Utilizing External Personnel During Fires/Disasters

1. Utilizing External Personnel During Fires/Disasters Presentation by Bart Clark, C.M.P. Manager, Protective Services Sturgeon County Fire Chief

2. About Sturgeon County • located just north of Edmonton • encompasses 911square miles • mix of oil & gas, farming, country residential • Approx. 19,000 rural residents

4. About Sturgeon County • 2500 Oil & Gas locations • Over 80 rural residential subdivisions • Sturgeon County has co-terminus boundaries with 15 other municipalities • On-Call (part-time) Fire departments located in Bon Accord, Calahoo, Gibbons, Legal, Morinville, Namao, and Redwater

5. Fire Services • Fulltime Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief • 200 part-time firefighters in seven fire departments. • 8 pumper trucks, 5 water tankers, 3 mini-pumper 4 x 4 fast attack units, 3 quad wildland units

6. Sturgeon County Case Study • Wednesday, May 29th at approximately 10:30 a.m., our 9-1-1Call Answer Centre received a report of a wildland fire north of Township Road 570 on Range Road 224. • 6 Redwater firefighters, 1 pumper, and 1 tanker dispatched to fire location. • Redwater Fire Chief reports back that we had a very large out of control forest fire.

7. First in fire unit

8. Calls for Assistance Made • Calls for assistance sent out to Bon Accord, Calahoo, Fort Saskatchewan, Gibbons, Namao, Radway, Strathcona County, Thorhild Fire Departments and to Sturgeon County Fire Chief. • County Peace Officers dispatched to secure roadways, site security.(identified in MEP) • Command Post established at SW corner of Township Road 572 and Range Road 221.

10. May 29 @ 1030 hours • Swirling winds out of NW blowing @ 60-75 KPH. Wind gusts to 85 KPH. • RH 21%, Temp. @ +26C • Redwater Fire Department dispatched 1-3200 gal Tanker, 1-1000 Gal Pumper, and crew of 6 firefighters to scene. • Fire Command System established. Level 1 & 2 staging locations established. Fire Sectors assigned to incoming fire crews.

11. Emergency Operations Centre • Complex Fire-Incident Command Commenced • 1700 hours-Sturgeon County establishes their Emergency Operations Centre. EOC in effect until June 5. • Fire spotting in multiple directions, sparks traveling 500 meters and resulting in fires. “Out of Control” • 2,000 acres involved. • 82 homes are located within a 6-km radius. • Residents within 750 meters of the fire area have been evacuated. • 1815 hours-2 homes lost to fire.

12. Events-May 29th • Reception Centre for evacuees • Evacuees booked into motels.(staff coordinated) • Command requests air support from Alberta Forestry in Lac La Biche. • No choppers available at this time. All air support being utilized for northern Alberta fires. • Fire breaks are unable to hold fire. Fire “Out of Control” • One private wildland contractor hired with a skidder and a 4-man crew of type 3 firefighters.(identified in MEP) • Town of Gibbons and Redwater assisting. Fire size increasing. • Roadblocks established

13. Events-May 30th • 4 skidders on site, 150 firefighters, 2 mini-pumpers, 4 tankers, 8 pumpers 1 private chopper from B.C. hired, 4 dozers on site, quads. (identified in MEP) • 2 more homes lost to fire this day. • Lac La Biche Forestry unable to supply firefighters or air support at this time. (identified in MEP) • Contact made with Parks Canada ( part of Federal/Provincial protocol) • Elk Island National Park-2 water trucks and specialized wildland fire staff have been dispatched.

14. Local Resources “Stretched” • County volunteer firefighters are tiring out. • Many fires occurring throughout county. As many as 7 other fires happening at same time. All neighboring fire departments are overwhelmed with fire calls. • Multiple agencies involved in helping. Over 200 external personnel on site during the busiest times. • Local industries-Agrium, Williams, and Degussa offered assistance in form of equipment & staff. (Identified in MEP) • Salvation Army Mobile kitchen on site.

15. Local Resources were Overwhelmed

16. Positive Results Using External Personnel • Incident Command System Controlled the Chaos • Parks Canada staff provided valuable expertise as Sector Commanders, Operations & Logistics Commanders. • First 6 hours of the fire, the command post received over 400 telephone calls, and over 1000 radio transmissions, plus face-to-face discussions with every agency that arrived to assist. • Resources overwhelmed as other emergencies continued to occur: for example, during one 2-hour period, we responded to 2 wildland fires, 2 injury accidents, plus 1 structure fire in other parts of the County. • All external personnel under supervision at all times

17. Using External Personnel • SUPERVISE all external personnel, whether they are digging out fire, hauling water, working in rehab, staffing security points, making meals. • Only hire pre-approved external personnel, use pre-authorized rate schedules, sign off all daily logs. • Utilize experienced staff to supervise sectors. • Armed forces personnel from the Edmonton Garrison, and Dept. of National Defence were supervised by a District Fire Chief. • The Salvation Army supervised the Rehab Sector. • Road Block/checkpoints supervised by County Peace Officers. • An on-site Financial Officer must sign off all daily logs. • Daily cost accounting is essential, Record everything! • Keep accurate time slips, records of all purchases, clerk on site.

18. Risk Management of External Personnel/Resources • Radios, telephones, fire kits for extra firefighters, wildland fast attack units.(identified in MEP) Provide on-site training, PPE. • Know -Not all dozer operators & private contractors follow orders-Identify the trained operators and prevent the use of those poor contractors in future callouts.(identified in MEP) • Some agencies are very aggressive and try to “help”.-ex. A local search and rescue agency tried numerous times (tied up 9-1-1) to get permission to come on the fire scene at the Sturgeon County 2002 fire disaster .

19. Examples Utilizing External Personnel Reception Centre Security Posts Staging incoming emergency vehicles Rehabilitation First Aid/Triage Food Services Maintaining Inventories

20. External Resources Pre-Identified

21. All personnel Must be Pre-Authorized Daily Log

22. Fees and Charges Use the Guide

23. INCIDENTCOMMAND SYSTEM • Multiple Agencies Involved: • Municipal: Sturgeon County, Thorhild County, Strathcona County, Towns of Bon Accord, Gibbons, Legal, Morinville, Redwater, Radway, Bruderhiem, City of Edmonton, City of Ft. Saskatchewan; • Provincial:-2 MLA’s, Disaster Services, SRD, Alberta Forestry LLB; • Federal: Parks Canada, BC Forestry, National Defence G8 Team, Edmonton Garrison soldiers, RCMP, Salvation Army; • Industries:Agrium, Williams Energy, Degussa; • Contractors & others: dozers, skidders, fixed wing & choppers, water haulers, Hildebrants, Nodwells, caterers, portable toilets, wash stations, security personnel, media personnel, water tank suppliers, fire equipment servicing, fire equipment suppliers

24. Challenges to Encounter: • Constant pressure to release air support & demobilize due to cost to municipality. • Constant pressure from municipality to release staff-road building, clerks, summer programs. • Maintaining sustained responses from volunteer fire departments • Some Media will attempt to sneak in as citizen volunteers. • Be carefull when contracting local citizens as equipment operators. Clearing fire breaks is a skill.

25. Remains of Modular Home

26. Farm Fuel Drums-some exploded

27. Don’t Place Personnel at Risk

28. Positive Results are Pre-planned • Planning in evacuation of residents saved lives. • Incident Command System saved property & lives • MEP listed who was responsible for site security & road closures • Extra ordinary resources should be preplanned. • Previous disaster training exercises, lessons learned from 2001 fires, current Municipal Emergency Plan • Inter-municipal cooperation, business community cooperation & aid need to be developed prior to a disaster. • Risk Management limits Liability. (a 2001 litigation against the County ended in the County’s favour after seven years in Discovery)

29. Liability Stats NO LIVES WERE LOST! Only 4 very minor injuries were sustained during the entire fire. (one minor cut to a hand, one twisted ankle, one minor burn to hand, & one sore back) 78 PROPERTIES WERE SAVED -estimate value of $50 million. (private residences, farms) Fire destroyed 4 homes-1 “stick built”, 3 modular. Homeowners losses estimated at $1.5 million. The 2002 Sturgeon County municipal fire costs exceeded $1,089,900.00. The County recovered 90% due to pre-approved rate structure and resource listing in MEP.

30. THANK YOU! bclark@sturgeoncounty.ab.ca