Zero to Deployment

In Six Months

Zero to Deployment

In Six Months

All Hazards Incident Management Team

CT-IMT 3

Quick Housekeeping Notes

• Fire Exits• Rest Room Locations• And just in case……

They asked for a Subject Matter Expert to speak on this topic.

What you got was me

THE DISCLAIMER

Some assembly required. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. May be too intense for some viewers. This is a test of the emergency broadcast system. Filmed in front of a live, studio audience. Patent pending. For external use only. If ingested, induce vomiting. May contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humor or take themselves too seriously. Excessive use of laxatives may be hazardous. Cats with flame throwers coming out of their butts may be dangerous. There are many, many more people than me who can do this better. We don’t have all the answers. In fact, anyone who says he does probably should be suspect. Your mileage may vary.

Actual cash value of this presentation is what you make of it.

In other words, if you screw it up, you’re on your own.

LET’S GET SERIOUSI’m not trying to be funny here.

"There is a man in the world who will never be turned down... he is the man who delivers the goods."

With Money and Authority, anyone can do dammed near

anything.

Without much of either, it gets a little more challenging.

For the majority of my career in Government, if you have a good thing no one will stop you from doing it.

They will however not necessarily fund it.

Everyone wants• the fire put out. • the thief caught.• their garbage picked up.• the snow plowed off their street.• to sleep peacefully in their beds at night

because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf

Not everyone is willing to pay the bill after you accomplish it.

“HOW MUCH DID THAT

HELICOPTER COST?”

“I told you to survey the damage quick, not start

your own air force!”

Usually, it all comes down to money. Sure, we’d like to

operate out of a new facility, have

everything we need, and roll up like the

cavalry and say “Don’t worry miss,

we’ll handle this” like John Wayne in an old

western.

But we didn’t have the cash.

Oh, and there’s this thing called “Local Autonomy”, “Home Rule”, or whatever you want to call it back where I call home.

There are 8 counties in Connecticut, but they are not much more than lines on a map.

Let me tell you a little about Connecticut3,500,000 people

169 Cities and Towns +The State =

170 ways of Doing Things

Let me tell you a little about CRCOG

The Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) is guided by the chief elected officials of our 29 Metro Hartford municipalities. The

mayors, first selectmen, and town council chairmen who make up our governing Policy Board recognize that the future of our individual

members is tied to the future of our region. Our members have collaborated for more than 30 years on a wide range of projects to benefit our towns individually and the region as a whole. CRCOG

serves the Capitol Region and all our municipalities by:

We are established under the Connecticut General Statutes as a voluntary association of municipal governments serving the City of

Hartford and 28 surrounding suburban and rural communities.

Our region is 760 square miles in size and it houses approximately 735,000 people. CRCOG is dedicated to expanding the concept of

voluntary cooperation among its member municipalities as the means to successfully respond to many of the region’s pressing

governmental and public challenges.

Let me tell you a little about CREPC, The Capitol Region Emergency Planning Committee

Forty-two communities are involved and have produced a Regional Emergency Deployment (RED) Plan for the region.  Twenty-eight municipalities use CREPC as their Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). It operates under the states delegation of authority to CRCOG as a Regional

Planning Agency, which member towns are signatories to. This allows CREPC to operate on their behalf, on limited issues.

We as the Capitol Region also qualify as a Urban Area Security Initiative. (UASI)UASI addresses the unique multi-disciplinary planning, operations, equipment, training and

exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas, and assists them in building and sustaining capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from threats or acts of terrorism.

We also qualify for a Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS): The MMRS program assists designated local, metropolitan areas to sustain and further enhance regionally integrated all-

hazards mass casualty preparedness and response capabilities to achieve adequate progress in meeting designated target capabilities; increased integration with statewide mass casualty

initiatives and capabilities; and effective coordination with mutually supporting program guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services and other relevant federal agencies.

Our “Real” name is

Hartford Urban Area Security Initiative Incident Management Team DEMHS Region 3

Or just CT-IMT 3

The net effect on my team is These are mechanisms for funding. That’s the good part.

The bad part is there are lots of people who got in line with their hand out before us.

Money flows like running water around the capitol of Connecticut.

Very little of it flows to CT IMT3.

We can buy a command post for dogs, (sorry Pete) but we can’t buy paper clips due to our funding structure.

We can buy computers, but not software to use on them.

The state is standardized on WEBEOC, but we can’t get an air card to access it.

The state bought a lot of Decontamination trailers and foam trailers. They gave them to fire departments A few sit on flat tires or up on

blocks.

Did I mention Connecticut has a few peculiarities?

What do we offer as an IMT? • Connecticut’s “Home Rule” system

leaves the authority and responsibility at the local level

• No agency has all the resources it needs to manage a significant incident

• The team is a tool for LOCALS to manage LOCAL incidents using standard accepted protocols

All this is leading up to what I came to talk about- What we needed to up fit our team to become

operationalAnd how we did it without a lot of money

The NWCG courses are great.But you have to apply them to your specific environment.

The Wild Land Fire system reminds me of the Army. That’s a good thing to me.

But reality is in a state where there are 170 fiefdoms, that is one hours drive top to bottom, and maybe two hours drive left

to right, with 3.5 Million people in it, we won’t be calling for Logistics like a Colorado Burn. We are in an urban

environment for the most part. Some of the hazards are not as obvious as they may seem.

What is an Incident Management Team?

A scalable group of specially trained & experienced individuals who work with the existing organization to provide for the command, control, coordination, support and / or management of the incident organization & it’s resources to address the needs of the incident / event with maximum effectiveness, efficiency, and safety.

CT IMT-3 recent Deployments and Activation

2020

A Common Theme

A Common Theme

A Common Theme

What does a team REALLY NEED?

•Competency & Commitment•Sensitivity to local conditions and egos•Talent•Determination, and a touch of stubbornness•Inclusiveness & Diversity•Perseverance•Resourcefulness•Creativity•A touch of MacGyver

What did our team REALLY NEED?

Due to complex relationships, complicated statutory authority, and convoluted funding sources, we really didn’t need much. Most existed, but needed to be pulled together. Some was laying around.

Good Communications

Documentation Ability-Paper or Plastic

How did we do it?

1. Had Support from above and around

2. Left Egos back at the ranch

3. Got the right people in the right places.

4. Built credibility through demonstrated results

– “Stuff” is nice to have

– But its your people that make you a team

– Logistics (in our application, anyways) SUPPORTS THE TEAM

Regional Agency Members on Current CT IMT- 3

• Ellington Fire Department• Manchester Emergency

Management • West Hartford /Bloomfield

Health District• West Hartford Fire

Department• Middletown Emergency

Management • Connecticut Canine

Search and Rescue• Private Sector Business

• East Hartford Fire Department

• CRCOG/CREPC Staff• Manchester CERT• Bloomfield Public Works• Connecticut Department

of Homeland Security• Bloomfield Police

Department• Regional Higher

Education (Multiple)• Regional CERT members

Lets Talk Logs!

WHAT STUFF DO YOU NEED?

What do you want to do?

What we all want

What we all want

Maybe if you're lucky, you’ve got one of these.

More Likely, this is it

CT IMT- 3

Let me tell you about my team.

First, we got the people

Second, we got some stuff

Third, we learned

We try to use plastic, not paper. (computerized vs. paper forms)

Due to our friends at CRCOG, (Thanks, Dan!) we were able to buy some laptops. But they don’t have to be new, or even laptops. More important was the military spec plastic case.

Routers and Network

The components may be in boxes, but they were not new but recycled and left over from other IT areas. Our Team Commander recognized early on if we were going electronic, we could use an IT section. A local college was very helpful.

A public works department had this van.

The small decal on the door is a magnet.

So, what’s in the van?

Side Door Back Doors

CT IMT-3 Cache VanEquipment

Storage

1

1 First Aid Bag2 Portable Radios/Camera (top)

3 UPS Units(under)

4 Crew Box (Coffe, ETC)

5 Hand Tools6 Routers7 Computers8 Brother Printer # 19 H-P High Speed Laser (Box Under)

10 Base Station Radios (Above)

11 Brother Printer # 2 (Below)

12 Hard Wire Phone (Above)

13 Display Wall (Above)

14 Easy Up Shelter15 Easels (Above)

16 Command Box/LCD Projector (Below)

17 Admin Box/Video Camera (Below)

18 Three Blue Tubs *Office Supplies *A/C Cables *Computer Power Supplies

19 Laminated Forms (Black Tubes Hanging)

20 Plans and Forms (overhead)

21 Hand Truck22 Easel Pads (Cab Side)

23 Matches/Flashlight/Cigars24 Gloves/Glass Cleaner25 Tape/Door Wedges

7

3

6

5

2

8111210

13 9

21

14

15

16

17

18

19

20 4

24 25

22

23

Current as of 11/01/2009D R Gofstein, LSC

IMT Cache VanFirst Aid KitTapes

Door Stops

IMT Cache VanDigital Camera

VHF Team Radios

IMT Cache VanLaminated

Section Signs and Tent Cards

Office Supplies

Rubber Maid

containers with A/C supplies

IMT Cache VanOffice Supply Details

Label Maker

IMT Cache VanStupid Stuff You Need

Wet and Dry Erase

IMT Cache VanAll items

containerized and stackable

Convertible Hand Truck

IMT Cache VanLaminated ICS Forms

Easels

IMT Cache VanVideo Camera

Fax and hardwire phone

supplies

Printer

Grade Stakes

IMT Cache VanBasic Hand Tools

Nuts, Bolts, and Screws

IMT Cache Van

MotorolaMilk Crate

base station(Don’t let the COML tell you it won’t

work)

IMT Cache VanHP High Speed Laser

Easy Up

IMT Cache VanComputer

and Router Cases

Magnetic White Board

IMT Cache VanICS Vests

Pre Printed Laminated

Inserts

Additional ICS Forms

IMT Cache Van

Gloves Glass

Cleaner

Paper Towels

Radio Assignment White Board

Whisk Broom Pads

Sharpies Flashlight

IMT Cache Van

What's in the Big Orange

Box?

It folds up into this box.

My experience with many regionally funded projects going

back over 20 years, is that starting it there always seems to be money.

Buying stuff isn’t that hard. But SUSTAINING it as a SOLID, SELF SUSTAINING PROGRAM takes

Money, Commitment,

and It helps to scrounge.

To wrap it up

Give me some good people, and we can do anything

Give me money, and we can do it faster, better, and make you look good too.

About Me…

I grew up when your parents sent you out to play on a concrete playground. My father was a doctor, and ask anyone who’s father was a doctor; you only saw a “real” doctor if it was REALLY bad. I’m somewhat proud of the fact I’ve been a grunt, and have done more than a few things the hard way.

David GofsteinLogistics Section Chief CT IMT-3 Dgofstein@sbcglobal.net

My Day Job