Firefighting gear stockpile unused
From CNN Producer Mike M. Ahlers
September 3, 2005
www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/03/katrina.unusedgear/index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nine stockpiles of fire-and-rescue equipment strategically placed around the country to be used in the event of a catastrophe still have not been pressed into service in New Orleans, five days after Hurricane Katrina, CNN has learned.

Responding to a CNN inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Marc Short said Friday the gear has not been moved because none of the governors in the hurricane-ravaged area has requested it.

A federal official said the department's Office for Domestic Preparedness reminded the Louisiana and Mississippi governors' offices about the stockpiles on Wednesday and Thursday, but neither governor had requested it. (See the mayor blister feds for requiring formal queries for help -- 0:34)

The gear -- including generators, radios, breathing apparatus, cots and other items -- is stockpiled by DHS in nine locations. The three closest to New Orleans are College Station, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; and Clearwater, Fla. The gear is intended to replenish or sustain up to 150 first responders.

Contractors who maintain the gear are required to transport it to a disaster site no later than 12 hours after the initial request is made by local authorities and approved by DHS.

Short said that while the stashes contain some items like generators, much of the gear would not be useful in the circumstances faced by the Gulf Coast region.

But Steve Beaumont, a retired contract manager for Homeland Security's Prepositioned Equipment Program, said the gear would be helpful for fire departments wiped out by the hurricane. Each pod has 200 radios, including sophisticated equipment to make radios inter-operable, tying different communications systems together. (Watch the video of first responders in 'hell' -- 3:25)

"The concept was basically, if you had a major incident, this equipment could be brought into the city and reconstitute the local first responders. So they get fresh bunking gear, breathing apparatus," Beaumont said.

Each stockpile consists of a tractor-trailer filled with $2.2 million in gear, he said. Contractors are on call 24 hours a day to move the gear.

"There has been no movement of this equipment to this emergency. As of now there's been no movement at all," Beaumont said. (See the video of the mayor demanding feds to 'get off their asses' -- 12:09)

"I think it's sad because you've got almost ... $20 million worth of gear that's ready to be distributed. You've firefighters (in New Orleans) fighting fires in shorts. That tells me they're running out of stuff."

The project is run by DHS' Office for Domestic Preparedness.

Gee, what a surprise.

This is reminding me of the LA(CA) riots more and more
the Police pulled back and let the looters killers and arsonists have free reign there
I remember people trying to get guns to protect themselves, they still had a waiting period

Drudgereport has an exerpt from the disaster manual that says they were supposed to
be using busses to evacuate people, Where WAS the governor? Was this not the governors job?

Did the LA governor actually do ANYTHING?

Funny, the USA govt has done so many emergencies, I thought the govt would get this stuff down pat, but I guess not. They send in an advance team to figure out what they need. I think water and food should be sent initially, and whatever else on a later truck, plane, boat etc.

I think few aid agencies will be interested in going down there until order is restored.

And if the local police refuse to restore order (like Los Angeles), it will fall on the NG.

In the mean time the innocent will suffer and starve.

So, as the police have no duty to protect, it comes down to every man for himself, AS IT ALWAYS HAS.

Therefore, the people MUST BE ARMED.

A government that would take our arms must be ELIMINATED.

I thought they had it down pretty good too........
Thats what I am saying, isn't the governors office usually where the headquarters is
established and where the phone calls are made from? Was Baton Rouge destroyed too?

I was under the impression that fire-fighting (and associated tasks) was the least of New Orleans problems. Unless those stockpiles include M4 carbines and scads of ammo, leave 'em for what they were intended for.

Radios and generators
didn't they have all their communications go down?

The only action taken by New Orlean's black mayer was to run his mouth.
He could have ordered school busses to start the evacs...but didn't.  heShe didn't know how to handle the situation...and proved it.  h.gif

But hey, at least no one can say we didn't have our "tokens" !!  

I can see how the mayor would have had big problems trying to get everyone on a bus
I have been there many times as well as in the surrounding states, the old folks are NOT mobile
(especially during a really bad storm, there would have probably been rioting in a forced evacuation)

but, I don't understand what the governor was doing, I guess I'll look it up tomorrow

Are they sure they aren't stashes of wildland firefighting gear? The radios and generators would obviously be a big help, but if they are looking for turnout clothing, there are big  differences in structural gear and wildland gear.

If we have one of those trailers around here, nobody told us anything about it.

Food for thought.

Quoted: Are they sure they aren't stashes of wildland firefighting gear? The radios and generators would obviously be a big help, but if they are looking for turnout clothing, there are big  differences in structural gear and wildland gear. If we have one of those trailers around here, nobody told us anything about it. Food for thought.

That is wildland gear from what I understand.

Each stockpile consists of a tractor-trailer filled with $2.2 million in gear, he said. Contractors are on call 24 hours a day to move the gear.
Contractors who maintain the gear are required to transport it to a disaster site no later than 12 hours after the initial request is made by local authorities and approved by DHS.

"The concept was basically, if you had a major incident, this equipment could be brought into the city and reconstitute the local first responders. So they get fresh bunking gear, breathing apparatus," Beaumont said.

But Steve Beaumont, a retired contract manager for Homeland Security's Prepositioned Equipment Program, said the gear would be helpful for fire departments wiped out by the hurricane. Each pod has 200 radios, including sophisticated equipment to make radios inter-operable, tying different communications systems together. (Watch the video of first responders in 'hell' -- 3:25)

The gear -- including generators, radios, breathing apparatus, cots and other items -- is stockpiled by DHS in nine locations. The three closest to New Orleans are College Station, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; and Clearwater, Fla. The gear is intended to replenish or sustain up to 150 first responders.

If it has bunker gear and SCBA, it sounds like structural firefighting gear, not wildland.

Heck who wants new clean bunker gear..........

all the turn out gear and radios and what not are useless for fighting fires IF you have NO water pressure or pumpers to flow water to the fires............

I didn't hear of any police (that didn't bug out) or firefighters that needed any of that stuff.
Leave it be until it's needed.

You might be supprised to learn what FEMA and the DOD has "stashed" (or prepositioned) in certain unknown corners and some "right out in the open" places in America.