| | Published September 28th, 2011
| MOFD Assists With East Coast Hurricane Efforts, Propane Tanker Fire
| | By Lucy Amaral | | |
The recent hurricane threat in New York and the propane tanker explosion in Lincoln, California may not seem to have anything in common with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District (MOFD) at first. But several members of the MOFD staff were on hand at both of these events, managing logistical, operational, safety and community issues related to the incidents.
At the September 21 MOFD Board of Directors meeting, Battalion Chief, Stephen Healy briefed the Board on the recent efforts by MOFD staff and their involvement with the East Bay Incident Management Team (EBIMT). The EBIMT consists of 84 command and general staff members from Contra Costa and Alameda fire agencies. Along with Healy, five members of MOFD are part of the team: Battalion Chief Darrell Lee, Fire Marshall Mike Mentink, Battalion Chief Sean Perkins, Fire Prevention Officer Kathy Leonard, and Telecommunications Specialist Bob Williams. During the presentation, Healy said that while the events were disparate, the experience received during these two deployments is excellent training if similar emergencies were to occur in this area.
For the Lincoln incident, which occurred on August 22, Healy and Perkins were deployed with the management team to assist in planning and logistics in cooperation with the local fire agency. The team worked for 28 hours straight to organize resources, create an incident action plan and contingency plans.
Two days later, at the request of State of New York, Healy joined 33 other members of the EBIMT deployed to the City of New York, and later, Essex County to offer command, planning and logistical support.
Along with Lincoln and New York, Lee said the EBIMT has been deployed to incidents in San Mateo, San Joaquin, and Contra Costa County. The team trains together twice a year and is called into service on average once or twice a year. Healy also said that MOFD is reimbursed any salary or fees associated with the assistance through a method similar to that when strike teams are deployed through California.
"The Incident management Team was developed to help agencies or city governments manage any incident, develop plans, and be a resource for planning to mitigate the incident, " said Lee. "When the incident de-escalates, the team turns it back to the local agency or government."
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MOFD Meets to Review Revised 2011/12 Budget
The Moraga Orinda Fire District (MOFD) Board of Directors was scheduled to meet last night, after press time, to discuss adjustments that might need to be made to the 2011/12 Budget.
A MOFD finance sub-committee meeting was held on September 1 during which the staff report indicated that in the preliminary budget development and approval process, the District was able to produce a balanced financial plan with no impact on current service levels. However, it added, the assumptions that were used for the 2011/12 General Fund Preliminary Budget revenues projections were now incorrect. The report noted that due to a projected decrease in property tax revenue, revised projections would now call for a $537,499 decrease in revenues.
Read a full report of actions taken by the Board of Directors regarding the 2011/12 budget in our October 12 issue.
L.Amaral
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA