MANCHESTER, NH – Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern United States earlier this fall and members of the Manchester Fire Department were there to provide assistance. On Thursday, those firefighters and leaders in the department were joined Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu in an after-action report to look back on how this experience can help improve Manchester’s firefighters moving forward.
Manchester Fire Department Training and Safety Officer Kevin Grebinar led a presentation looking back at the Manchester firefighters’ deployment to three of North Carolina’s western counties, one of several travelling groups arriving as part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a national mutual assistance alliance for first responders when support is needed during a natural disaster.
Grebinar told the assembled group about a variety of rescue operations the Manchester team undertook during their two weeks in the area with some of those efforts planned while others were spontaneous and some were either postponed or cancelled due to conditions on the ground.
Throughout that time, Grebinar said the team continually “took a bag of bolts and made Picassos” despite limited communication capabilities, inconsistent supplies that often had to be commandeered or “borrowed” and water levels that reached 37 feet in some areas.
“We were thrown a number of curveballs there, and these guys didn’t bat an eyelash at it, they just swung and hit home runs,” said Grebinar.
The firefighters also brought home a dog named Bo from the Meat Camp, North Carolina Fire Department, a shortened new name from its original moniker of Boone, one of the cities in North Carolina where Manchester’s firefighters operated.
The Manchester firefighters were one of numerous groups across the Eastern United States that responded to EMAC requests from western North Carolina communities, marking the fourth time the Manchester Fire Department has responded to EMAC requests since the program’s beginnings in the 1990s. Two of those requests came from Vermont during their severe flooding events in recent years.
Sununu and Ruais asked about lessons learned during the trip that could help Manchester if a similar natural disaster came here. It was indicated that the usage of drones, a tool that the Manchester Fire Department does not currently have, was invaluable in providing information assisting with lifesaving efforts. Another request was the creation of county-level firefighting teams that could assist local fire departments with highly specialized techniques and aid towns with volunteer fire departments with professional services as needed. Currently all of New Hampshire’s neighboring states have such programs.
A total of 23 recommendations were made overall ranging from communication devices in damaged infrastructure areas to development of a policy and procedure for the department’s Swiftwater Special Operations Deployment response skills.
Sununu told the team that the Governor of North Carolina called him to express his gratitude to the firefighters from Manchester and Ruais praised the team for their efforts, stating that they never disappoint the city or the state when they are called upon to provide assistance.
“I deeply appreciate all the work that you all do and it will never cease to amaze me regarding all the professionalism and exceptionalism of the men and women of this department,” said Ruais.
