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Public Safety Communications Summit

Public Safety Communications Summit. Grant County Fire District 13 “Meeting Tomorrow's Challenges…Today!”. Shane Heston, Fire Chief. 20 years in the fire service Fire Chief of Grant County Fire #13 (5 years) Volunteer Chief Employment, Canfield & Associates, TPA

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Public Safety Communications Summit

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  1. Public Safety Communications Summit Grant County Fire District 13“Meeting Tomorrow's Challenges…Today!”

  2. Shane Heston, Fire Chief • 20 years in the fire service • Fire Chief of Grant County Fire #13 (5 years) • Volunteer Chief • Employment, Canfield & Associates, TPA • Goal of modernizing Grant #13 in all areas • Have succeeded with all of the goals, currently developing 5 year strategic plan. • Married wife of 14 years • 3 children

  3. Operation- Profile • Serve 2,600 people • 126 square miles • Operate 17 pieces of apparatus • 30 volunteers • All volunteer department • Assessed value: $113,000,000

  4. Operation- Dispatches • Wildland -60% • Structure-10% • Motor Vehicle Collisions-15% • Aid-10% • Other-5% • Approx. 170 Calls annually ** Percentages approximate

  5. Incident Overview • Black Rock Fire began at approx 12:00 pm reported as a “unknown type outside fire” • 5000 plus acres burnt estimated • Fire front line was over 4 miles in length • 17 agencies involved with over 50 pieces of apparatus. • Fire caused the closure of several county road ways, 50 miles of Highway 28 and forced the evacuation of the town of Marlin/Krupp

  6. Black Rock Fire Overview • Initial attack lasted for 12 hours • Fire utilized every available apparatus in Grant County. • Activation of two Emergency Operations Centers, Grant and Lincoln County. • Fire had potential to spread well into Lincoln County • No Injuries or property loss *

  7. Sequence of Events • Fire began at approx 12:00 pm Aug. 31 2007 • 1430 first mutual aid request, EFD, FD, #5 & 13 • Arrival on scene at approx 1500 hours, 400 acres in light to medium fuels wind driven • Second Mutual aid request 1530 • Fire jumped across Highway 28 • Countywide all call activated Grant County EOC • Closure of County Roads

  8. Sequence of events continued • Requested air support • Requested additional command staff • Wind shifted and fire “blew up” • Fire running at 20 mph • Requested resources from Lincoln County • Ordered Dozer and two 40’ farm tractors for fire line construction, (Hutterian Brethren)

  9. Sequence of Events Continued • Closed State highway 28 from Soap Lake to Davenport, approx 80 mile closure. • Fire was rapidly growing and moving in the Northeast, several farms/ranches and the Town of Marlin/Krupp in direct path of fire. • Requested Grant County Sheriff to evacuate the town of marlin. • All phone and some power outages in town due to fire.

  10. Sequence of Events Continued • Law evacuated the town and maintained security perimeter • Resources from Lincoln County beginning to arrive • Dozer arrived, dozer trail and burn out operations successful. • Request for Emergency Mobilization at 1900 • Fire still spreading very fast to the east.

  11. Sequence of Events, Conclusion • Fire was stopped at road W NE (five miles from the point of origin) • Additional support resources began to arrive, Bus, meals, additional support • Fire was in the still in the initial attack phase when Mobilization took over fire • Fire was contained and completed in 72 hours

  12. Challenges • Limited Command Staff • Very limited communications • No cell phone or dispatch communications in the town, line of sight communications • Responders from outside Grant County had very limited communications, different channels, etc • Press was intense • No support from aircraft, despite repeated requests, communications issue.

  13. Challenges • Livestock, farms and ranches had to be manually evacuated • Numerous communications issues due to lack of protocol,equipment and training • Tired, hungry and exhausted firefighters, created compounded safety issues • No relief crews, until state mobilization resources arrived • Fuel supply and mechanical issues.

  14. Successes • No injuries or structures lost * • Good cooperation from Law, road closures, evacuation, security etc. (labor day weekend) • Mobilization was quickly approved and initial crews arrived within 5 hours • Good support from farmers and ranchers, Brethren, etc. • Grant County DEM, PIO, great support • Good test of DEM and interagency cooperation. • Good radio communications with Grant County Fire Units, (grants, radio committee, etc)

  15. Conclusions • Improve communications infracture in remote areas. • Need more County to County Interoperations • Need better way to coordinate and communicate with crop dusters when being used as fire suppression resources • If fire was not stopped at road “W” it would have been 3-4 times the size. • Real need for development of County IMT.* • Emergency Mobilization Support

  16. Fire Summary • Critical Areas threatened: • Power and phone utilities • Major water/wetlands area • Railroad • State Highway County Roads • Crops • Livestock and farm machinery

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