Ya Never Know: Volcano Awareness

By Michael Capoziello

“Firecom for … an auto accident … overhead traffic light signal down on a car.” Wait … what?

“Firecom for … a plane down, caught in overhead power lines.” Where?!

“Firecom for … a crane collapse at a construction site.” What the *@#%!?

You never know what the next 24 hours have in store for you and your department. Little stuff, big stuff, weird stuff, really weird stuff, and, unfortunately, really big stuff – maybe tragic and overwhelming.

I like to joke about taking the “Volcano Awareness” class if it is ever offered in New York State. But to be serious, you know our brothers and sisters in Hawaii have set plans and procedures in place for just such an event.

What’s the old saying? It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

Hazmat incidents. Elevator emergencies. Railroad accidents. Plane crashes. Terrorism incidents. Sinkholes, floods, landslides. Active shooter events. Incidents in which there will be a crush of media descending upon you, setting up tents. Are you prepared?

Who do you call for help when the “big” one bangs in? How long ’til they arrive? What do you do until they arrive?

As I was finishing up this piece, devastating tornados hit the Midwest, all but leveling the rather small town of Mayfield, Kentucky. The storms destroyed the main firehouse of the department, including the entire public safety infrastructure as well as most of the firefighter’s own homes. Now, I am sure the emergency service agencies in and around Mayfield were ready and well-versed in responding to tornados, but were they prepared for one of such catastrophic damage? Probably not.

Back in June, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, which would be considered by any standards a large-scale, state-of- the-art department, operating with 71 stations, an air rescue division and an urban search and rescue team, was challenged at the Surfside condominium collapse. This MFI (mass-fatality incident) happened in their response area. As a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, they have responded across the globe to disasters. But on this day, it was in their own backyard.

Now they were the ones requiring extensive mutual aid from other teams and support teams from across the state. A multitude of alphabet soup federal agencies converged on the scene over the course of the operation: DHS/FEMA, NIST, FBI, OSHA, NSF, USACE, to name a few. As with all rapidly expanding incidents the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was implemented through an Incident Management Team (IMT). If you are not familiar with NIMS you are already “behind the eight ball.”

Take seriously the courses you need to complete to achieve and maintain rank in your department. Understanding the NIMS System (100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800) and having the required levels required for your rank is a must and helps put in perspective how major incidents are run in extremely chaotic situations.

Be aware of the fire service around you, and afar. Subscribe to the various fire service magazines and join a few websites that share news and events of the happenings around the country. Whenever a large-scale, complex incident occurs, think about how you would handle the incident if it occurred in your response area.

Conduct an accurate risk assessment of your area. What target hazards do you have that would present a significant challenge in a worst-case scenario? What are the resources available to you and how would you get them? Develop an action plan.

Hazmat incidents. Elevator emergencies. Railroad accidents. Plane crashes. Terrorism incidents. Sinkholes, floods, landslides. Active shooter events. Are you prepared?

Learn from others. One of the more interesting seminars I have attended was in Baltimore years back. Chief Terry Shaffer described his small Pennsylvania volunteer department’s response to the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville on that tragic day of September 11, 2001. The Shanksville Fire Department has a part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike running through it. Members had thought their “big” one would be a charter bus accident or another large MCI vehicle accident. There was no way they could prepare for what happened. Chief Shaffer described the firefighting efforts and how they had to be conscious of and work with the FBI as the area was now a crime scene. By the hour, the incident grew with local, state and federal agencies all arriving. Chief Shaffer and his assistant had to interact with all of them during daily briefings for weeks.

No one is a master of every possible situation we may be called out to handle. Especially something of that magnitude. But, you had better be well-versed in how to manage all incidents that you encounter, at least minimally.

One last word of advice … avail yourself to the talent you may have in your departments. Firefighters, especially volunteer firefighters bring a lot of varied experiences and talents to the table. Maybe a member has experience in NIMS with his work as a police officer. Someone may work for the county building’s department. She works for the water department and DPW; he was the former Mayor of your town.

Look to all the former/Ex-Chiefs in your department. They have been there, done that. The “big” one is not the time to let your ego get in the way of reaching out to others for advice and guidance.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” As an officer or Chief, are you prepared for your chance? Remember it will all fall on your shoulders. Oh, and to be honest, I would probably take a Volcano Awareness class if offered. Sounds pretty cool and hey … ya never know.

Michael P. Capoziello is a 30-year member and former Chief of the Elmont Fire Department. He is a training officer, public information officer and department historian. A supervising dispatcher at Nassau County Fire Communications FIRECOM and a training officer on the fieldcom unit, Capoziello is also a 14-year member of the Nassau County fire service Critical Incident Stress Management Team.