RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

[Guest guest]

The City of San . They are asking people who want to help to call

211...there is a 800 equivalent but I don't know it.

Dudley

EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

>

> Dear All,

>

> RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

>

> We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> areas.

>

> Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> and the San areas.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Neel

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Any idea who is handling the influx of survivors heading to San ?

Contact name and number?

Mike

> EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

>

> Dear All,

>

> RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

>

> We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> areas.

>

> Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> and the San areas.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Neel

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Mike;

We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help fill

the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

Dave. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

>

> To: < >

> Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> Thanks Dudley

>

>

> > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > >

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > >

> > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > areas.

> > >

> > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > and the San areas.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Neel

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military police

and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what would

we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

assets were in Louisiana?. There are still more disasters looming in this

hurricane season. The NIMS may have its faults, but it is the best we have

and is being tweaked daily. Unrequested rescue personnel were a problem in

NYC on 9/11/01 and have been in other disasters. There may be a call for

more medics--but now the emphasis is rescue and restoration of civility. The

problems that are most pressing are people with chronic medical problems

(dialysis, diabetes, heart disease) who cannot dialyze or get their

medications. In these cases, the physicians and the DMATs are needed and

there is little 91Ws can do. Soon the issue will be recovery of bodies and

public health concerns. As the current group of rescuers become fatigued and

rotated out--there may well be the call you want. Your desire to help is the

same desire that burns deeply in every member of the EMS and fire community.

It is a noble attribute but must be tempered by a system that is

imperfect--but the best we have.

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Borenstein

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:42 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

Mike;

We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help fill

the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

Dave. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

>

> To: < >

> Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> Thanks Dudley

>

>

> > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > >

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > >

> > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > areas.

> > >

> > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > and the San areas.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Neel

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Thanks Dudley

> EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> >

> >

> > Dear All,

> >

> > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> >

> > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > areas.

> >

> > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > and the San areas.

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> > Neel

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

NIMS? What in thw world does that mean?

Bledsoe wrote:

has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military police

and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what would

we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

assets were in Louisiana?. There are still more disasters looming in this

hurricane season. The NIMS may have its faults, but it is the best we have

and is being tweaked daily. Unrequested rescue personnel were a problem in

NYC on 9/11/01 and have been in other disasters. There may be a call for

more medics--but now the emphasis is rescue and restoration of civility. The

problems that are most pressing are people with chronic medical problems

(dialysis, diabetes, heart disease) who cannot dialyze or get their

medications. In these cases, the physicians and the DMATs are needed and

there is little 91Ws can do. Soon the issue will be recovery of bodies and

public health concerns. As the current group of rescuers become fatigued and

rotated out--there may well be the call you want. Your desire to help is the

same desire that burns deeply in every member of the EMS and fire community.

It is a noble attribute but must be tempered by a system that is

imperfect--but the best we have.

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Borenstein

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:42 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

Mike;

We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help fill

the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

Dave. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

>

> To: < >

> Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> Thanks Dudley

>

>

> > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > >

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > >

> > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > areas.

> > >

> > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > and the San areas.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Neel

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

> has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military police

> and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

> governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what would

> we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

> assets were in Louisiana

Which is an important concern that is starting to get discussed - why

hasn't the " terror alert " elevated? Right now would be the IDEAL time

to detonate a dirty bomb in a major city since we have many of our

resources reassigned to Louisiana.

Have you considered that this is almost EXACTLY the same scenario a

dirty bomb would present? Area denial, contamination, panic spreading

and mass evacuation, those left behind unable to care for themselves,

rioting, looting, etc? Now imagine doing everything being done for

Katrina, but doing it in radiation suits.

Be watchful.

Mike :/

[Guest guest]

> Guard 91ws off their rear ends and out to the disaster. We also have our

> right to function in our MOS

Where, exactly, is that " right " enumerated?

Mike :/

[Guest guest]

NIMS- National Incident Management System

www.fema.gov/nims/

-

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of E. Tate

Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 10:19

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

Mr. Borenstein,

What in the world are you talking about? How does your statement relate to

my question?

Tater

Borenstein wrote:

MrTate:

Many of us 91 Ws are EMTs and a large bunch of us are PARAMEDICS,As I am.

this disaster is what we have trained for.Many medics want to help. Do not

tell me that an Army medic can't use his skills. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

> From: E. Tate

> To:

> Date: 9/2/2005 10:08:35 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> NIMS? What in thw world does that mean?

>

>

>

>

>

> Bledsoe wrote:

> has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military

police

> and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

> governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what

would

> we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

> assets were in Louisiana?. There are still more disasters looming in this

> hurricane season. The NIMS may have its faults, but it is the best we have

> and is being tweaked daily. Unrequested rescue personnel were a problem in

> NYC on 9/11/01 and have been in other disasters. There may be a call for

> more medics--but now the emphasis is rescue and restoration of civility.

The

> problems that are most pressing are people with chronic medical problems

> (dialysis, diabetes, heart disease) who cannot dialyze or get their

> medications. In these cases, the physicians and the DMATs are needed and

> there is little 91Ws can do. Soon the issue will be recovery of bodies and

> public health concerns. As the current group of rescuers become fatigued

and

> rotated out--there may well be the call you want. Your desire to help is

the

> same desire that burns deeply in every member of the EMS and fire

community.

> It is a noble attribute but must be tempered by a system that is

> imperfect--but the best we have.

>

> _____

>

> From: [mailto: ] On

> Behalf Of Borenstein

> Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:42 PM

> To:

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

>

> Mike;

> We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help

fill

> the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

> bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

> Dave. Regards,rabbiems

>

>

> > [Original Message]

> > From: Hatfield

> > To:

> > Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> > Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> >

> > Thanks Dudley

> >

> >

> > > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > Dear All,

> > > >

> > > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > > >

> > > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the

state

> > > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area

and

> > > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > > areas.

> > > >

> > > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > > and the San areas.

> > > >

> > > > Thanks,

> > > >

> > > > Neel

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

[Guest guest]

Mr. Tate

I have completed the NIMS training so you can add me to the positive side.

J.D. Cundiff

" E. Tate " wrote:

This was actually a rhetorical question. I posted a poll to this list on the

1st asking if list members had completed their federally mandated training on

NIMS. So far only 6 list members have replied, and they are split 50 - 50. I

believe it is this lack of training that is aiding in the confusion among

responders and potential responders.

There are members of this list that are “chomping at the bits” to get into the

action in Louisiana. If they would simply follow the proper chain of command

(the established protocol under NIMS) and be patient, I am sure that everyone

that wants to help will get a chance. This tragedy is not going to be resolved

in days or even weeks. The responders that are in the trenches will need to be

relieved and some are already swapping out now.

There have been several requests passed down from the Texas EOC requesting

information on available personnel and units. Some of the RAC’s have not

replied to this date. This really is not a surprise considering that the RAC’s

have not informed their people about NIMS and the need to complete the NIMS

training.

We complain about the failure of the various government entities to assist us,

but at the same time we fail to complete simple tasks that are required. Along

this line we fail to follow simple directions regarding the mobilization or

possible mobilization of personnel for disasters. As stated, there were tons of

well intentioned personnel at the WTC, but due to the lack of overall control

through the ICS there were major problems.

The news media has put their spin on the events of the last week. We are only

seeing what they want us to see. Everyone needs to remember that the media

tends (crap 90%of the time they do) to sensationalize events. When is the last

time you saw your local news cover a fender bender in a residential

neighborhood. I’d say probably never. This is because it’s not sensational.

Sensational brings in viewers and sells advertising time.

I heard that a major part of the problem is the Louisiana EOC has not requested

the proper supplies and manpower that was needed to help mitigate the situation.

They were not prepared for this situation from an administrative standpoint.

The needed resources are available from all over the US, all that needs to

happen if for the Louisiana folks to ask for the help. The news reported that

Chicago F.D. offered to send anything that was needed, and the request that was

sent back to them was for 1 Engine Company. Yes, that said ONE engine company.

I urge everyone that has not completed the NIMS training to do so. Go to

http://www.fema.gov/nims/ and look at all of the available training. Complete

the IS-700 portion and make sure you keep a record of this training. This is

federally mandated and all Homeland Security funding will be tied to the

completion of this course. Have you done yours?

In the mean time, everyone needs to take several deep breaths and relax. Make

sure you are physically and mentally prepared to go if called. Read this list

and pay attention to the posts from those that are on the ground in LA & MS.

They are giving you information about the scene you may be called into. Stop

attempting to contact the chain of command and whining about not being sent yet.

If you have notified them of your willingness to help, your job is done at this

point. If you are in any form of military group the chain of command is well

aware of your capabilities and availability, relax and wait. They have their

hands full and do not have time for a bunch of whiny “professionals”.

Patiently in a holding pattern in Tyler,

Tater

Bledsoe wrote:

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

Surely you have heard of it.

http://www.fema.gov/nims/

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of E. Tate

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 10:09 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

NIMS? What in thw world does that mean?

Bledsoe wrote:

has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military police

and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what would

we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

assets were in Louisiana?. There are still more disasters looming in this

hurricane season. The NIMS may have its faults, but it is the best we have

and is being tweaked daily. Unrequested rescue personnel were a problem in

NYC on 9/11/01 and have been in other disasters. There may be a call for

more medics--but now the emphasis is rescue and restoration of civility. The

problems that are most pressing are people with chronic medical problems

(dialysis, diabetes, heart disease) who cannot dialyze or get their

medications. In these cases, the physicians and the DMATs are needed and

there is little 91Ws can do. Soon the issue will be recovery of bodies and

public health concerns. As the current group of rescuers become fatigued and

rotated out--there may well be the call you want. Your desire to help is the

same desire that burns deeply in every member of the EMS and fire community.

It is a noble attribute but must be tempered by a system that is

imperfect--but the best we have.

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Borenstein

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:42 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

Mike;

We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help fill

the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

Dave. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

>

> To: < >

> Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> Thanks Dudley

>

>

> > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > >

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > >

> > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > areas.

> > >

> > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > and the San areas.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Neel

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

J.D.,

Go to http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group// and click on the " polls "

button. You'll see the question posted at the top of the page.

Tater

" J.D. Cundiff " wrote:

Mr. Tate

I have completed the NIMS training so you can add me to the positive side.

J.D. Cundiff

" E. Tate " wrote:

This was actually a rhetorical question. I posted a poll to this list on the

1st asking if list members had completed their federally mandated training on

NIMS. So far only 6 list members have replied, and they are split 50 - 50. I

believe it is this lack of training that is aiding in the confusion among

responders and potential responders.

There are members of this list that are “chomping at the bits” to get into the

action in Louisiana. If they would simply follow the proper chain of command

(the established protocol under NIMS) and be patient, I am sure that everyone

that wants to help will get a chance. This tragedy is not going to be resolved

in days or even weeks. The responders that are in the trenches will need to be

relieved and some are already swapping out now.

There have been several requests passed down from the Texas EOC requesting

information on available personnel and units. Some of the RAC’s have not

replied to this date. This really is not a surprise considering that the RAC’s

have not informed their people about NIMS and the need to complete the NIMS

training.

We complain about the failure of the various government entities to assist us,

but at the same time we fail to complete simple tasks that are required. Along

this line we fail to follow simple directions regarding the mobilization or

possible mobilization of personnel for disasters. As stated, there were tons of

well intentioned personnel at the WTC, but due to the lack of overall control

through the ICS there were major problems.

The news media has put their spin on the events of the last week. We are only

seeing what they want us to see. Everyone needs to remember that the media

tends (crap 90%of the time they do) to sensationalize events. When is the last

time you saw your local news cover a fender bender in a residential

neighborhood. I’d say probably never. This is because it’s not sensational.

Sensational brings in viewers and sells advertising time.

I heard that a major part of the problem is the Louisiana EOC has not requested

the proper supplies and manpower that was needed to help mitigate the situation.

They were not prepared for this situation from an administrative standpoint.

The needed resources are available from all over the US, all that needs to

happen if for the Louisiana folks to ask for the help. The news reported that

Chicago F.D. offered to send anything that was needed, and the request that was

sent back to them was for 1 Engine Company. Yes, that said ONE engine company.

I urge everyone that has not completed the NIMS training to do so. Go to

http://www.fema.gov/nims/ and look at all of the available training. Complete

the IS-700 portion and make sure you keep a record of this training. This is

federally mandated and all Homeland Security funding will be tied to the

completion of this course. Have you done yours?

In the mean time, everyone needs to take several deep breaths and relax. Make

sure you are physically and mentally prepared to go if called. Read this list

and pay attention to the posts from those that are on the ground in LA & MS.

They are giving you information about the scene you may be called into. Stop

attempting to contact the chain of command and whining about not being sent yet.

If you have notified them of your willingness to help, your job is done at this

point. If you are in any form of military group the chain of command is well

aware of your capabilities and availability, relax and wait. They have their

hands full and do not have time for a bunch of whiny “professionals”.

Patiently in a holding pattern in Tyler,

Tater

Bledsoe wrote:

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

Surely you have heard of it.

http://www.fema.gov/nims/

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of E. Tate

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 10:09 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

NIMS? What in thw world does that mean?

Bledsoe wrote:

has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military police

and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what would

we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

assets were in Louisiana?. There are still more disasters looming in this

hurricane season. The NIMS may have its faults, but it is the best we have

and is being tweaked daily. Unrequested rescue personnel were a problem in

NYC on 9/11/01 and have been in other disasters. There may be a call for

more medics--but now the emphasis is rescue and restoration of civility. The

problems that are most pressing are people with chronic medical problems

(dialysis, diabetes, heart disease) who cannot dialyze or get their

medications. In these cases, the physicians and the DMATs are needed and

there is little 91Ws can do. Soon the issue will be recovery of bodies and

public health concerns. As the current group of rescuers become fatigued and

rotated out--there may well be the call you want. Your desire to help is the

same desire that burns deeply in every member of the EMS and fire community.

It is a noble attribute but must be tempered by a system that is

imperfect--but the best we have.

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Borenstein

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:42 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

Mike;

We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help fill

the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

Dave. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

>

> To: < >

> Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> Thanks Dudley

>

>

> > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > >

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > >

> > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > areas.

> > >

> > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > and the San areas.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Neel

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

J.D.,

Go to http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group// and click on the " polls "

button. You'll see the question posted at the top of the page.

Tater

" J.D. Cundiff " wrote:

Mr. Tate

I have completed the NIMS training so you can add me to the positive side.

J.D. Cundiff

" E. Tate " wrote:

This was actually a rhetorical question. I posted a poll to this list on the

1st asking if list members had completed their federally mandated training on

NIMS. So far only 6 list members have replied, and they are split 50 - 50. I

believe it is this lack of training that is aiding in the confusion among

responders and potential responders.

There are members of this list that are “chomping at the bits” to get into the

action in Louisiana. If they would simply follow the proper chain of command

(the established protocol under NIMS) and be patient, I am sure that everyone

that wants to help will get a chance. This tragedy is not going to be resolved

in days or even weeks. The responders that are in the trenches will need to be

relieved and some are already swapping out now.

There have been several requests passed down from the Texas EOC requesting

information on available personnel and units. Some of the RAC’s have not

replied to this date. This really is not a surprise considering that the RAC’s

have not informed their people about NIMS and the need to complete the NIMS

training.

We complain about the failure of the various government entities to assist us,

but at the same time we fail to complete simple tasks that are required. Along

this line we fail to follow simple directions regarding the mobilization or

possible mobilization of personnel for disasters. As stated, there were tons of

well intentioned personnel at the WTC, but due to the lack of overall control

through the ICS there were major problems.

The news media has put their spin on the events of the last week. We are only

seeing what they want us to see. Everyone needs to remember that the media

tends (crap 90%of the time they do) to sensationalize events. When is the last

time you saw your local news cover a fender bender in a residential

neighborhood. I’d say probably never. This is because it’s not sensational.

Sensational brings in viewers and sells advertising time.

I heard that a major part of the problem is the Louisiana EOC has not requested

the proper supplies and manpower that was needed to help mitigate the situation.

They were not prepared for this situation from an administrative standpoint.

The needed resources are available from all over the US, all that needs to

happen if for the Louisiana folks to ask for the help. The news reported that

Chicago F.D. offered to send anything that was needed, and the request that was

sent back to them was for 1 Engine Company. Yes, that said ONE engine company.

I urge everyone that has not completed the NIMS training to do so. Go to

http://www.fema.gov/nims/ and look at all of the available training. Complete

the IS-700 portion and make sure you keep a record of this training. This is

federally mandated and all Homeland Security funding will be tied to the

completion of this course. Have you done yours?

In the mean time, everyone needs to take several deep breaths and relax. Make

sure you are physically and mentally prepared to go if called. Read this list

and pay attention to the posts from those that are on the ground in LA & MS.

They are giving you information about the scene you may be called into. Stop

attempting to contact the chain of command and whining about not being sent yet.

If you have notified them of your willingness to help, your job is done at this

point. If you are in any form of military group the chain of command is well

aware of your capabilities and availability, relax and wait. They have their

hands full and do not have time for a bunch of whiny “professionals”.

Patiently in a holding pattern in Tyler,

Tater

Bledsoe wrote:

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

Surely you have heard of it.

http://www.fema.gov/nims/

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of E. Tate

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 10:09 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

NIMS? What in thw world does that mean?

Bledsoe wrote:

has activated some units of the Texas National Guard (military police

and such) at the request of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

governors. He cannot send assets until they are requested. Also, what would

we do if an earthquake hit California or a tornado hit Texas and all our

assets were in Louisiana?. There are still more disasters looming in this

hurricane season. The NIMS may have its faults, but it is the best we have

and is being tweaked daily. Unrequested rescue personnel were a problem in

NYC on 9/11/01 and have been in other disasters. There may be a call for

more medics--but now the emphasis is rescue and restoration of civility. The

problems that are most pressing are people with chronic medical problems

(dialysis, diabetes, heart disease) who cannot dialyze or get their

medications. In these cases, the physicians and the DMATs are needed and

there is little 91Ws can do. Soon the issue will be recovery of bodies and

public health concerns. As the current group of rescuers become fatigued and

rotated out--there may well be the call you want. Your desire to help is the

same desire that burns deeply in every member of the EMS and fire community.

It is a noble attribute but must be tempered by a system that is

imperfect--but the best we have.

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Borenstein

Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:42 PM

To:

Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

Mike;

We need to get Governor to get his National Guard medics to help fill

the ranks in Texas or New Orleans. Help me put the heat on him. I can't

bear sitting on my rear end and not helping one of my best friends in NO

Dave. Regards,rabbiems

> [Original Message]

>

> To: < >

> Date: 9/2/2005 7:52:52 PM

> Subject: RE: EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

>

> Thanks Dudley

>

>

> > EMS Response to Evacuation Centers

> > >

> > >

> > > Dear All,

> > >

> > > RAC-R is running a dispatch center so as to assist SETTRAC with

> > > coordination of units and personnel to the Astrodome.

> > >

> > > We have received several calls from folks in other areas of the state

> > > and would appreciate it if someone could advise of who to contact in

> > > those areas for volunteers to assist with those shelters. It just

> > > doesn't make sense to bring folks to Houston from the Dallas area and

> > > etc., when we know that there will be a need for assistance in those

> > > areas.

> > >

> > > Please post any contact information you may have for both the Dallas

> > > and the San areas.

> > >

> > > Thanks,

> > >

> > > Neel

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And

they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando

[Guest guest]

And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And

they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando

[Guest guest]

Ed, I appreciate your comment. This is why I am in the position I am in is to

help people. You couldn't said said it any plainer. Sometimes people just

complain instead of knowing the real truth. My prayers are out for you and your

family, Thank you for who you are Pritchett EMT-I

emsbrando@... wrote:And another thing about the media. I wish they were

with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And

they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando

[Guest guest]

Ed, I appreciate your comment. This is why I am in the position I am in is to

help people. You couldn't said said it any plainer. Sometimes people just

complain instead of knowing the real truth. My prayers are out for you and your

family, Thank you for who you are Pritchett EMT-I

emsbrando@... wrote:And another thing about the media. I wish they were

with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And

they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I've been dealing with the “survivors” most of today here in Tyler. Calling a

person a “refugee” or an “evacuee” is a negative statement and causes a sense of

hopelessness. I say this because the Red Cross stressed to us today that the

one thing that will keep our “Friends from Louisiana” upbeat is Hope. We must

remember that when contacting them in any way, even on the front lines. We must

help them to maintain a sense of hope. Without hope, they have nothing. With

nothing, they will result to lawlessness and other negative means of

communication and survivorship.

In Tyler's disaster plan there are 3 designated shelters. As of Friday night

those were all full, just as Governor called saying there were an

additional 1000 people coming to Tyler from the disaster areas. Our EOC went

into overdrive and designated a 4th shelter at UT-Tyler’s Patriot Center and

asked our church to oversee it. The first survivors arrived on Saturday, less

than 24 hours after our initial notification. We are planning for 6 – 8 weeks

possibly, we just do not know at this point. Our maximum capacity will be 240.

UT has set up several computers with internet access. Volunteers are assisting

these survivors in locating missing family members and letting others know that

they are safe. The website that is coordinating this effort is located at

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate

Several of the survivors here are trying to get to other areas of the country to

join other family members. There is a huge dry erase board with the names of

the survivors, where they want to go, and the estimated cost of a bus ticket.

Our church is gathering donations to help with these things. If you aren’t

available to help in person (I.e. too far away from any of the shelters) send

money even if it’s just a few dollars, donate blood, etc.

If you are not called into action on the front lines with Alan, Ed, Meris, and

the others that have been mentioned on this list, please offer to volunteer with

the Red Cross. They need all kinds of help. Today I made plans for an Engine

Company to come to the shelter in my fire district and “entertain” the kids for

a little while. You might think this is a trivial issue, but try locking

yourself in a small room several young children for 3 or 4 days and see what you

think then. Anything entertaining would be welcome. I bet Luther and his

fellows could more than help with something like this (hint, hint, hint). I am

also working with a local Ice Cream manufacturer to supply enough Ice Cream for

these survivors so that they can enjoy the holiday tomorrow. One of the most

important things is to help them maintain a sense of normalcy.

We have very close family friends in , Mississippi. They said there us

substantial damage in that area. Every highway sign is gone and a large

percentage of trees are down. A thought I had about this was, what if this

storm had made landfall in the Houston area? This would have assured great

destruction as far north as Tyler.

Mobilized and working in Tyler,

Tater

P.S. A note on the ridiculous side:

hire Grocery Company here in Tyler is shipping food and water as fast as

they can to that area. They are donating the ice and water they are sending to

that area. One of their trucks was issued a ticket for being 225 pounds over

the legal weight limit this week while passing through a weigh station. You

would think the Troopers would have some common sense about them with this.

Good grief, that cop really needs to get a life!!!!

Tater

je.hill@... wrote:Ed, thank you for sharing this and your prior post with

us. The general tendency for human nature under stress is to be highly critical

of others. " It is not enough, it isn't fast enough, we aren't getting any

help... " While there will be many more lessons learned on how to deal with a

crisis of this magnitude, we should all be careful not to spend too much energy

on criticizing and pointing fingers and instead, expend that energy on not only

trying to continue to mitigate the process but start collecting and collating

the lessons learned and make sure that we do better next time. God forbid there

will be a next time, but there will be. Whether it will be a natural disaster

or an act of terrorism or out and out war, we have no way to know. But this

situation has shown many in all stages of government and emergency reponse which

of the tabletop drills and plans work, which ones don't, and should provide

structure for development of newer and bigger plans

for the protection of the American public in the future. It is unfortunate

that many of our Americans have had to suffer and will continue to suffer (not

counting the drain on resources and burden on the entire American population for

years to come), but no matter how much you plan, no matter how your plans are

developed and which " experts " help lay the plan out, we were still depending on

human imagination and simulations to try and develop bigger and better plans

since 9/11. The media has only just begun showing the massive response that is

coming in now from the military, public and private organizations, and

surrounding states. It DOES take time to implement responses and part of the

problem seems to have been communications between the EOC's of the affected

states and FEMA, surrounding state EOC's, and other groups. BUT, we learn from

mistakes - that is ALSO sometimes the ONLY way we humans learn (and sometimes

not even then). So hopefully streamlining and integration of

disaster plans will be the major topic for the future.

Ways to look ahead include taking our RAC disaster plans for instance and

ensuring that ALL other response agencies are involved with them and know what

we are going to do, we know what they are going to do, and plan ahead of time on

how to work together. Then correlating those plans with surrounding RAC's and

our state agencies is the next step so that we can fall in with them. And then

comes the feds, and we have to develop our plans so we can adequately and

efficiently work with them.

Unfortunately, hospitals and EMS folks sometimes forget that to mitigate a large

response in our home areas, we have to have plans in place to play with EVERYONE

and know who and what and how to get everyone that we need promptly. One lesson

learned from Katrina is that our state governments have to call for federal help

like the National Guard and other branches of the military for natural disasters

(if they forget, then the feds just can't send them based on what they THINK

they need). Our state governments have to not only implement their state plans

but if the disaster is large, like in this case, their EOC's have to immediately

set up folks to work with state EOC's from as many states as they feel they need

to help them. And they have to continue to communicate with them and the feds

or the process of getting much needed aid bogs down.

So there are a couple of issues here while we watch in awe the massive relief

going on or, we actively participate if given the chance. One is to start

working on our local plans to better correlate them with our COG's, our county

and city emergency management officials, our local fire services - ANYONE who

might be involved. All players have to be at the table and work on the plans

TOGETHER or they JUST DON'T WORK. Then we need to take those developed plans

and work with our state DSHS and Emergency Management group, who will be

responsible for our State EOC in a large incident. THEY then should help us

correlate our plans with the government agencies. I think that was the original

intent of NIMS, but it has issues and will probable mutate as will once this

response has minimized and the future starts to be reviewed. But in our section

of Texas, most EMS agencies and such have never heard of NIMS, and many

individuals in our hospitals and RAC's and EMS services have not even

begun to look at the possibilities and the potentially VERY big picture.

Second, Ed pointed out that we need to look at these refugees coming into our

own communities. We need to find ways to make that situation work for THEM and

FOR US. While many of these folks coming to our cities are innocents who are

really down on their luck, there are those mixed in who can prove to be a strain

on our resources including law enforcement. We the citizens of our cities and

counties must look at this situation and get our churches and RACs and everyone

we can involved with mitigating the potential issues for US, and trying to help

these people as much as we reasonably can.

There is plenty to do for everyone I think. I am sitting at home today doing

laundry waiting on what I will be assigned to do hopefully by our RAC or other

agencies in our area to help mitigate the impact of the response on the Big

Country. I am anxious to see what our RAC has committed to the state EOC and

help with that if needed because that is the proper chain of command. But my

hat is definitely off to you Ed and all of the other relief workers, private,

public, military, federal, whomever who have been able to go to these states and

actively help them. Please keep free from disease while you are there, and may

God bless you all.

Jane Hill

-------------- Original message from emsbrando@...: --------------

And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And

they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando

[Guest guest]

Was this a Texas or a Louisiana trooper?

GG

> Unbelievable........

>

> Jane Hill

>

> -------------- Original message from " E. Tate " :

> --------------

>

> My understanding on the ticket is that is was issued in Louisiana........Â

> Sounds like that trooper needs to be reassigned to NOLA.

>

>

> Tater

>

>

>

> je.hill@... wrote:

> You have very good points all, . Thanks for the info and God bless you

> and TFD for your efforts. And see if you can find a way to send the info on

> that ticket to DPS chiefs in Austin. Somebody needs to say something here....

> I realize the rules are there to protect the lifespan of our roads but that

> is really unconscionable in my opinion.

>

> Jane Hill

>

> -------------- Original message from " E. Tate " : --------------

>

>

> Hello everyone,

>

>

>

> I've been dealing with the “survivors†most of today here in Tyler.

Calling

> a person a “refugee†or an “evacuee†is a negative statement and

causes a

> sense of hopelessness. I say this because the Red Cross stressed to us today

> that the one thing that will keep our “Friends from Louisiana†upbeat is

> Hope. We must remember that when contacting them in any way, even on the front

> lines. We must help them to maintain a sense of hope. Without hope, they have

> nothing. With nothing, they will result to lawlessness and other negative

> means of communication and survivorship.

>

>

>

> In Tyler's disaster plan there are 3 designated shelters. As of Friday night

> those were all full, just as Governor called saying there were an

> additional 1000 people coming to Tyler from the disaster areas. Our EOC went

into

> overdrive and designated a 4th shelter at UT-Tyler’s Patriot Center and

> asked our church to oversee it. The first survivors arrived on Saturday, less

> than 24 hours after our initial notification. We are planning for 6 – 8

weeks

> possibly, we just do not know at this point. Our maximum capacity will be 240.

>

>

>

> UT has set up several computers with internet access. Volunteers are

> assisting these survivors in locating missing family members and letting

others know

> that they are safe. The website that is coordinating this effort is located

> at http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate

>

>

>

> Several of the survivors here are trying to get to other areas of the

> country to join other family members. There is a huge dry erase board with the

> names of the survivors, where they want to go, and the estimated cost of a bus

> ticket. Our church is gathering donations to help with these things. If you

aren

> ’t available to help in person (I.e. too far away from any of the shelters)

> send money even if it’s just a few dollars, donate blood, etc.

>

>

>

> If you are not called into action on the front lines with Alan, Ed, Meris,

> and the others that have been mentioned on this list, please offer to

> volunteer with the Red Cross. They need all kinds of help. Today I made plans

for an

> Engine Company to come to the shelter in my fire district and “entertainâ€

> the kids for a little while. You might think this is a trivial issue, but try

> locking yourself in a small room several young children for 3 or 4 days and

> see what you think then. Anything entertaining would be welcome. I bet

> Luther and his fellows could more than help with something like this (hint,

> hint, hint). I am also working with a local Ice Cream manufacturer to supply

> enough Ice Cream for these survivors so that they can enjoy the holiday

> tomorrow. One of the most important things is to help them maintain a sense of

> normalcy.

>

>

>

> We have very close family friends in , Mississippi. They said there

> us substantial damage in that area. Every highway sign is gone and a large

> percentage of trees are down. A thought I had about this was, what if this

storm

> had made landfall in the Houston area? This would have assured great

> destruction as far north as Tyler.

>

>

>

>

>

> Mobilized and working in Tyler,

>

> Tater

>

>

>

> P.S. A note on the ridiculous side:

>

>

>

> hire Grocery Company here in Tyler is shipping food and water as fast

> as they can to that area. They are donating the ice and water they are

> sending to that area. One of their trucks was issued a ticket for being 225

pounds

> over the legal weight limit this week while passing through a weigh station.

> You would think the Troopers would have some common sense about them with

> this. Good grief, that cop really needs to get a life!!!!

>

>

>

> Tater

>

>

> je.hill@... wrote:Ed, thank you for sharing this and your prior post

> with us. The general tendency for human nature under stress is to be highly

> critical of others. " It is not enough, it isn't fast enough, we aren't getting

> any help... " While there will be many more lessons learned on how to deal with

> a crisis of this magnitude, we should all be careful not to spend too much

> energy on criticizing and pointing fingers and instead, expend that energy on

> not only trying to continue to mitigate the process but start collecting and

> collating the lessons learned and make sure that we do better next time. God

> forbid there will be a next time, but there will be. Whether it will be a

> natural disaster or an act of terrorism or out and out war, we have no way to

> know. But this situation has shown many in all stages of government and

> emergency reponse which of the tabletop drills and plans work, which ones

don't, and

> should provide structure for development of newer and bigger plans

> for the protection of the American public in the future. It is unfortunate

> that many of our Americans have had to suffer and will continue to suffer (not

> counting the drain on resources and burden on the entire American population

> for years to come), but no matter how much you plan, no matter how your

> plans are developed and which " experts " help lay the plan out, we were still

> depending on human imagination and simulations to try and develop bigger and

> better plans since 9/11. The media has only just begun showing the massive

> response that is coming in now from the military, public and private

organizations,

> and surrounding states. It DOES take time to implement responses and part of

> the problem seems to have been communications between the EOC's of the

> affected states and FEMA, surrounding state EOC's, and other groups. BUT, we

learn

> from mistakes - that is ALSO sometimes the ONLY way we humans learn (and

> sometimes not even then). So hopefully streamlining and integration of

> disaster plans will be the major topic for the future.

>

> Ways to look ahead include taking our RAC disaster plans for instance and

> ensuring that ALL other response agencies are involved with them and know what

> we are going to do, we know what they are going to do, and plan ahead of time

> on how to work together. Then correlating those plans with surrounding RAC's

> and our state agencies is the next step so that we can fall in with them.

> And then comes the feds, and we have to develop our plans so we can adequately

> and efficiently work with them.

> Unfortunately, hospitals and EMS folks sometimes forget that to mitigate a

> large response in our home areas, we have to have plans in place to play with

> EVERYONE and know who and what and how to get everyone that we need promptly.

> One lesson learned from Katrina is that our state governments have to call

> for federal help like the National Guard and other branches of the military

> for natural disasters (if they forget, then the feds just can't send them

based

> on what they THINK they need). Our state governments have to not only

> implement their state plans but if the disaster is large, like in this case,

their

> EOC's have to immediately set up folks to work with state EOC's from as many

> states as they feel they need to help them. And they have to continue to

> communicate with them and the feds or the process of getting much needed aid

bogs

> down.

>

> So there are a couple of issues here while we watch in awe the massive

> relief going on or, we actively participate if given the chance. One is to

start

> working on our local plans to better correlate them with our COG's, our county

> and city emergency management officials, our local fire services - ANYONE

> who might be involved. All players have to be at the table and work on the

> plans TOGETHER or they JUST DON'T WORK. Then we need to take those developed

> plans and work with our state DSHS and Emergency Management group, who will be

> responsible for our State EOC in a large incident. THEY then should help us

> correlate our plans with the government agencies. I think that was the

original

> intent of NIMS, but it has issues and will probable mutate as will once this

> response has minimized and the future starts to be reviewed. But in our

> section of Texas, most EMS agencies and such have never heard of NIMS, and

many

> individuals in our hospitals and RAC's and EMS services have not even

> begun to look at the possibilities and the potentially VERY big picture.

>

> Second, Ed pointed out that we need to look at these refugees coming into

> our own communities. We need to find ways to make that situation work for THEM

> and FOR US. While many of these folks coming to our cities are innocents who

> are really down on their luck, there are those mixed in who can prove to be a

> strain on our resources including law enforcement. We the citizens of our

> cities and counties must look at this situation and get our churches and RACs

> and everyone we can involved with mitigating the potential issues for US, and

> trying to help these people as much as we reasonably can.

>

> There is plenty to do for everyone I think. I am sitting at home today doing

> laundry waiting on what I will be assigned to do hopefully by our RAC or

> other agencies in our area to help mitigate the impact of the response on the

> Big Country. I am anxious to see what our RAC has committed to the state EOC

> and help with that if needed because that is the proper chain of command. But

> my hat is definitely off to you Ed and all of the other relief workers,

> private, public, military, federal, whomever who have been able to go to these

> states and actively help them. Please keep free from disease while you are

there,

> and may God bless you all.

>

> Jane Hill

>

> -------------- Original message from emsbrando@...: --------------

>

> And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

> they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

> as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

> peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

> three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

> would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

> that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And

> they

> would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

> the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive

> or

> not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

> Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let

> families know

> that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

> somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

> nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just

> being

> human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the

> rest

> of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

> and would go back in a heartbeat.

>

> Ed Brando

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My understanding on the ticket is that is was issued in Louisiana........

Sounds like that trooper needs to be reassigned to NOLA.

Tater

je.hill@... wrote:

You have very good points all, . Thanks for the info and God bless you and

TFD for your efforts. And see if you can find a way to send the info on that

ticket to DPS chiefs in Austin. Somebody needs to say something here.... I

realize the rules are there to protect the lifespan of our roads but that is

really unconscionable in my opinion.

Jane Hill

-------------- Original message from " E. Tate " : --------------

Hello everyone,

I've been dealing with the “survivors” most of today here in Tyler. Calling a

person a “refugee” or an “evacuee” is a negative statement and causes a sense of

hopelessness. I say this because the Red Cross stressed to us today that the one

thing that will keep our “Friends from Louisiana” upbeat is Hope. We must

remember that when contacting them in any way, even on the front lines. We must

help them to maintain a sense of hope. Without hope, they have nothing. With

nothing, they will result to lawlessness and other negative means of

communication and survivorship.

In Tyler's disaster plan there are 3 designated shelters. As of Friday night

those were all full, just as Governor called saying there were an

additional 1000 people coming to Tyler from the disaster areas. Our EOC went

into overdrive and designated a 4th shelter at UT-Tyler’s Patriot Center and

asked our church to oversee it. The first survivors arrived on Saturday, less

than 24 hours after our initial notification. We are planning for 6 – 8 weeks

possibly, we just do not know at this point. Our maximum capacity will be 240.

UT has set up several computers with internet access. Volunteers are assisting

these survivors in locating missing family members and letting others know that

they are safe. The website that is coordinating this effort is located at

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate

Several of the survivors here are trying to get to other areas of the country to

join other family members. There is a huge dry erase board with the names of the

survivors, where they want to go, and the estimated cost of a bus ticket. Our

church is gathering donations to help with these things. If you aren’t available

to help in person (I.e. too far away from any of the shelters) send money even

if it’s just a few dollars, donate blood, etc.

If you are not called into action on the front lines with Alan, Ed, Meris, and

the others that have been mentioned on this list, please offer to volunteer with

the Red Cross. They need all kinds of help. Today I made plans for an Engine

Company to come to the shelter in my fire district and “entertain” the kids for

a little while. You might think this is a trivial issue, but try locking

yourself in a small room several young children for 3 or 4 days and see what you

think then. Anything entertaining would be welcome. I bet Luther and his

fellows could more than help with something like this (hint, hint, hint). I am

also working with a local Ice Cream manufacturer to supply enough Ice Cream for

these survivors so that they can enjoy the holiday tomorrow. One of the most

important things is to help them maintain a sense of normalcy.

We have very close family friends in , Mississippi. They said there us

substantial damage in that area. Every highway sign is gone and a large

percentage of trees are down. A thought I had about this was, what if this storm

had made landfall in the Houston area? This would have assured great destruction

as far north as Tyler.

Mobilized and working in Tyler,

Tater

P.S. A note on the ridiculous side:

hire Grocery Company here in Tyler is shipping food and water as fast as

they can to that area. They are donating the ice and water they are sending to

that area. One of their trucks was issued a ticket for being 225 pounds over the

legal weight limit this week while passing through a weigh station. You would

think the Troopers would have some common sense about them with this. Good

grief, that cop really needs to get a life!!!!

Tater

je.hill@... wrote:Ed, thank you for sharing this and your prior post with

us. The general tendency for human nature under stress is to be highly critical

of others. " It is not enough, it isn't fast enough, we aren't getting any

help... " While there will be many more lessons learned on how to deal with a

crisis of this magnitude, we should all be careful not to spend too much energy

on criticizing and pointing fingers and instead, expend that energy on not only

trying to continue to mitigate the process but start collecting and collating

the lessons learned and make sure that we do better next time. God forbid there

will be a next time, but there will be. Whether it will be a natural disaster or

an act of terrorism or out and out war, we have no way to know. But this

situation has shown many in all stages of government and emergency reponse which

of the tabletop drills and plans work, which ones don't, and should provide

structure for development of newer and bigger plans

for the protection of the American public in the future. It is unfortunate that

many of our Americans have had to suffer and will continue to suffer (not

counting the drain on resources and burden on the entire American population for

years to come), but no matter how much you plan, no matter how your plans are

developed and which " experts " help lay the plan out, we were still depending on

human imagination and simulations to try and develop bigger and better plans

since 9/11. The media has only just begun showing the massive response that is

coming in now from the military, public and private organizations, and

surrounding states. It DOES take time to implement responses and part of the

problem seems to have been communications between the EOC's of the affected

states and FEMA, surrounding state EOC's, and other groups. BUT, we learn from

mistakes - that is ALSO sometimes the ONLY way we humans learn (and sometimes

not even then). So hopefully streamlining and integration of

disaster plans will be the major topic for the future.

Ways to look ahead include taking our RAC disaster plans for instance and

ensuring that ALL other response agencies are involved with them and know what

we are going to do, we know what they are going to do, and plan ahead of time on

how to work together. Then correlating those plans with surrounding RAC's and

our state agencies is the next step so that we can fall in with them. And then

comes the feds, and we have to develop our plans so we can adequately and

efficiently work with them.

Unfortunately, hospitals and EMS folks sometimes forget that to mitigate a large

response in our home areas, we have to have plans in place to play with EVERYONE

and know who and what and how to get everyone that we need promptly. One lesson

learned from Katrina is that our state governments have to call for federal help

like the National Guard and other branches of the military for natural disasters

(if they forget, then the feds just can't send them based on what they THINK

they need). Our state governments have to not only implement their state plans

but if the disaster is large, like in this case, their EOC's have to immediately

set up folks to work with state EOC's from as many states as they feel they need

to help them. And they have to continue to communicate with them and the feds or

the process of getting much needed aid bogs down.

So there are a couple of issues here while we watch in awe the massive relief

going on or, we actively participate if given the chance. One is to start

working on our local plans to better correlate them with our COG's, our county

and city emergency management officials, our local fire services - ANYONE who

might be involved. All players have to be at the table and work on the plans

TOGETHER or they JUST DON'T WORK. Then we need to take those developed plans and

work with our state DSHS and Emergency Management group, who will be responsible

for our State EOC in a large incident. THEY then should help us correlate our

plans with the government agencies. I think that was the original intent of

NIMS, but it has issues and will probable mutate as will once this response has

minimized and the future starts to be reviewed. But in our section of Texas,

most EMS agencies and such have never heard of NIMS, and many individuals in our

hospitals and RAC's and EMS services have not even

begun to look at the possibilities and the potentially VERY big picture.

Second, Ed pointed out that we need to look at these refugees coming into our

own communities. We need to find ways to make that situation work for THEM and

FOR US. While many of these folks coming to our cities are innocents who are

really down on their luck, there are those mixed in who can prove to be a strain

on our resources including law enforcement. We the citizens of our cities and

counties must look at this situation and get our churches and RACs and everyone

we can involved with mitigating the potential issues for US, and trying to help

these people as much as we reasonably can.

There is plenty to do for everyone I think. I am sitting at home today doing

laundry waiting on what I will be assigned to do hopefully by our RAC or other

agencies in our area to help mitigate the impact of the response on the Big

Country. I am anxious to see what our RAC has committed to the state EOC and

help with that if needed because that is the proper chain of command. But my hat

is definitely off to you Ed and all of the other relief workers, private,

public, military, federal, whomever who have been able to go to these states and

actively help them. Please keep free from disease while you are there, and may

God bless you all.

Jane Hill

-------------- Original message from emsbrando@...: --------------

And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando

[Guest guest]

Not to be cynical but rumors have been so rampant, who actually can verify

that this happened?

Andy

In a message dated 9/5/2005 7:19:37 P.M. Central Standard Time,

wegandy1938@... writes:

Was this a Texas or a Louisiana trooper?

GG

> Unbelievable........

>

> Jane Hill

>

> -------------- Original message from " E. Tate " :

> --------------

>

> My understanding on the ticket is that is was issued in Louisiana........

> Sounds like that trooper needs to be reassigned to NOLA.

>

>

> Tater

>

>

>

> je.hill@... wrote:

> You have very good points all, . Thanks for the info and God bless

you

> and TFD for your efforts. And see if you can find a way to send the info

on

> that ticket to DPS chiefs in Austin. Somebody needs to say something

here....

> I realize the rules are there to protect the lifespan of our roads but

that

> is really unconscionable in my opinion.

>

> Jane Hill

>

> -------------- Original message from " E. Tate " : --------------

>

>

> Hello everyone,

>

>

>

> I've been dealing with the “survivors†most of today here in Tyler.

Calling

> a person a “refugee†or an “evacuee†is a negative statement and

causes

a

> sense of hopelessness. I say this because the Red Cross stressed to us

today

> that the one thing that will keep our “Friends from Louisiana†upbeat is

> Hope. We must remember that when contacting them in any way, even on the

front

> lines. We must help them to maintain a sense of hope. Without hope, they

have

> nothing. With nothing, they will result to lawlessness and other negative

> means of communication and survivorship.

>

>

>

> In Tyler's disaster plan there are 3 designated shelters. As of Friday

night

> those were all full, just as Governor called saying there were an

> additional 1000 people coming to Tyler from the disaster areas. Our EOC

went into

> overdrive and designated a 4th shelter at UT-Tyler’s Patriot Center and

> asked our church to oversee it. The first survivors arrived on Saturday,

less

> than 24 hours after our initial notification. We are planning for 6 – 8

weeks

> possibly, we just do not know at this point. Our maximum capacity will be

240.

>

>

>

> UT has set up several computers with internet access. Volunteers are

> assisting these survivors in locating missing family members and letting

others know

> that they are safe. The website that is coordinating this effort is

located

> at http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate

>

>

>

> Several of the survivors here are trying to get to other areas of the

> country to join other family members. There is a huge dry erase board with

the

> names of the survivors, where they want to go, and the estimated cost of a

bus

> ticket. Our church is gathering donations to help with these things. If

you aren

> ’t available to help in person (I.e. too far away from any of the

shelters)

> send money even if it’s just a few dollars, donate blood, etc.

>

>

>

> If you are not called into action on the front lines with Alan, Ed, Meris,

> and the others that have been mentioned on this list, please offer to

> volunteer with the Red Cross. They need all kinds of help. Today I made

plans for an

> Engine Company to come to the shelter in my fire district and “entertainâ€

> the kids for a little while. You might think this is a trivial issue, but

try

> locking yourself in a small room several young children for 3 or 4 days

and

> see what you think then. Anything entertaining would be welcome. I bet

> Luther and his fellows could more than help with something like this

(hint,

> hint, hint). I am also working with a local Ice Cream manufacturer to

supply

> enough Ice Cream for these survivors so that they can enjoy the holiday

> tomorrow. One of the most important things is to help them maintain a

sense of

> normalcy.

>

>

>

> We have very close family friends in , Mississippi. They said there

> us substantial damage in that area. Every highway sign is gone and a large

> percentage of trees are down. A thought I had about this was, what if this

storm

> had made landfall in the Houston area? This would have assured great

> destruction as far north as Tyler.

>

>

>

>

>

> Mobilized and working in Tyler,

>

> Tater

>

>

>

> P.S. A note on the ridiculous side:

>

>

>

> hire Grocery Company here in Tyler is shipping food and water as

fast

> as they can to that area. They are donating the ice and water they are

> sending to that area. One of their trucks was issued a ticket for being

225 pounds

> over the legal weight limit this week while passing through a weigh

station.

> You would think the Troopers would have some common sense about them with

> this. Good grief, that cop really needs to get a life!!!!

>

>

>

> Tater

>

>

> je.hill@... wrote:Ed, thank you for sharing this and your prior post

> with us. The general tendency for human nature under stress is to be

highly

> critical of others. " It is not enough, it isn't fast enough, we aren't

getting

> any help... " While there will be many more lessons learned on how to deal

with

> a crisis of this magnitude, we should all be careful not to spend too much

> energy on criticizing and pointing fingers and instead, expend that energy

on

> not only trying to continue to mitigate the process but start collecting

and

> collating the lessons learned and make sure that we do better next time.

God

> forbid there will be a next time, but there will be. Whether it will be a

> natural disaster or an act of terrorism or out and out war, we have no way

to

> know. But this situation has shown many in all stages of government and

> emergency reponse which of the tabletop drills and plans work, which ones

don't, and

> should provide structure for development of newer and bigger plans

> for the protection of the American public in the future. It is unfortunate

> that many of our Americans have had to suffer and will continue to suffer

(not

> counting the drain on resources and burden on the entire American

population

> for years to come), but no matter how much you plan, no matter how your

> plans are developed and which " experts " help lay the plan out, we were

still

> depending on human imagination and simulations to try and develop bigger

and

> better plans since 9/11. The media has only just begun showing the massive

> response that is coming in now from the military, public and private

organizations,

> and surrounding states. It DOES take time to implement responses and part

of

> the problem seems to have been communications between the EOC's of the

> affected states and FEMA, surrounding state EOC's, and other groups. BUT,

we learn

> from mistakes - that is ALSO sometimes the ONLY way we humans learn (and

> sometimes not even then). So hopefully streamlining and integration of

> disaster plans will be the major topic for the future.

>

> Ways to look ahead include taking our RAC disaster plans for instance and

> ensuring that ALL other response agencies are involved with them and know

what

> we are going to do, we know what they are going to do, and plan ahead of

time

> on how to work together. Then correlating those plans with surrounding

RAC's

> and our state agencies is the next step so that we can fall in with them.

> And then comes the feds, and we have to develop our plans so we can

adequately

> and efficiently work with them.

> Unfortunately, hospitals and EMS folks sometimes forget that to mitigate a

> large response in our home areas, we have to have plans in place to play

with

> EVERYONE and know who and what and how to get everyone that we need

promptly.

> One lesson learned from Katrina is that our state governments have to call

> for federal help like the National Guard and other branches of the

military

> for natural disasters (if they forget, then the feds just can't send them

based

> on what they THINK they need). Our state governments have to not only

> implement their state plans but if the disaster is large, like in this

case, their

> EOC's have to immediately set up folks to work with state EOC's from as

many

> states as they feel they need to help them. And they have to continue to

> communicate with them and the feds or the process of getting much needed

aid bogs

> down.

>

> So there are a couple of issues here while we watch in awe the massive

> relief going on or, we actively participate if given the chance. One is to

start

> working on our local plans to better correlate them with our COG's, our

county

> and city emergency management officials, our local fire services - ANYONE

> who might be involved. All players have to be at the table and work on the

> plans TOGETHER or they JUST DON'T WORK. Then we need to take those

developed

> plans and work with our state DSHS and Emergency Management group, who

will be

> responsible for our State EOC in a large incident. THEY then should help

us

> correlate our plans with the government agencies. I think that was the

original

> intent of NIMS, but it has issues and will probable mutate as will once

this

> response has minimized and the future starts to be reviewed. But in our

> section of Texas, most EMS agencies and such have never heard of NIMS, and

many

> individuals in our hospitals and RAC's and EMS services have not even

> begun to look at the possibilities and the potentially VERY big picture.

>

> Second, Ed pointed out that we need to look at these refugees coming into

> our own communities. We need to find ways to make that situation work for

THEM

> and FOR US. While many of these folks coming to our cities are innocents

who

> are really down on their luck, there are those mixed in who can prove to

be a

> strain on our resources including law enforcement. We the citizens of our

> cities and counties must look at this situation and get our churches and

RACs

> and everyone we can involved with mitigating the potential issues for US,

and

> trying to help these people as much as we reasonably can.

>

> There is plenty to do for everyone I think. I am sitting at home today

doing

> laundry waiting on what I will be assigned to do hopefully by our RAC or

> other agencies in our area to help mitigate the impact of the response on

the

> Big Country. I am anxious to see what our RAC has committed to the state

EOC

> and help with that if needed because that is the proper chain of command.

But

> my hat is definitely off to you Ed and all of the other relief workers,

> private, public, military, federal, whomever who have been able to go to

these

> states and actively help them. Please keep free from disease while you are

there,

> and may God bless you all.

>

> Jane Hill

>

> -------------- Original message from emsbrando@...: --------------

>

> And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

> they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and

MRE's

> as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding

a

> peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten

in

> three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles.

They

> would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

> that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas.

And

> they

> would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

> the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive

> or

> not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

> Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let

> families know

> that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or

hospital

> somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

> nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just

> being

> human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the

> rest

> of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

> and would go back in a heartbeat.

>

> Ed Brando

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank goodness. I'm glad it wasn't one of ours.

GG

E.(Gene) Gandy

POB 1651

Albany, TX 76430

wegandy1938@...

[Guest guest]

Well, I got it from Tate, Tyler, TX FF/LP, who apparently got it from

somebody in Tyler. Tyler is where hire's national headquarters is. So

I guess you'd have to ask the driver to be absolutely positive.

GG

E.(Gene) Gandy

POB 1651

Albany, TX 76430

wegandy1938@...

[Guest guest]

Well guess what? I have a best friend that is a State Trooper in Louisiana

(Captain) that says if you can produce this ticket or proof of it, he will

personally take care of it and the person that wrote it. But if you cannot,

God help you if he ever finds you across the border.

He is tired of this s__t and the bad publicity that goes with the people

that spread it.

Andy

In a message dated 9/5/2005 8:50:24 P.M. Central Standard Time,

wegandy1938@... writes:

Well, I got it from Tate, Tyler, TX FF/LP, who apparently got it from

somebody in Tyler. Tyler is where hire's national headquarters is.

So

I guess you'd have to ask the driver to be absolutely positive.

GG

E.(Gene) Gandy

POB 1651

Albany, TX 76430

wegandy1938@...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

Well guess what? I have a best friend that is a State Trooper in Louisiana

(Captain) that says if you can produce this ticket or proof of it, he will

personally take care of it and the person that wrote it. But if you cannot,

God help you if he ever finds you across the border.

He is tired of this s__t and the bad publicity that goes with the people

that spread it.

Andy

In a message dated 9/5/2005 8:50:24 P.M. Central Standard Time,

wegandy1938@... writes:

Well, I got it from Tate, Tyler, TX FF/LP, who apparently got it from

somebody in Tyler. Tyler is where hire's national headquarters is.

So

I guess you'd have to ask the driver to be absolutely positive.

GG

E.(Gene) Gandy

POB 1651

Albany, TX 76430

wegandy1938@...

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

Unbelievable........

Jane Hill

-------------- Original message from " E. Tate " :

--------------

My understanding on the ticket is that is was issued in Louisiana........

Sounds like that trooper needs to be reassigned to NOLA.

Tater

je.hill@... wrote:

You have very good points all, . Thanks for the info and God bless you and

TFD for your efforts. And see if you can find a way to send the info on that

ticket to DPS chiefs in Austin. Somebody needs to say something here.... I

realize the rules are there to protect the lifespan of our roads but that is

really unconscionable in my opinion.

Jane Hill

-------------- Original message from " E. Tate " : --------------

Hello everyone,

I've been dealing with the “survivors” most of today here in Tyler. Calling a

person a “refugee” or an “evacuee” is a negative statement and causes a sense of

hopelessness. I say this because the Red Cross stressed to us today that the one

thing that will keep our “Friends from Louisiana” upbeat is Hope. We must

remember that when contacting them in any way, even on the front lines. We must

help them to maintain a sense of hope. Without hope, they have nothing. With

nothing, they will result to lawlessness and other negative means of

communication and survivorship.

In Tyler's disaster plan there are 3 designated shelters. As of Friday night

those were all full, just as Governor called saying there were an

additional 1000 people coming to Tyler from the disaster areas. Our EOC went

into overdrive and designated a 4th shelter at UT-Tyler’s Patriot Center and

asked our church to oversee it. The first survivors arrived on Saturday, less

than 24 hours after our initial notification. We are planning for 6 – 8 weeks

possibly, we just do not know at this point. Our maximum capacity will be 240.

UT has set up several computers with internet access. Volunteers are assisting

these survivors in locating missing family members and letting others know that

they are safe. The website that is coordinating this effort is located at

http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina/locate

Several of the survivors here are trying to get to other areas of the country to

join other family members. There is a huge dry erase board with the names of the

survivors, where they want to go, and the estimated cost of a bus ticket. Our

church is gathering donations to help with these things. If you aren’t available

to help in person (I.e. too far away from any of the shelters) send money even

if it’s just a few dollars, donate blood, etc.

If you are not called into action on the front lines with Alan, Ed, Meris, and

the others that have been mentioned on this list, please offer to volunteer with

the Red Cross. They need all kinds of help. Today I made plans for an Engine

Company to come to the shelter in my fire district and “entertain” the kids for

a little while. You might think this is a trivial issue, but try locking

yourself in a small room several young children for 3 or 4 days and see what you

think then. Anything entertaining would be welcome. I bet Luther and his

fellows could more than help with something like this (hint, hint, hint). I am

also working with a local Ice Cream manufacturer to supply enough Ice Cream for

these survivors so that they can enjoy the holiday tomorrow. One of the most

important things is to help them maintain a sense of normalcy.

We have very close family friends in , Mississippi. They said there us

substantial damage in that area. Every highway sign is gone and a large

percentage of trees are down. A thought I had about this was, what if this storm

had made landfall in the Houston area? This would have assured great destruction

as far north as Tyler.

Mobilized and working in Tyler,

Tater

P.S. A note on the ridiculous side:

hire Grocery Company here in Tyler is shipping food and water as fast as

they can to that area. They are donating the ice and water they are sending to

that area. One of their trucks was issued a ticket for being 225 pounds over the

legal weight limit this week while passing through a weigh station. You would

think the Troopers would have some common sense about them with this. Good

grief, that cop really needs to get a life!!!!

Tater

je.hill@... wrote:Ed, thank you for sharing this and your prior post with

us. The general tendency for human nature under stress is to be highly critical

of others. " It is not enough, it isn't fast enough, we aren't getting any

help... " While there will be many more lessons learned on how to deal with a

crisis of this magnitude, we should all be careful not to spend too much energy

on criticizing and pointing fingers and instead, expend that energy on not only

trying to continue to mitigate the process but start collecting and collating

the lessons learned and make sure that we do better next time. God forbid there

will be a next time, but there will be. Whether it will be a natural disaster or

an act of terrorism or out and out war, we have no way to know. But this

situation has shown many in all stages of government and emergency reponse which

of the tabletop drills and plans work, which ones don't, and should provide

structure for development of newer and bigger plans

for the protection of the American public in the future. It is unfortunate that

many of our Americans have had to suffer and will continue to suffer (not

counting the drain on resources and burden on the entire American population for

years to come), but no matter how much you plan, no matter how your plans are

developed and which " experts " help lay the plan out, we were still depending on

human imagination and simulations to try and develop bigger and better plans

since 9/11. The media has only just begun showing the massive response that is

coming in now from the military, public and private organizations, and

surrounding states. It DOES take time to implement responses and part of the

problem seems to have been communications between the EOC's of the affected

states and FEMA, surrounding state EOC's, and other groups. BUT, we learn from

mistakes - that is ALSO sometimes the ONLY way we humans learn (and sometimes

not even then). So hopefully streamlining and integration of

disaster plans will be the major topic for the future.

Ways to look ahead include taking our RAC disaster plans for instance and

ensuring that ALL other response agencies are involved with them and know what

we are going to do, we know what they are going to do, and plan ahead of time on

how to work together. Then correlating those plans with surrounding RAC's and

our state agencies is the next step so that we can fall in with them. And then

comes the feds, and we have to develop our plans so we can adequately and

efficiently work with them.

Unfortunately, hospitals and EMS folks sometimes forget that to mitigate a large

response in our home areas, we have to have plans in place to play with EVERYONE

and know who and what and how to get everyone that we need promptly. One lesson

learned from Katrina is that our state governments have to call for federal help

like the National Guard and other branches of the military for natural disasters

(if they forget, then the feds just can't send them based on what they THINK

they need). Our state governments have to not only implement their state plans

but if the disaster is large, like in this case, their EOC's have to immediately

set up folks to work with state EOC's from as many states as they feel they need

to help them. And they have to continue to communicate with them and the feds or

the process of getting much needed aid bogs down.

So there are a couple of issues here while we watch in awe the massive relief

going on or, we actively participate if given the chance. One is to start

working on our local plans to better correlate them with our COG's, our county

and city emergency management officials, our local fire services - ANYONE who

might be involved. All players have to be at the table and work on the plans

TOGETHER or they JUST DON'T WORK. Then we need to take those developed plans and

work with our state DSHS and Emergency Management group, who will be responsible

for our State EOC in a large incident. THEY then should help us correlate our

plans with the government agencies. I think that was the original intent of

NIMS, but it has issues and will probable mutate as will once this response has

minimized and the future starts to be reviewed. But in our section of Texas,

most EMS agencies and such have never heard of NIMS, and many individuals in our

hospitals and RAC's and EMS services have not even

begun to look at the possibilities and the potentially VERY big picture.

Second, Ed pointed out that we need to look at these refugees coming into our

own communities. We need to find ways to make that situation work for THEM and

FOR US. While many of these folks coming to our cities are innocents who are

really down on their luck, there are those mixed in who can prove to be a strain

on our resources including law enforcement. We the citizens of our cities and

counties must look at this situation and get our churches and RACs and everyone

we can involved with mitigating the potential issues for US, and trying to help

these people as much as we reasonably can.

There is plenty to do for everyone I think. I am sitting at home today doing

laundry waiting on what I will be assigned to do hopefully by our RAC or other

agencies in our area to help mitigate the impact of the response on the Big

Country. I am anxious to see what our RAC has committed to the state EOC and

help with that if needed because that is the proper chain of command. But my hat

is definitely off to you Ed and all of the other relief workers, private,

public, military, federal, whomever who have been able to go to these states and

actively help them. Please keep free from disease while you are there, and may

God bless you all.

Jane Hill

-------------- Original message from emsbrando@...: --------------

And another thing about the media. I wish they were with us in " Hell " . Then

they would have seen us giving water to all those who requested it and MRE's

as well. They could have seen me give my heater meal to an old man holding a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich crying because that was all he had eaten in

three days, so I traded his sandwich for my heated chicken and noodles. They

would have seen us giving water to the nursing home patients at the airport

that were on baggage carts pulled by a tractor to their assigned areas. And they

would have seen us handing patients our personal cell phones once we dialed

the numbers of their family members because no one knew if they were alive or

not, and the tears of joy from a short conversation. I called family in

Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, California and other places to let families

know

that their loved ones were fine and were on the way to a shelter or hospital

somewhere. They would have seen us taking care of others in a way that has

nothing to do with being a paramedic but has everything to do with just being

human. You wont see that on the news, but I will have that memory for the rest

of my life. If that is all I have, so be it. I've spent my time in " hell " ,

and would go back in a heartbeat.

Ed Brando