On the morning of September 4, 2005, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) received an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request for 300 FDNY chiefs, officers, and firefighters to support the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD). EMAC is the procedure a state uses to request assistance from other states. In addition, the EMAC order requested FDNY to supply a Type 1 incident management team (IMT). A Type 1 team responds to complex incidents that have more than 600 responders assigned. On September 4, the FDNY IMT was considered a Type 2 team with a specialty in urban terrorism. A Type 2 team responds to seasonal emergency incidents, such as wildfires and hurricanes. Because these seasons overlap, there is a need for qualified all-risk teams that are not assigned to wildland fires. The FDNY IMT is an all-risk team; it is qualified to respond to complex events and urban disasters with a focus on urban terrorism. (IMTs and the FDNY IMT are described in “Incident Management Teams”).
FDNY’s first deployment of its IMT outside of New York City proved to be a true test of team members’ training and talent. “The FDNY IMT deployment was one of the most challenging and rewarding operations in my career,” recalls Assistant Chief Ed Kilduff, deputy incident commander (IC). Numerous FDNY members have echoed these same sentiments.
On the morning of September 4, 25 FDNY IMT members, under the command of Assistant Chief Michael Weinlein, were placed on standby for deployment to New Orleans. Simultaneously, Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph Ramos started the arduous task of recruiting and accommodating 300 members for immediate response to New Orleans.
If you are a current subscriber,login hereto access this content.
If you would like to become a subscriber, please visit ushere.
