On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ohio TERT conducted a shift change at Buncombe County and the City of Asheville. (8) personnel comprising Team TERT-OH-2 departed from Cambridge early Tuesday morning following Monday evening rally point rendezvous. Team 2 represents PSAPs around the state: (2) from the Chagrin Valley Dispatch COG, (3) from Southwest Emergency Dispatch – Stongsville, and (1) each from Summit ECC, CECOMS in Cuyahoga County, and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office. As is the case with Team OH-1, these personnel originate from large metro centers and smaller rural places. And, all but 1 are first time deployers. But, they are all endorsed by their home agencies, and have completed and in many cases exceeded the minimum training requirements for deployment. These first, first responders represent the best of their agencies and communities, and the State of Ohio. What unites our team is the push to help each other. The name on the chest or shoulder patch do not matter- the team is at it’s heart a group of dispatchers who are helping other dispatchers.

Team 2 arrived in Asheville Tuesday afternoon, got settled, and had dinner to get to know their Team 1 counterparts. They talked through their experiences thus far, both operationally and logistically. Call volume on the information line that HAVOC is covering is steady, but lower than went it came online in the first few days after arrival. Also, personnel from Georgia TERT and Nebraska TERT have departed, which will create an increased need for manpower at the Buncombe County PSCC. It is expected that personnel from Team 2 will be working more shifts at the 911 center than they will be handling the information line aboard HAVOC. And, while recovery operations continue, normal life continues. Call volume that is not Helene related remains just as high as well.  While progress is certainly being made, there is quite a long way to go. Sections of Interstates 26 and 40 remain closed, and power and water are still out in parts of the metro area. Additionally, due to false information being spread around, an increased law enforcement presence has also occurred, both in the community, and at the camp where the team is. All of our personnel are safe, but resources and personnel are being diverted to deal with this when they are absolutely needed elsewhere.

Team 1 departed Wednesday morning following a couple group pictures and goodbye hugs. For some personnel on Team 1, this was a (17) day deployment, that included periods without water, electric, or hot food. Their efforts and those of their other state TERT counterparts really set the tone to enable OH-2 and other TERT personnel who will deploy (another EMAC request was placed today for more telecommunicators) to pick up where they left off.

We offer thanks and gratitude to Team OH-1, who have earned some down time. We likewise acknowledge the logistics team that shepherded OH-2 to the front line safely and returned OH-1 to their families and loved ones- 1,100 miles over 2 days in total. And, we offer our best wishes to OH-2 and those personnel from OH-1 who remained for an additional 2 weeks to help. We also gratefully shout-out to Candie Cunningham and R&R Identification (see earlier post)- the hoodies have come in handy- night time temperatures have been in the 30’s.

All hands are working.

…In our favorite rocket ship, er, field communications unit. It’s moving day today for the gang and other TERT teams, as they bid farewell to their initial quarters near a school, and head down the road about 15 minutes to a FEMA dormitory trailer camp that also provides a hot meal, and (in theory) a hot shower, a first in 2 weeks for some of the team. This is meant as a joint base for TERT and other out-of-state personnel operating in the region (public safety, public works, support services). HAVOC-1 is able to continue to operate as it was as the previous location, as both a command center for our staff, and a 311 center for Bumcombe County. Personnel are continuing on 12-hour shifts aboard HAVOC, and in the Buncombe County PSCC as well. It’s been reported that operations continued aboard HAVOC while they were moving. This may be the first recorded case of call taking while in motion!

Final logistics arrangements are nearing completion for OH-2, who will rally in Cambridge Monday evening for an early departure Tuesday morning. A 3 person logistics crew from within the Committee will take down a fresh crew of 10 (TERT OH-2) and associated supplies on Tuesday morning, and return Wednesday afternoon with TERT OH-1 and the supply trailer and large tent went initially went down with them.

This is easily the largest and most complex deployment in our team’s history. The personnel who have or will soon deploy, the support team back in Ohio, and the Committee writ large have all worked literally every day, around the clock, since late September, on this mission. We are incredibly thankful to everyone on Ohio TERT, of course. And, we acknowledge the support of the Ohio APCO and NENA chapter Boards. We are equally as thankful to the agencies that have allowed their personnel to deploy, to the companies and businesses who have lent assistance, and to the family and friends of the team, who have sacrafised their loved ones and kept things moving on the homefront. This lift has been and will continue to be very much a team effort. As we approach a ‘shift change’ and the halfway point of our deployment, we remain focused on the mission at hand: to help our Brothers and Sisters in Western North Carolina and the communities they protect.

There’s nothing we have to say about today’s operational period that is more important than the hearing Buncombe County Public Safety Communications’ words to the community it protects:

Yesterday, the crew manning the ‘Hurricane Hotline’ aboard HAVOC-1 took approximately 1,300 calls. Amongst 4-6 different dispatchers, that’s a brisk pace. In addition, the staff working in the Buncombe County PSCC are also taking calls at an extremely brisk pace. At the conference call tonight, Committee Chair Nick DiCicco said the call volume was down juuuuuust a bit today, but still quite high. Many areas of Buncombe County are still cut off by impassible roads. Response personnel from every acronym in  the disaster response alphabet are operating in the Blue Ridge Mountain region, including TERT teams from Ohio and several other states.

The crew from Ohio MARCS is continuing radio infrastructural work with radio programming and assisting their North Carolina VIPER counterparts. Today, they also repositioned the mobile Tower on Wheels approximately 200 feet further up a mountain, which has been incorporated for use as a repeater site on the VIPER network.

Personnel from Florida TERT are preparing to return home due the approaching Tropical Storm Milton, forecasted to cross South Florida as a potentially major hurricane next week. Meanwhile, the team now has reliable, secure access to showers and a laundry facility, welcomed luxuries on the operation.

Word has gone out to organizations across the State of Ohio of the need for additional public safety telecommunicators to assist with assembling TERT-OH-2. Interested personnel are encouraged to fill out an application on the Ohio TERT website. This second team is expected to depart Ohio on or about October 15th and return around Halloween.

The team are tired, but are doing great work.