook Reservoir, said Ipswich firefighter Lee Prentiss. Lane’s antique horse-drawn manure spreader was destroyed, but an estimated 30 to 40 pieces of his equipment were not damaged.

From the Salem News. Photo courtesy of the Daily News.