Federal system is framework for city drill
By Scott J. Croteau
Telegram & Gazette
Copyright 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
WORCESTER, Mass. — Firefighters from the New England area and two city police officers discussed scenarios, escape routes and possible actions to be taken in response to a fire in a 20-story building with people trapped on the 17th and 19th floors.
Although the whole scene was played out on paper and dry-erase boards, public safety officials taking part in the Homeland Security-driven drill yesterday said there is a need to train and practice coordination in case of a large-scale emergency.
The drill was an application of Incident Command System, which several area fire officials have taken part in over the past few years. The system is part of the National Incident Management System, which was developed so public safety responders from different regions of the country can work together under a uniform system during a large-scale disaster, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Web site.
NIMS training is mandated for communities if they want to receive grants from Homeland Security.
“This course helps us to prepare, learn the forms that are necessary so we can fit into the federal NIMS system,” Worcester District Fire Chief Frank D. DiLiddo III said at the training inside the Hilton Garden Inn downtown. “It brings the command staff to one of the highest levels out there.”
Auburn Fire Chief William A. Whynot said the day-to-day operations do not require this kind of large-scale planning, but the NIMS system was utilized during the May 1, 2006, fire in which more than 125 acres burned in his town and nearby.
“We knew we needed to break off into sectors,” he said, noting not one person could have managed the multiple teams fighting the fire. “Where this program would have come in would be planning ahead. We know what we are doing now, but where are we going to be four hours from now?”
Frank T. Cardinale, division chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, brought in by Homeland Security to assist with training, said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks showed everyone the need for a national system, but there are natural disasters every day.
“We always recognized the big things can happen to any jurisdiction, terrorism is just another part of it,” he said. Tornadoes, the hurricanes and flooding caused by Katrina and wildfires are all major disasters in which other states help each other. NIMS and training exercises such as yesterday’s event keep everyone on the same page, he said.
“We work from the same playbook on large-scale incidents,” Chief DiLiddo said.