TVF&R Assistant Fire Chief Kirk Hale returned home this week from six days in Washington DC, where he—and five other Chief Officers from across the nation—helped advise FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center (NRCC). The NRCC is a 24/7 function, responsible for the monitoring and coordination of local, state, and federal assets responding to the Haiti disaster.
Chief Hale was selected by the International Association of Fire Chiefs due to his experience with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS). He joined chiefs from Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.
Chief Hale states, “As an advisor to the NRCC, the majority of our 12-14 hour work day consisted of helping coordinate the flow of information amongst the many response agencies and developing the daily Incident Action Plan for the next operational period.” The Incident Action Plan helped ensure that the daily operational, planning, logistical, and financial priorities of the response agencies in Haiti were coordinated and effective.
States Hale, “Our department is greatly saddened by the tragedy in Haiti. This opportunity to respond and use my skills to assist in the federal response was a great privilege.” Hale added, “I look forward to applying the lessons learned from this unique experience to TVF&R and its own disaster plans.” All costs associated with Chief Hale’s deployment are reimbursed by FEMA.
Chief Hale has over 30 years experience in public and private sector emergency services response. He has been with TVF&R for 19 years, the past 10 as an Assistant Chief. He has also served on a variety of Federal, State & local Incident Management Teams (Type I, II & III), and has served as an Incident Commander for TVF&R’s Incident Management Teams.
