| id | cleanReleaseDate | troopName | title |
| 6753 | 2011-05-09 | Statewide | USAR Team Reports Alabama Efforts to Governor Jindal |
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Colonel Michael D. Edmonson, Superintendent State Fire Marshal Butch Browning DPS Headquarters: For Immediate Release May 9, 2011 USAR Team Reports Alabama Efforts to Governor Jindal BATON ROUGE – Today, Fire Marshal Butch Browning reported to Governor Jindal and Colonel Mike Edmonson, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Public Safety, last week’s successful efforts in Tuscaloosa, AL by Louisiana’s Urban Search and Rescue Teams. On Monday, May 2nd, 130 Louisiana first responders deployed at the request of Alabama officials to assist in rescue and recovery operations in Tuscaloosa, an area devastated by the recent tornados and related storms. The mission of the Louisiana USAR Teams were to conduct secondary searches in a dense residential and commercial area of Tuscaloosa. Technical expertise was needed to ensure that no persons were trapped beneath the rubble. Many family members had gathered in the area and were waiting for information on their loved ones who were still missing. The Louisiana Teams were able to search and clear a 3 square mile area which allowed for heavy earth moving equipment to move in and begin clearing debris. Louisiana USAR Teams Response Time Line: Sunday, May 1st Alabama EMA calls GOHSEP requesting capabilities of USAR in Tuscaloosa to conduct secondary searches of ravaged area OSFM immediately responded that we were able to provide needed assistance OSFM Incident Management Team deployed immediately to Tuscaloosa to coordinate arrival of teams 130 person team activated and prepared for deployment Meeting was held with Tuscaloosa Fire Command at 2100hrs on site with OSFM personnel Reports in the area were that approximately 400 people were still missing Monday, May 2nd All Louisiana Teams deployed to Alabama at 0600hrs from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Pineville and Monroe Louisiana State Trooper deployed to serve as on-scene liaison for Colonel Edmonson LSP and OSFM Logistics are deployed including State USAR truck and the State’s Mobile 700mhz radio tower UCG is established at Tuscaloosa Fire Training Center to manage the Louisiana Task Force Tuesday, May 3rd All teams deployed in a three square mile area (1/2 mile wide, 6 miles long) to conduct secondary searches to determine if any unaccounted persons were in the area Hot spots and target areas were searched at the direction of Tuscaloosa Fire Wednesday, May 4th Grid Searches were conducted over the entire area looking for persons either trapped or deceased 12 teams worked in the process to complete these searches. Fire Marshal Browning and State Police Captain Duane Schexnayder were on-scene, met with the UCG, including Mayor Walter Maddox, and relayed the Governor Jindal’s commitment to assisting Alabama A press conference was held in which Tuscaloosa Mayor Maddox commended Governor Jindal for the assistance and praised the citizens of LA Thursday, May 5th and Friday, May 6th Continued grid searches Completed searches on Friday No persons were located in the area which was rendered safe for heavy equipment to be moved in Saturday May 7. All LA teams demobilized and return home Louisiana USAR Teams that responded: Task Force 1 (New Orleans region), Task Force 2 (Baton Rouge region), Task Force 3 (Shreveport/Bossier region), Regional Response Team 6 (Alexandria region) and Regional Response Team 8 (Monroe region) The State Agencies that provided personnel: LSP, OSFM and GOHSEP Local fire departments that provided personnel: St. Bernard, Jefferson East Bank, New Orleans, Gonzales, Prairieville, Zachary, Central, West Feliciana, Baton Rouge, Port Allen, Pineville, Shreveport, Bossier City, Caddo Parish Dist. #3, Monroe Background on the State of Louisiana’s USAR Teams: In 2008, Governor Jindal placed USAR under the administration of the Office of State Fire Marshal and allocated 1.4 million for the initial purchase of equipment in three regions of the State (New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport). A five-year plan was developed so that by 2013 the State would have smaller collapse teams in all regions of the state. Currently, there is an active regional team in the Alexandria and Monroe Regions. All teams are fully deployable. The State’s USAR truck is equipped with technical rescue assets that support the regional teams and is operated by the OSFM and centrally located in Alexandria. Teams are capable of rescuing persons trapped in building collapses, underground, or in a high-rise incident. The regional teams have been placed on standby for a number of incidents throughout Louisiana as well as made several local deployments. Governor Bobby Jindal said, "We’ve gotten several words of thanks from the folks in Alabama. The mission of this team was to help conduct secondary searches in a dense residential and commercial area of Tuscaloosa. These teams informed many family members who were waiting on information on their missing loved ones. Their teams were able to search and clear a three square mile area using heavy earth moving equipment to clear debris. Their training is important to locate survivors and let folks know when it's safe to go back into these areas after a storm. We're glad this team is back here – we may need to call on these teams in response to this potential flooding event.” Colonel Mike Edmonson said, "The foundation of public safety is established partnerships. In recent years, Louisiana has faced significant challenges with devastating hurricanes and an unprecedented environmental disaster. In these incidents, partners from across the nation offered assistance and responded when needed. The tragic weather events in Alabama were Louisiana's opportunity to return the favor. It was our duty to respond and we were happy to do so. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those whose lives were affected by these tornados in Alabama and across the southeast." Fire Marshal Butch Browning said, "On behalf of the Louisiana Fire Service, we were honored and grateful for the opportunity to assist the City of Tuscaloosa and the Tuscaloosa Fire Department in the aftermath of this catastrophic tornado that affected the citizens of Tuscaloosa. The call for assistance came and the fire service responded. I am extremely proud of the 130 fire professionals from the Office of State Fire Marshal and 15 local fire departments who answered the call.” Contact Information: Lt. M. Doug Cain, II or Sgt. Len Marie Louisiana State Police Public Affairs Unit 225-925-6202 Office doug.cain@dps.la.gov or lenias.marie@dps.la.gov | |||
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