mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Care to share what worked for you as far as your preparedness/response to the storms, how they affected you, how your work prepared then reacted?
Are you a Sandy, Katrina or Rita survivor?
- Thread starter mycrofft
- Start date
DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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Sandy hit us pretty hard. The shores were hit much harder, but the urban cities (where I work) and anywhere that had a river near by had to deal with more wind and water than they were used to. lots of flooding in Hudson County, completely crippled those cities.
The second biggest problem that hit us was the power outages. The city was completely blacked out for 36 hours. HQ had no power, dispatcher had no power or water (dispatch ran on generators for essential equipment), and when power went out, so did the fuel pumps for the trucks, as well as fuel for POVs for people who were commuting.
my home was out of electricity and heat for 7 days, worked the first 36 hours (straight), made it home after day 3 or 4 to make sure my home was ok (my side of town wasn't hit hard, the other end of town had much more severe flood damages, lots of people lost their entire homes, including many firefighters and EMTs while they were out helping others).
Good things my agency did: OT was approved for all open shifts for a week following the storm hit. cots were set up for people to sleep during off hours. Special Operations Crews were scheduled in advance. extra staffing was put into dispatch to handle the call volume.
In the surrounding areas, EMS task force resources were set up to help out flood areas that didn't have access to hospitals (like our mobile ER), Mass Casualty units were deployed, EMS Task Force Technology Support Units were deployed to areas where the police department's dispatcher centers were out of power or they had to abandon the area, and we had ambulance strike forces from other states respond in to assist flooded urban areas with the severe call back log.
With one exception (which I won't go into), I think my agency and the state's EMS system in general handled it pretty well. Best thing was we had the staffing in place when the storm hit, and we kept out staffing levels above our minimum for the duration of the storm response and recovery.
The second biggest problem that hit us was the power outages. The city was completely blacked out for 36 hours. HQ had no power, dispatcher had no power or water (dispatch ran on generators for essential equipment), and when power went out, so did the fuel pumps for the trucks, as well as fuel for POVs for people who were commuting.
my home was out of electricity and heat for 7 days, worked the first 36 hours (straight), made it home after day 3 or 4 to make sure my home was ok (my side of town wasn't hit hard, the other end of town had much more severe flood damages, lots of people lost their entire homes, including many firefighters and EMTs while they were out helping others).
Good things my agency did: OT was approved for all open shifts for a week following the storm hit. cots were set up for people to sleep during off hours. Special Operations Crews were scheduled in advance. extra staffing was put into dispatch to handle the call volume.
In the surrounding areas, EMS task force resources were set up to help out flood areas that didn't have access to hospitals (like our mobile ER), Mass Casualty units were deployed, EMS Task Force Technology Support Units were deployed to areas where the police department's dispatcher centers were out of power or they had to abandon the area, and we had ambulance strike forces from other states respond in to assist flooded urban areas with the severe call back log.
With one exception (which I won't go into), I think my agency and the state's EMS system in general handled it pretty well. Best thing was we had the staffing in place when the storm hit, and we kept out staffing levels above our minimum for the duration of the storm response and recovery.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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THanks, DrP. Well said.
"Mass Casualty units were deployed, EMS Task Force Technology Support Units"
WHat are these? Is there a URL?
I hope the dearth of responses is not due to members still getting their ducks back in line.
"Mass Casualty units were deployed, EMS Task Force Technology Support Units"
WHat are these? Is there a URL?
I hope the dearth of responses is not due to members still getting their ducks back in line.
OP
OP
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Does dating all three count?
Were they disasters and threatened to destroy your entire neighborhood?
Bullets
Forum Knucklehead
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Here is the NJEMSTF facebook page. Tons of good photos
http://www.facebook.com/pages/EMS-Task-Force-State-of-New-Jersey/113769656192
So i live right on the coast. I started preparing the day the Euro Model came out when they said it was going to hit us. This is like a week before, its still an Invest. I told my parents they needed to prepare. stop buying food, get gas, fill jerry cans and vehicles, dust of the generator, ect. I packed by 72hour bag because even though my house is only 5 minutes from work, i rarely ever get a chance to go home and end up sleeping in quarters the whole time. So three days worth of clothes, food, water, personal effects, spare radio batteries, chargers for everything, meds, ect. Total prepper set-up. Move my bedding into the squad Thursday before the storm.
While this is happening i start getting my EMT's ready. Fuel all trucks, take pictures of everything, document any damage or repairs that are needed before the storm. My supervisors think i am over-reacting and this isnt going to be bad (Irene-syndrome) The town has not yet began full preparations besides ordering fuel. Sand and bags are available but you have to fill them yourself. A weeks worth of NIMS paperwork is printed out, 214 forms ect. Friday comes, now the town is starting to move. Ive got every rig in town stocked, fueled and documented. I have my guys go and get every blanket, sheet and pillow they can from the hospital and stock the truck. We also fill all of our O2 tanks now and have 12 M bottles delivered for the cascade system.
Saturday my guys are off at 1200hrs. Sunday we get recalled as it starts raining. We do one final check of our swiftwater gear. suits ropes, boats, motors and everything are checked over and laid out. We go food shopping for our squad. We are ready to rock and be self sufficient for up to 5 days. Reserve fuel has been obtained, food and water stored, generators are in position. Cots are set up and we are go. Storm is 36 hours out, the major storm surge will happen at approx 2000hrs monday night. Town now goes into crisis mode, recalls all volunteer EMT and Firemen and they begin the process of staffing and activating their buildings.
Since we are not doing anything but watching TV, we are tasked with making evacuation notices, which we do. Storm comes, we make about 50 rescues from people who didnt heed the warnings
To this day the town will tell you they didnt know it was going to be this bad until sunday night. They claim the forecast changed that night. They are lying. Many of the fire companies and squads did not have enough food. Many citizens werent prepared. Most cops got held over with once change of clothes for 3 days.
Poorly handled by the township, and we made out well. Other towns just didnt think this was going to be bad (Irene-syndrome) Those towns dont exist
http://www.facebook.com/pages/EMS-Task-Force-State-of-New-Jersey/113769656192
So i live right on the coast. I started preparing the day the Euro Model came out when they said it was going to hit us. This is like a week before, its still an Invest. I told my parents they needed to prepare. stop buying food, get gas, fill jerry cans and vehicles, dust of the generator, ect. I packed by 72hour bag because even though my house is only 5 minutes from work, i rarely ever get a chance to go home and end up sleeping in quarters the whole time. So three days worth of clothes, food, water, personal effects, spare radio batteries, chargers for everything, meds, ect. Total prepper set-up. Move my bedding into the squad Thursday before the storm.
While this is happening i start getting my EMT's ready. Fuel all trucks, take pictures of everything, document any damage or repairs that are needed before the storm. My supervisors think i am over-reacting and this isnt going to be bad (Irene-syndrome) The town has not yet began full preparations besides ordering fuel. Sand and bags are available but you have to fill them yourself. A weeks worth of NIMS paperwork is printed out, 214 forms ect. Friday comes, now the town is starting to move. Ive got every rig in town stocked, fueled and documented. I have my guys go and get every blanket, sheet and pillow they can from the hospital and stock the truck. We also fill all of our O2 tanks now and have 12 M bottles delivered for the cascade system.
Saturday my guys are off at 1200hrs. Sunday we get recalled as it starts raining. We do one final check of our swiftwater gear. suits ropes, boats, motors and everything are checked over and laid out. We go food shopping for our squad. We are ready to rock and be self sufficient for up to 5 days. Reserve fuel has been obtained, food and water stored, generators are in position. Cots are set up and we are go. Storm is 36 hours out, the major storm surge will happen at approx 2000hrs monday night. Town now goes into crisis mode, recalls all volunteer EMT and Firemen and they begin the process of staffing and activating their buildings.
Since we are not doing anything but watching TV, we are tasked with making evacuation notices, which we do. Storm comes, we make about 50 rescues from people who didnt heed the warnings
To this day the town will tell you they didnt know it was going to be this bad until sunday night. They claim the forecast changed that night. They are lying. Many of the fire companies and squads did not have enough food. Many citizens werent prepared. Most cops got held over with once change of clothes for 3 days.
Poorly handled by the township, and we made out well. Other towns just didnt think this was going to be bad (Irene-syndrome) Those towns dont exist
Achilles
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NYMedic828
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Personally I don't live on the water so my town was only hit with wind damage. My home sustained power outage for one week and I lived up at the firehouse for that time where we have a full time generator.
I was off from work in NYC the actual night of the storm and spent that time at the firehouse. We originally entertained all calls but eventually we shut down our phone lines to anything that wasn't a true emergency. We simply could not respond to 100 calls an hour for wires down and burning.
In the after days I mostly drove around in a pickup truck with a chainsaw and chains cutting and pulling trees out of roadways. I was supposed to go to work the next day but I told them I couldn't make it in. I felt my efforts would do more good to help around my own town then to go sit on a street corner in NYC doing the same old nonsense.
I also spent a couple of days helping with the charity drives and doing some clothing runs to the less fortunate towns on the water that were simply devestated by the flood waters.
When I went back to work I was deployed to Far Rockaway multiple times. We drove around and explored the area which was just a ghost town. No power anywhere whatsoever other than the work lights they brought in. We found a few areas with 6 or 7 homes burnt to the ground.
All I have to show for it now is the dermatitis I picked up from something while cutting trees and whatnot. Its itchy but going away...
We weren't prepared for this event. We always assume it won't happen to us but when it does it hits hard. These things are happening more and more frequently and I hope next time people take it more seriously instead of acting like its fine until it no longer is.
I was off from work in NYC the actual night of the storm and spent that time at the firehouse. We originally entertained all calls but eventually we shut down our phone lines to anything that wasn't a true emergency. We simply could not respond to 100 calls an hour for wires down and burning.
In the after days I mostly drove around in a pickup truck with a chainsaw and chains cutting and pulling trees out of roadways. I was supposed to go to work the next day but I told them I couldn't make it in. I felt my efforts would do more good to help around my own town then to go sit on a street corner in NYC doing the same old nonsense.
I also spent a couple of days helping with the charity drives and doing some clothing runs to the less fortunate towns on the water that were simply devestated by the flood waters.
When I went back to work I was deployed to Far Rockaway multiple times. We drove around and explored the area which was just a ghost town. No power anywhere whatsoever other than the work lights they brought in. We found a few areas with 6 or 7 homes burnt to the ground.
All I have to show for it now is the dermatitis I picked up from something while cutting trees and whatnot. Its itchy but going away...
We weren't prepared for this event. We always assume it won't happen to us but when it does it hits hard. These things are happening more and more frequently and I hope next time people take it more seriously instead of acting like its fine until it no longer is.
DesertMedic66
Forum Troll
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That's along the same lines that I noticed in lower NY. People didn't think it was going to be bad. No one was prepared. Hardly anyone filled up their tanks with gas before hand. People were running out of food 1-2 days after the storm.
It seemed as tho most of the citizens did have the "it's not going to be bad at all" mind set.
It seemed as tho most of the citizens did have the "it's not going to be bad at all" mind set.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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I'm thankful and impressed with this response. There are lessons here for everyone about human nature and preparedness.
If you have experience with any other disasters (big fires, tonadoes, other hurricanes or more about the Big Three) jump in!
I started this because I am NOT seeing the immediate honest recollections elsewhere.
If you have experience with any other disasters (big fires, tonadoes, other hurricanes or more about the Big Three) jump in!
I started this because I am NOT seeing the immediate honest recollections elsewhere.
DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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This article has a pretty big description of what resources the NJ EMS task force can bring to the table.http://www.emsworld.com/article/103...e-special-capabilities-for-special-situations
Here are some pictures of the vehicles form UMDNJ EMS: http://www.uh-ems.org/sov.html (it was the first hit when I googled ems task force TSU). I am sure there are others with better pictures and better descriptions.
There are identical vehicles scattered all over the state, assigned to EMS agencies, funded by grant money. pictures are on the FB page for the TF.
From what I saw, the biggest problems among the public is the power outages that lasted 3+ days. people had food, but when refrigeration stopped (due to power loss), all the stockpiled food when bad. Not only that, but electric starters on ovens didn't work, so people weren't able to cook the food. plus with no electricity came no heat. or cell phone chargers.
The smart people fueled up before the storm, the not so smart (like my spouse) didn't. But even so, after 4 days, people needed to fuel their cars. After 7, even those who filled up before the storm were looking to get fuel for their cars and generators.
After day 4 or so, County OEM/FEMA started giving out bags of ice and water to all residents.
As for me personally, I packed for a 3 day stay at work. enough uniforms, toiletries, and snacks to keep me going. Plus bedding and all the necessary charging, laptop/ipad for when communications crashed and I needed something to keep me sane at 3am. If I was on the truck, I'd also bring my turnout gear, and make sure my flashlights were charged. worse case scenario, I have to carry all the stuff back and do more laundry when I get home.
Hate to say it, but there are some things you can only prepare so much for. Prepare as best as you can, staff as best as you can, and plan for the worst, then once it's safe, have your responders (emergency services, public works, utilities, etc) go do their jobs and start returning to normalcy. Some of the towns that are still recovering (or are totally destroyed) couldn't have expected the damage levels they hit, and the best options would be to evacuate and when the storm subsides, start to rebuild.
Clare
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I survived a teacher named Sandy and a former coworker named Katrina 
The latter we nicknamed "Hurricane" well, kind of obvious why, but also because she was an absolutely fantastic colleague with a great sense of humour; certainly made the long slow shifts fun and work a bit more exciting!
I'd have thought that there might have been a volunteering of SERT to lend a hand during these storms; kind of like how they were sent to Japan but I guess not; probably because they aren't really "spare-able" for some non major horrendous catastrophe. I guess that sounds a bit mean but its the truth.
The latter we nicknamed "Hurricane" well, kind of obvious why, but also because she was an absolutely fantastic colleague with a great sense of humour; certainly made the long slow shifts fun and work a bit more exciting!
I'd have thought that there might have been a volunteering of SERT to lend a hand during these storms; kind of like how they were sent to Japan but I guess not; probably because they aren't really "spare-able" for some non major horrendous catastrophe. I guess that sounds a bit mean but its the truth.
I was in Katrina. My wife and I worked in Jackson County MS for the same company we still work now in Texas. We were in Pascagoula, MS.
Hurricanes for us were old hat. We all grew up on the coast and dealt with them all our lives. Our running joke was(and still is) that they are big thunder storms and nothing to worry about.
IIRC that year we had a storm earlier in the summer that turned at the last minute and left us with nothing. This was the dress rehearsal. We staffed up extra crews, did all the normal evacuations etc. Everything went well and though we grumbled it was all for nothing it was a nice practice.
Come August when Katrina started to be a threat we did our usual prep. Employees got themselves, houses and families ready. Company serviced the portable generators that would go to stations along with servicing vehicles and making sure everyone knew they would be mandatoried to work.
Prestorm we did the usual evacuations. Couple nursing homes moved their residents further away from the coast. Residents in private homes that were bed bound, dependent on power/water, or in the flood zones were moved into a special needs shelter at one of the two hospitals in the county.
Before the storm hit we were offered to move further north in the city across the railroad tracks to an unused sheriff dept building. Our leaders decided to have us stay in our main station to ride out the storm. The station sat around 12ft of elevation with an approaching surge of 15+ ft. We had about 2.5 ft of water in the building and parking lot. A benefit of staying was that we were able to move equipment(computers,supplies etc.) to table tops limiting our losses. Downside was some employees cars had wet floorboards. Hindsight we should have moved most of our folks to the SO building and left a smaller ride out crew in the station.
As usual for storms most of us brought coolers of food from our home freezers and grills. The food would go bad at home and this added to the party to cook out during a storm; which we did. Normal for us was a generator running lights, fans and a tv; then someone cooking a meal after wind speeds forced off the road.
The storm itself was like any other. Wind and rain. Then the surge hit. Within 10 mins we had water up to our knees that hung around for an hour so then was gone within 5mins. We sat on a corner of 2 roads and higher than the ground around us so we were effectively stranded and couldnt leave when the surge was up. Water in the streets was waist to chest deep.
After the surge went down and winds got below 50mph we began putting ambulances out on the road. Some medics got on National Guard vehicles to get into the more damaged areas. My partner and I got our unit and began driving the roads looking for anyone that needed help. The county EOC was flooded out so it was lost. Phone service was intermittent. Calls for help either came from walkups, drive ups to PD,FD and our station, or people that managed to get a 911 call thru.
It was very surreal that night to be in the dark, driving around washed away houses and cars. The hospital allowed us to set up in their basement area. Subsequent nights were spent on cots, ironically freezing our butts off due to the A/C. The hospital fed us for free from the cafeteria. The company also flew food over to us.
Around day 3 or 4 after the storm an EMS task force comprised of ambulances from Florida set up with us for 10 days. After they left we had a large company from northern Illinois stay with us for about 2 more months. This was due to a higher call volume and to relieve some of our people that had lost everything.
So much more I could write. The storm was quite the experience and it was great to have been a part of it. We pulled together, overcame alot of adversity and managed to still deliver our excellent care to the community. In hindsight there were a few things to do different. However no one had ever had a surge like that and it caught the entire county by surprise.
Hurricanes for us were old hat. We all grew up on the coast and dealt with them all our lives. Our running joke was(and still is) that they are big thunder storms and nothing to worry about.
IIRC that year we had a storm earlier in the summer that turned at the last minute and left us with nothing. This was the dress rehearsal. We staffed up extra crews, did all the normal evacuations etc. Everything went well and though we grumbled it was all for nothing it was a nice practice.
Come August when Katrina started to be a threat we did our usual prep. Employees got themselves, houses and families ready. Company serviced the portable generators that would go to stations along with servicing vehicles and making sure everyone knew they would be mandatoried to work.
Prestorm we did the usual evacuations. Couple nursing homes moved their residents further away from the coast. Residents in private homes that were bed bound, dependent on power/water, or in the flood zones were moved into a special needs shelter at one of the two hospitals in the county.
Before the storm hit we were offered to move further north in the city across the railroad tracks to an unused sheriff dept building. Our leaders decided to have us stay in our main station to ride out the storm. The station sat around 12ft of elevation with an approaching surge of 15+ ft. We had about 2.5 ft of water in the building and parking lot. A benefit of staying was that we were able to move equipment(computers,supplies etc.) to table tops limiting our losses. Downside was some employees cars had wet floorboards. Hindsight we should have moved most of our folks to the SO building and left a smaller ride out crew in the station.
As usual for storms most of us brought coolers of food from our home freezers and grills. The food would go bad at home and this added to the party to cook out during a storm; which we did. Normal for us was a generator running lights, fans and a tv; then someone cooking a meal after wind speeds forced off the road.
The storm itself was like any other. Wind and rain. Then the surge hit. Within 10 mins we had water up to our knees that hung around for an hour so then was gone within 5mins. We sat on a corner of 2 roads and higher than the ground around us so we were effectively stranded and couldnt leave when the surge was up. Water in the streets was waist to chest deep.
After the surge went down and winds got below 50mph we began putting ambulances out on the road. Some medics got on National Guard vehicles to get into the more damaged areas. My partner and I got our unit and began driving the roads looking for anyone that needed help. The county EOC was flooded out so it was lost. Phone service was intermittent. Calls for help either came from walkups, drive ups to PD,FD and our station, or people that managed to get a 911 call thru.
It was very surreal that night to be in the dark, driving around washed away houses and cars. The hospital allowed us to set up in their basement area. Subsequent nights were spent on cots, ironically freezing our butts off due to the A/C. The hospital fed us for free from the cafeteria. The company also flew food over to us.
Around day 3 or 4 after the storm an EMS task force comprised of ambulances from Florida set up with us for 10 days. After they left we had a large company from northern Illinois stay with us for about 2 more months. This was due to a higher call volume and to relieve some of our people that had lost everything.
So much more I could write. The storm was quite the experience and it was great to have been a part of it. We pulled together, overcame alot of adversity and managed to still deliver our excellent care to the community. In hindsight there were a few things to do different. However no one had ever had a surge like that and it caught the entire county by surprise.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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DrP, shfd, thanks! I'm not hearing abuot big communication dropouts form anyone so far.
PS: Here, we are expecting up to 8 inches rain by end of Saturday, winds gusting near 50 mph. THat's nearly half out annual precip in three days, and we have some dicey levies. (I live in the area south of Sacramento proper, so we have the un-levied Cosumnes and local streams to contend with).
PS: Here, we are expecting up to 8 inches rain by end of Saturday, winds gusting near 50 mph. THat's nearly half out annual precip in three days, and we have some dicey levies. (I live in the area south of Sacramento proper, so we have the un-levied Cosumnes and local streams to contend with).
lightsandsirens5
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Not any of those storms. But I've been through my fair share of hurricanes in Florida and Rhode Island. And plenty plenty plenty of typhoons and super typhoons in the western Pacific.
And now I'm up for testing, so I'll get back later on about prep and all
And now I'm up for testing, so I'll get back later on about prep and all
I'll add a post about communications. There were some challenges.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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How about post-event letdown?
How did folks get through it, or did they experience it? Did many co-workers quit afterwards?
How did folks get through it, or did they experience it? Did many co-workers quit afterwards?
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Communications for us after Katrina were usable but interesting.
Normally we are dispatched from Lafayette by dispatchers based out of company headquarters. We have one tower centrally located in the county and can easily talk back to Lafayette with it. There is a backup tower at the county EOC and the main tower has generator backup.
Katrina flooded the county EOC with 5+ feet of water. Our tower had the genny backup however towers further west in Lousiana were lost..So we lost our main dispatch/call takers at headquarters. However we could still talk amongst ourselves within the county.
The county 800 system went into a failsafe backup mode so we still could communicate with the FDs and law enforcement.
The county PSAP incoming 911 functioned as long as someone had a working phone to call 911 on.
Our way to handle this was fun..for me at least.
We have a 25ft enclosed trailer used to transport our Gator to events and then use as a first aid/medical command trailer. This trailer has a built in generator and A/C unit. The trailer initially ran off the onboard genny then was plugged in to a large trailer mounted genny that was also powering the SO building we took over as a main station. We were in the SO building for about 7months while our station was gutted and renovated.
We picked up 2 land line numbers and these were given out as new emergency number and info number. We put a 2 line phone in, notebook, map book and dry erase markers and I went to work as local dispatcher. We did 12 hour shifts. I took the calls, dispatched and moved crews and was the dispatcher. At the time I still had an EMD cert and worked part time as a fire/ems dispatcher in Mobile County. This was quite fun for me to do. We did this for about 2 weeks until comms back to Lafayette were restored.
As for our people:
We all did pretty well with it. At the time we all bucked up and went to work. Afterwards some said they would not stay for the next storm. No one really had a bad time with the experience. The next couple storm threats brought out some strong emotions. Now that its been years I wouldnt mind doing another storm like that. Been there, done it, know what to do is how I and most of us feel.