Over the weekend, IAFC staff and board members continued to communicate and work directly with 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 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.