Emergency Management Committee: Go Team

What is the IAFC? The mission of the IAFC is to provide leadership to current and future career, volunteer, fire-rescue and EMS chiefs, chief fire officers, company officers and managers of emergency service organizations throughout the International community through vision, information, education, services and representation to enhance their professionalism and capabilities.

What is the IAFC? The IAFC is an international group representing Career and Volunteer Fire Chiefs throughout the United States, its territories and the World. Lead, Educate and Serve Began in 1873 and is located in the vicinity of Washington, DC(Fairfax County Virginia)

IAFC Disaster Response IAFC’s main role until September 11, 2001 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was supportive Following Katrina, a Task Force examined the national issues with mutual aid The EMC was formed as a standing committee Targeted involvement with state and federal partners

IAFC Disaster Response After 9-11 Communications Interoperability Equipment Availability Change of Scope of Fire Departments Career Development Paths Development of Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) NIMS Implementation

IAFC Disaster Response Katrina/Rita Aftermath Mutual Aid Agreements Cataloging of resources Use of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Interoperability issues Certification Standardization Fire: Credentialing EMS: National Scope of Practice

IAFC National Mutual Aid Program Development and Implementation of Strategic Plan Emergency Management Committee Addressed Intrastate Mutual Aid and State Mutual Aid Plans (IMAS) Further Emphasized NIMS Concept of Response Teams

Intrastate Mutual Aid System IMAS Assist the Fire Service in any state, US Territory or Tribe to develop or enhance intrastate mutual aid plans Funded through DHS-NIMS Integration Center Technical Advisors are provided Working to create regional groups

Emergency Management Committee EMC Established by IAFC in 2006 Address issues of State to State Coordination; FEMA; NIMS; NRP Oversee and coordinate with IMAS Implementation of Go-Teams

What is the Go Team? “The IAFC Go Team is comprised of highly skilled and equipped chief officers that will work with peers, allied agencies and elected officials to assist in the coordination and recovery of significant emergencies and/or catastrophic events”

Selection of Go Team Members Application process Considerations Diversity Geographic location to ensure national balance Type of department; career, volunteer, combination Prior work with IAFC mutual aid programs Experience and department history Activity within the state mutual aid program Emergency management background

Benefits of the Go Team The Go Team members will act as liaison between the requesting agency and the IAFC for request and/or provision of support services. There are 42 members across the ten FEMA Regions which allow for an effective means of coordinating resources within a smaller geographic area and interaction between regions.

Benefits of the Go Team By paralleling the FEMA model for response and coordination of the Go Team, this allows for a more timely response and people that may better understand the local needs and concerns.

Go Team Members in the FEMA Regions

What We Do Team Activation Normal deployment 7-10 days Each member outfitted for up to a standard 14 day assignment Relief crews can be deployed if necessary Typically a 2 person team will be assigned Multiple teams may be dispatched if the situation requires

What We Do Team Versatility Vast experience in areas of: Staffing and Command Resource Management Incident Action Plans Documentation, NIMS Forms Public Information Operations and Finance EMAC procedures

What We Don’t We are not an Incident Management Team (IMT): We can fill positions of an IMT We can fill positions in an EOC or MAC We can assist any special need We are not an Incident Command Team: We are to provide support and relief, not take over.

How does it work? 18

Requesting Assistance

Requesting Assistance

Requesting Assistance Who can request assistance? Local fire chief State official Federal official Affected department County or state emergency operations centers Any federal official operating under the National Response framework as part of a local/state disaster response. *The individual making the request, MUST be in a position of authority as part of an emergency event.

Requesting Assistance Requests for assistance may be initiated after the event occurs or prior to an anticipated event for pre-staging of Go Team resources. There is a 24-hour call center that directs calls to the IAFC staff. A Request For Assistance (RFA) application must be filled out by the requesting individual/agency providing detailed information of the event, the type of help needed, and the number of members needed. All information will ensure the correct resources are allocated.

Requesting Assistance After assistance has been requested, the IAFC will forward the RFA to the Go Team Coordinator for review and processing. The FEMA region involved and number of members necessary will be verified by the Coordinator. Once the team personnel and travel plans have been identified, the Coordinator will provide the information to the requestor and provide an ETA for the team. Go Team: 1-888-840-6884 Add it to your cell phone contact list

Activation Orders Activation orders will include: Mission or Tasking number Incident type and location Contact information for requesting individual/agency Travel plans, ETA Directions and/or maps to the staging area or incident command post Primary mission objectives and special instructions

Activation Selection “Closest, most appropriate” FEMA Region- proximity to event Availability If a large scale incident (Hurricane, Tornado) send non-affected members. Specialized training or experience

Local Support Local support is NOT required Assistance securing local lodging, meals, and local travel is helpful We arrange our own logistics as needed We do require a designated POC to provide Assignments Check in location Operational periods Tell us how we can assist you.

Cost to Requestor ZERO Associated costs are covered through contract funding from DHS

Team Organization The team members operate under the authority and direct control of the IAFC’s Emergency Management Committee (EMC) and the National Programs Department of the IAFC. Because team members are from each FEMA region, they may be able to drive directly to the incident in a short period of time. This is helpful if other transportation methods are compromised.

Documentation The Go Team members complete daily logs for each operational period or day of deployment. The log will document: Work day hours Work assignments Accomplishments Important events Expenses related to deployment

Documentation An ICS Form 214 is used to record details of daily activity in order to provide the basic reference from which to extract information for inclusion in any after-action report. An ICS Form 209 will be used for further details. All forms will be returned to Go Team Coordinator at the end of deployment.

Communication Go Team members keep in daily contact with the Go Team Coordinator to share information and make any requests for further assistance from the IAFC. Upon demobilization, team members report to the Coordinator their safe arrival home and schedule a date for after-action debriefing.

Code of Conduct The Code of Conduct consists of the rules and standards governing the expected demeanor of the Go Team members responding on behalf of the IAFC. Each team member is both a representative of their response team, their home agency, and the IAFC.

Go Team Values Go Team members adhere to the following IAFC Values: Integrity Professionalism Responsiveness Collaboration Diversity/Inclusiveness Safety Culture

Puerto Rico – Wildland Fires Recent Activations Puerto Rico – Wildland Fires Increased wildland fire activity Request for technical assistance Assist with cause and origin determination Region VIII team selection due to wildland and fire investigation experience On the ground in San Juan in <36 hours

Recent Activations Puerto Rico 2 Go Team Members IMAS Technical Advisor No Cost to Puerto Rico Assist in development of strategic plan for decreasing wildland fire incidents 12 days on the island Identified incendiary device

Recent Activations Puerto Rico: fire scenes visited

Recent Activations Puerto Rico

Atlanta, Georgia- Severe Weather Recent Activations Atlanta, Georgia- Severe Weather Request from the State ESF-4 desk 2 Team Members Staff State Emergency Operations Center Assisted with information gathering and resource deployment and accountability

Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Tornadoes Recent Activations Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Tornadoes Request from the Fire Chief and Emergency Manager 2 Staff Members Assigned to the temporary city command center (the city EOC was destroyed) Assisted Incident Management Team

Recent Activations Tuscaloosa, Alabama

State of Connecticut – Hurricane Irene Recent Activations State of Connecticut – Hurricane Irene Request from the ESF-4 Desk 2 member team (3 personnel total) Assigned to the ESF-4 Desk at the State Emergency Operations Center Assisted ESF-4 Desk and other assigned tasks

Recent Activations State of Connecticut

Stafford County, Virginia - Earthquake & Hurricane Irene Recent Activations Stafford County, Virginia - Earthquake & Hurricane Irene Request from the Fire Chief 2 Member Team Staff County EOC Logistics/Finance Operations Documentation

Recent Activations Stafford County, Virginia

State of Connecticut – Winter Storm Recent Activations State of Connecticut – Winter Storm Request from the state EOC 2 Members requested, assigned Assigned to the state ESF-4 desk Assisted with situation reports, unit deployment status and power outage needs

Recent Activations State of Connecticut

“Go Teams – When things are at their worst, the IAFC sends our best”

Questions?

IAFC Contacts Bill Bullock, Program Manager 703.537.4849 or bbullock@iafc.org Amber Wells, Program Specialist 703.880.5121 or awells@iafc.org Mike Warren, Assistant Director 703.273.9672 or mwarren@iafc.org Visit www.iafc.org/mutualaid