Fire Service Situation Report - Katrina

International Association of Fire Chiefs ^ | September 7, 2005 | IAFC Staff

[Species8472]

This situation report is meant as an update to IAFC members on IAFC's activity regarding the Katrina recovery efforts. Additional reports will be filed as information becomes available. PLEASE NOTE: Updates are posted regularly to our Web site, www.iafc.org , and will be e-mailed daily this week after 4pm EST.

Please visit the IAFC Web site at http://www.iafc.org/hurricane to find out the latest information rather than relying on e-mailed updates.

• The IAFC is providing at NOFD request, several association members in key command and control positions in the NOFD Emergency Operations Center in City Hall
  
  
• NOFD logistics and housing are operating at a compound across the Mississippi in Algiers; FEMA in bringing in a kitchen to improve conditions; firefighters and chief fire officers are working out of tents.
  
  
• On Wednesday afternoon, IAFC leaders met with the White House Deputy Chief of Staff to discuss the federal response, how the hurricane's devastation has affected the fire service in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and how the IAFC can assist in the evaluation and improvement of our nation's disaster response
  
  
• The IAFC leaders engaged in the Washington, DC activities include President Bill Killen, First Vice President Jim Harmes, Second Vice President Steve Westermann, Immediate Past President Bob DiPoli, and IAFC Executive Director Garry Briese
  
  
• The IAFC leadership is actively following very busy schedules on the Hill throughout this week including meetings with the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Chairman Shuster, Senator Kennedy's staff, Senators Alexander and Biden, Chair of the Congressional Fire Caucus, meetings with the USFA, and the White House among others. They are representing what the IAFC members, and the fire service have done and are highlighting the success stories from the fire service response.
  
  
• The discussions provide legislators, legislative staff and other federal officials with our perspective of the tremendous job that our nations fire service has done to respond to Katrina and the fact that the fire service prepared, stood the fury of the hurricane, and then stayed on the job despite relocating their families, the terrible impact of the storm and storm surge, the destruction of many firefighter homes, the damage and destruction of fire stations, fire apparatus, equipment and the near total loss of communications systems. 

 

Some of the specific issues that have emerged from these discussions included legislative interest in such topics as ensuring public safety officers' families receive priority in getting temporary housing and assistance to rebuild their homes; ensuring that FEMA will assist with the rebuilding of firehouses and the restoration of firefighting equipment and staffing; delaying the April 15 tax filing date for inhabitants of the localities affected by Hurricane Katrina and the responding public safety, military and aid workers; and ensuring that fire departments have priority in obtaining gasoline and oil to run their apparatus and other firefighting equipment, in case the effects of Hurricane Katrina result in gas shortages. 

 

In every meeting over this week, Chief Bill Killen and the entire IAFC leadership team, have offered IAFC experience and expertise in making specific recommendations to improve how the fire service and other first responders provide statewide and inter-state mutual aid, including the operation of the EMAC, the inter-state emergency management mutual aid program

 

 

SIT REP #3 - September 6, 2005

The IAFC thanks the nation's fire service for the outpouring of support. At this time NO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES are required. The Louisiana state EOC and EMAC have requested the IAFC disseminate this information ASAP. In addition, US Fire Administrator R. David Paulison issued this statement late Wednesday afternoon:

“ The United States Fire Administration wishes to thank the fire service for the magnificent response in support of the Hurricane Katrina community relations mission. More than 4000 fire fighters responded to the call and are being sent for this critical humanitarian mission to assist our fellow Americans in this time of great need. Due to the benevolence of the American fire service, we have met our goals and no further solicitation of the fire service is anticipated. The USFA call center has suspended processing new applications effective September 6, 2005 . Again, we want to thank all those who responded.”

Any previous orders through EMAC for fire service resources are cancelled except those units that are already in Louisiana .

This catastrophe will take months to recover from and will require additional support from the nation's fire service. Louisiana will make those requests for support through the EMAC and FEMA channels. Please do not call to offer assistance. For questions concerning IAFC's efforts, please refer to the Web page on Katrina Response. If you have questions we haven't answered, please send them to Katrina@iafc.org . Again, we thank you for your generous support.

This situation report is meant as an update to IAFC members on IAFC's activity regarding the Katrina recovery efforts. Additional reports will be filed as information becomes available. PLEASE NOTE: Updates are posted regularly to our Web site, www.iafc.org, and will be e-mailed daily this week after 4pm EST.

Please visit the IAFC Web site at http://www.iafc.org/hurricane to find out the latest information rather than relying on e-mailed updates.

• Reports from IAFC members at command posts in Baton Rouge (the joint IAFF/IAFC operation) and New Orleans are coming in on a regular basis to IAFC HQ. A more efficient command and control system is now in place in the Louisiana EOC. It largely went into effect Wednesday morning following a three-hour meeting the night before. The first IAP was provided by ESF4 on Tuesday morning
  

• IAFC has three members at the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) EOC on the 9 th floor of City Hall a couple of blocks from the Super Dome. These three are working as part of the Incident Management Team for NOFD under its incident commander and functioning in the roles of logistics, operations and as aides to incident command. Incidents are being dispatched by receiving calls through whatever mechanism they can. They then place them on 3x5 cards and dispatch via cell or satellite phone.
  
  

• Crews and chiefs in hard-hit areas are not requesting additional relief and are, in some specific cases, advising relief crews that their assistance is not required. Individual self-dispatching is an issue. Chiefs should discourage firefighters and other officers from heading south, especially to New Orleans. Now that the command and control system is in place, working outside of that system makes things worse for the first-responders. Large crews from Illinois and FDNY are on site. The USAR teams' role is winding down and becoming more support and body recovery or they are being relieved and returning home.

  
  

• The fire service in affected areas appears to be holding its own. They are responding to calls and continuing to serve their communities. IAFF/IAFC EOC reports that although the departments are not where they were pre-hurricane, they are getting the job done. An emerging issue is the continued effort to relieve dedicated firefighters and chief officers who are committed to their communities and reluctant to leave.
  
  

• Apparatus destruction may not be as high as initially estimated. Most, if not all, of NOFD rolling apparatus were evacuated to higher ground. However, neither NOFD apparatus, nor the many trucks sent by other communities, can move into New Orleans because of flooding.
  
  
• Approximately 70 percent of NOFD stations are damaged, primarily because of flooding.
  
  
• The City of New Orleans has a residency requirement and about 70 percent of its firefighters, fire officers and their families lost their homes and belongings.
  
  

• At IAFF/IAFC EOC in Baton Rouge , command reports that both career and volunteer firefighters are being treated well. The immediate needs of those inside the Zorah Baptist Church command center are being met and church personnel have been very accommodating.

 

 

SIT REP #2 - September 5, 2005

Over the weekend, IAFC staff and board members continued to communicate and work directly with its partners at the International Association of Fire Fighters and the US Fire Administration and those on the ground in hard-hit areas trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

This report is meant as an update to IAFC members on IAFC's activity regarding the Katrina recovery efforts. Additional reports will be filed as information becomes available. PLEASE NOTE: Updates are posted regularly to our Web site, www.iafc.org, and will be e-mailed daily this week after 4pm EST.

Please visit the IAFC Web site at http://www.iafc.org/hurricane to find out the latest information rather than relying on e-mailed updates.

• IAFC membership has responded and 17 chief fire officers are on the ground; 13 in New Orleans to assist Chief Charles Parent, four are at the joint IAFF/IAFC Command Center. Heavy rains this morning have made travel into and out of hard-hit areas even more challenging.

 

• IAFC Executive Director Garry Briese has been in frequent contact with US Fire Administrator Dave Paulison. Briese reports the ultimate need for the fire service in the affected areas is current on-the-ground information. He discussed assessing fire service needs with Chief Paulison two days ago. The problem is that USFA does not have jurisdiction. Solutions at several levels are underway.

 

• ESF4 is being established. Texas is sending a Type I team.

 

• Forty CR Teams are being reassigned and dispatched to assess needs of fire departments within impacted areas; 20 teams to Louisiana; 10 teams to Mississippi and 10 teams to Alabama.

 

• Some CR Teams are being sent to areas outside the states that were hit by Katrina and are raising questions about the use of their skills in deployment to evacuee shelters in Texas and California. "This is an essential function and while it is not in an emergency rescue component, we have citizens in crisis and the service needed is the help these CR Teams can supply. We know the fire service will be resourceful and may be placed in a position to assist the local jurisdictions," said Chief Killen, IAFC president. Dennis O'Nieal, superintendent of the National Fire Academy has been dispatched to the Atlanta training site work with the briefing of the firefighters who are in the CR roles.

 

• IAFF is concentrating on CISD teams; five are in Baton Rouge.

 

• 300 FDNY firefighters are on the ground and are relieving NOFD personnel. IAFF was able to get 40 relief firefighters to devastated St. Bernard Parish. Plans are underway to relieve the chief there. Relieving fire leadership in affected areas is a priority issue being addressed.

 

• IAFC President Bill Killen, IAFC 1st Vice President Jim Harmes, IAFC 2nd Vice President Steve Westermann and Immediate Past President Bob DiPoli will be working in Washington, DC with the IAFC government relations team to brief members of Congress this week.

 

• Chief Killen reinforced the need for the IAFC to get to the right people on the Hill. He is hearing that the self-dispatching that has been going on has and will continue to snowball.

 

• We are attempting to confirm that a federal IMT has been reassigned to help the New Orleans FD.

 

• The following numbers from the Louisiana State EOC are PRELIMINARY figures regarding the statistics of the fire departments in the immediate New Orleans area:
  • 5 Parishes
  • 47 Fire Departments
  • 6 Career Departments
  • 25 Combination Departments (career and volunteer)
  • 9 All-Volunteer Departments
  • 7 Unknown
  • 1,635 known career fire fighters
  • 1,324 known volunteer fire fighters
  • population served: 1.2 million

   

• The outlying area is still being assessed. Please note that these figures are VERY PRELIMINARY and are subject to change.

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[Species8472]

-Snip - The fire service in affected areas appears to be holding its own. They are responding to calls and continuing to serve their communities. IAFF/IAFC EOC reports that although the departments are not where they were pre-hurricane, they are getting the job done. An emerging issue is the continued effort to relieve dedicated firefighters and chief officers who are committed to their communities and reluctant to leave. _Snip_

[UB355]

This is the same organization that endorsed Al Gore and John Kerry.

[DallasMike]

Fellow Freepers:

At the suggestion of writer Michelle Malkin last Friday, I have cobbled together a blogsite called Texas Clearinghouse for Katrina Aid to serve as a clearinghouse for refugee efforts in Texas.

Texas is getting more refugees than any other state -- that's fine, we'll take them all -- but we need help providing them with food, clothing, and shelter.

If you are a refugee, you can information that will help you find relief. If you want to donate or volunteer, you can find someone who needs you.

Right now the site mostly covers Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas but I will add various churches, schools, and other charities in Lubbock and Austin tonight. My wife was down at Reunion Arena in Dallas yesterday handing out care packages and spiritually ministering to the refugees as a representative of her employer. She says that the situation is tragic and that there's a lot of work to be done. There are so many children who don't know where their parents are or even if their parents are still alive.

There are a lot of churches and other organizations in Texas that need help in dealing with the problem and I would appreciate it if you would get the word out.

Many thanks,

Michael McCullough

Stingray blogsite

[Species8472]

Sorry, You are thinking of the IAFF (Firefighters Union) Most members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs that I know are overwelmingly conservative.

[Species8472]

Sorry, You are thinking of the IAFF (Firefighters Union) Most members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs that I know are overwelmingly conservative.