The team was today advised by Florida TERT Committee Chairman Natalia Duran that the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division has advised that their center and personnel have recovered to a point where TERT OH-1 is no longer needed and will therefore be demobilized 3 days early. The team’s shifts will end at midnight on Saturday, October 15. The team will spend Sunday reloading the equipment trailers and drive for the night to Georgia. They will drive to Central Tennessee on Monday, and plan to arrive back in Gahanna on Tuesday. Once a firm time is known, it will be posted here and on the team’s Facebook page. Family, friends, and media are warmly invited to welcome home the team.
Utilities crews in staging near LCSO HQ.
TERT OH-1 personnel continued working today, and with the major step of public utility crews making entry to the barrier islands of Lee County, call volume continues to escalate. The access of personnel to facilitate restoration of electricity to the hardest hit areas is a key hurdle on the road to recovery.
Elsewhere, our team had the chance to receive a visit from Florida APCO Chapter President Kathy Liriano and Florida TERT Committee Chair Natalia Duran. President Liriano and
Meeting FL-TERT Coordinator Natalia Duran and Florida APCO Chapter President Kathy Liriano.
Chiaman Duran were visiting with TERT personnel from elsewhere in Florida, and from Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, and Texas, who answered the EMAC request for assistance.
The team remains in good health and spirit but is tired.
We’ve had the first casualty of the deployment. One of the smaller tents did not survive yesterday’s storm. It was being used as a rest & recuperation area, not a sleeping quarter, so there is little change for the team. But, this is still a reminder that Mother Nature is still very much in charge. The team remains tired, but in good spirits.
Flooding at the campsite.
Not even TERT OH-1 is immune to Mother Nature. A locally heavy thunderstorm created a bit of pond in the campsite. No injuries, all equipment is okay, but a lesson to always be prepared for everything!
Run volume is picking up. Lee County and the municipal governmental jurisdictions within it are starting to let evacuees back in with more regularity, though the 7PM curfew remains in areas without water or electricity.
Everyone remains in good spirits, if a bit tired, and now, soggy, too.
Dayshift, Day 3
Our staff continued today with Day 3 of operations at Lee County Sheriff’s Office 911 Center. The staff continues in 3 platoons; it is expected that they will start rotating days off in the next day or two. Lee County Domestic Animal Services has been kind in lending the team 3-100-foot water hoses to facilitate refilling the water tanks aboard HAVOC-1. Lee County was also gracious in arranging for a sanitary vehicle to come out to perform
Another honorary member!
service on HAVOC-1 as well. Call volume remains steady, and it is important to remember that normal daily operations are continuing as well. The catastrophic damage and civil displacement not withstanding, LCSO remains a department tasked with public safety, hurricane or not. In that spirit, TERT OH-1 continues to provide support to LCSO’s 911 Center both storm-related, and in the course of daily business. The staff remain in good spirts.
Like, many friends…
Fletcher the K-9 from Orange County Fire-Rescue stopped by today to say hello to TERT OH-1 and express pawsitively wonderful thanks for all the team’s work. The team are still in good spirits and healthy; shifts are now divided into 3 platoons: 0500-1700, 1200-2400, and 1600-0400. Run volume remains at approximately 1,200 calls every 24 hours. This is likely to continue as more evacuees return to their homes and businesses, especially in the very hard-hit Gulf Coast section of the county. South Fork Fire-Rescue has been kind enough to allow use of their shower facilities to the team, which everyone is thankful for, especially since the air
HAVOC-1 stands tall amidst a beautiful Florida sunset.
conditioning in the tent has frozen up. LCSO command staff have been complementary of the team’s work, and we are thankful for their hospitality. Pictures and releases are continuing to be posted daily on www.ohiotert.org, and on our Facebook page, Ohio TERT.
Due to an unforeseen family matter, one of our team members is having to fly home. We are in urgent need of a replacement. If interested you will need to have completed all of the requirement courses listed on the website. Please contact committee chair, Cody Post at cpost@akronohio.gov or co-chair, Mory Fuhrmann at fuhrmannm@mifflin-oh.gov
Good evening.
The first shifts for the team are underway. For now, the dispatchers have divided into three platoons, working 0500-1700, 1200-2400, and 1700-0500. Upon receiving a briefing from the LCSO and an abbreviated training, the first day-shift crew started fielding calls on the LCSO non-emergency telephony system. The call volume remains high; many parts of Lee County still have limited accessibility, and damage estimates are still being undertaken. Ohio APCO President Johnna Sells took part in a conference call with Ohio EMA this afternoon, where they reaffirmed support for TERT OH-1, and stood read
y to provide any support. The radio infrastructure has been found to be within acceptable tolerances, and repairs are underway. As such, the Ohio MARCS personnel have departed, and are returning to Columbus.
One team member is returning home to tend to a private matter. We are in the process of filling that position to maintain adequate manpower. Personnel from TERT TX-1 are also as LCSO, but are due to rotate out at the end of this week.
All other personnel are healthy, and in good spirits.
Good morning.The day shift personnel reported this morning at 04:00, joining other TERT colleagues from Texas and elsewhere in Florida. The team received orientation training on the LCSO 911 center, and began to work hand-on with the calltaking system in use at LCSO. The team received a hot 
breakfast from the LCSO, which they were thankful for. The night shift personnel remain resting, and will come on duty at 4PM tonight. All personnel continue to be in good spirits. President Biden is touring the damage in Lee County today, as well.