Members of the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Incident Management teams have experience with massive wildfires and 100-year ice storms. They’ve added dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane to the list.
On Sept. 28, 13 Oregon firefighters from the state fire marshal’s Incident Management teams traveled to Hardee County, Florida to help communities recover from Hurricane Ian.
The Florida bound team – which included Idanha-Detroit Fire District Chief Fred Patterson – returned two weeks later with a new perspective on helping in emergency situations.
Patterson’s district knows what it is like to require the assistance of others in an emergency. The fires of 2020 took out the district’s fire station as well as a fire truck.
“I come from a small agency,” Patterson acknowledged. “At some point in time, I may have to ask for help to come to us in the event of something [else] major happening.”
Patterson’s role in Florida was to help Hardee County emergency managers and sheriff’s office. The goal of the two-week assignment was to focus on establishing road system infrastructure, developing stable communications, and formulating temporary housing plans.
Upon arrival, the team was briefed on the mission by Paige Levati, who oversees the IMT program for the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Team members found conditions to be “primitive” and local resources were quickly overwhelmed.
According to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Hurricane Ian knocked out power to 99 percent of the county. The Florida division of Emergency Management requested aid through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, administered by the OSFM. Three other out-of-state IMTs supported surrounding counties, including Virginia, New York and Ohio.
More than 50 personnel from Hardee County Emergency Management and the state emergency response team of the Florida Division of Emergency Management joined Oregon OSFM and worked long hours to support flood-stricken communities.
“No matter what the situation, the Oregon Fire Service, that’s what we do,” said Ian Yocum, one of two incident commanders, in a video thread about the Florida situation. “People call for help and we jump on our trucks and our rigs. It’s an honor and a privilege to serve others.”
Neighbors Serving Neighbors is the motto of the Idanha-Detroit Fire District. To brush up on skills needed for incidents closer to home, firefighters partnered on Oct. 23 with a crew from Lyons Rural Fire District for a vehicle extrication drill.
“Inter-agency cooperation is important, especially for small rural districts,” Lt. Laura Harris explained in a post. “By drilling together with our mutual aid partners, we can ensure that we’ll be able to work better together to save lives on real vehicle crashes.”
She gave a special thanks to Rivers Run Grill for feeding the volunteers and to Santiam Towing & Recovery for providing the vehicles for them to practice on.
Other team members who helped with Hurricane Ian included: Brett Deedon, Eugene Springfield Fire; Darren Bucich, McKenzie Fire and Rescue; Mark Corless, Clackamas Co. Fire Dist. 1; Don Maxwell, Marion Co. Fire Dist. 1; Damon Schulze, Grand Ronde Fire; Ian Yocum, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue; Brandon McGarr, Sutherlin Fire & Rescue; Robert Root, Portland Fire & Rescue; Kyle Romey, Albany Fire & Rescue; and Rick Huechert and Erik Rau, OSFM.
“We are thankful to the Oregon fire service and our all-hazard IMTs for answering the call to help Floridians,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “I want to extend a thank you to the team members, their families, and the Oregon fire service for supporting this mission.
“Our IMT members train year-round to be prepared to assist in any kind of emergency or disaster, including hurricanes,” Ruiz-Temple added. “Our office stands ready to help protect lives and communities. We are keeping those in Florida impacted by this storm in our thoughts.”
OSFM teams primarily mobilize to wildfires that threaten lives, homes and critical infrastructure.
