Photo By Michel Sauret | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District has responded to restore power...... read more read more
PITTSBURGH – When a natural disaster cuts out the power, families lose more than just the ability to turn on the lights, keep food fresh in their refrigerators or charge their cell phones.
“It’s much more basic. It's freshwater, sewage treatment plants, and medical facilities – what happens if those don't operate?” said Dave Rogers, an emergency response specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District.
The U.S. Army Corps deploys response teams to restore emergency power. Every one of those missions, no matter how many or how far apart, are all coordinated by one district: the Pittsburgh District.
“We're prepared to launch our teams on very little notice. So, whether it is Monday morning at seven o'clock, or Christmas Eve, it does not matter,” said Al Coglio, the chief of the Emergency Management office in Pittsburgh.
“We're always ready to roll out the door, and we're always ready to support the nation to get temporary power where it's needed,” he said.
FEMA provides the generators, while multiple districts provide volunteers who deploy when needed. Still, the Pittsburgh District is the only district across the Army Corps to manage and oversee all temporary emergency power missions.
A tragic example of multiple missions running simultaneously happened in 2017, when two major storms hit two different FEMA regions within weeks. Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas in late August, and while the recovery efforts were still underway, Hurricane Maria came through Puerto Rico in September.
There was no pause in mission for Pittsburgh, who coordinated temporary power for both regions. In the aftermath of each storm, various districts share responsibility for protecting damaged roofs and removing debris in their respective areas.
“So, you've got multiple districts handling their areas for roofs and debris, but every one of those temporary power missions was being managed out of Pittsburgh, because we're the experts in that field,” Rogers said.
That means the Pittsburgh District emergency team is always on call, all year round, to ensure every mission succeeds, from start to finish.
“We've responded to all kinds of different disasters in the last couple of years since I've been here: hurricanes, tornados, winter storms, ice storms, wildfires out in the west and Midwest, and just anything that can cause a power outage,” said Julie D’Annunzio, an emergency management specialist with the Pittsburgh District.
The emergency team generally serves local communities but focuses on critical public facilities such as hospitals, emergency rooms, shelters, and emergency response centers.
“We installed generators at dialysis centers in the height of COVID. We tend to facilities that are truly saving and maintaining lives during the aftermath of any disaster,” D’Annunzio said.
Planning and response teams are on a six-hour recall alert. That means once FEMA calls to request support, they have six hours to get on an airplane, and set up an emergency station within 48 hours of a disaster.
Since 2010, the Pittsburgh District has executed more than 170 FEMA missions resulting in more than $1.2 billion in support costs across 30 states and all five U.S. territories. Additionally, they have overseen the installation of more than 2,500 to power critical infrastructure such as hospitals, fire and police stations, shelters, and water facilities.
“We want to be as efficient as possible when it comes to installing generators to save people's lives, or to reduce the amount of burden felt by a community,” said Kristen Day, a contract specialist with Pittsburgh’s emergency management office.
To achieve efficiency in response, Pittsburgh’s emergency office needs help. They rely on communication and teamwork across all the agencies – from federal down to state and local – involved in a response.
“We are the experts when it comes to temporary emergency power contracts and the administrative needs to make this program work, but we must rely on other districts and our stakeholders to move the mission along,” Day said.
Because every power mission flows through Pittsburgh, their emergency office can remove the administrative burden from other districts.
Pittsburgh handles mission taskers and briefings that can consume critical hours throughout the day. They plan every step of a response team’s deployment, beginning with initial movements from their homes through setting up staging areas where they can perform their missions.
“We are here for them every step of the way to enable other districts so that they can focus on their employees, the disaster that has just occurred in their backyard and assist their local partners. We focus on providing temporary emergency power in their area and just take all the administrative burden from them,” D’Annunzio said.
Pittsburgh’s emergency office also manages the contracts and funds required for deploying and installing generators, as well as mission funds provided by FEMA. Consequently, the fiscal closeout can take months of work even after a mission is complete.
It’s tedious work that never seems to end, but the Pittsburgh team finds their duties rewarding.
“This work is very fulfilling. It is the most fulfilling thing I think you can do in the Corps of Engineers. Without our behind-the-scenes support, the mission can’t happen,” D’Annunzio said.
“Our communities benefit. Our fellow citizens who have had their lives kicked out from underneath them due to a natural disaster completely out of their control – we do it for them,” she said.
“Headwaters Highlights” is part of a story series to highlight every one of the facilities or teams that make the Pittsburgh District’s mission possible. Pittsburgh District’s 26,000 square miles include portions of western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, western Maryland, and southwestern New York. It has more than 328 miles of navigable waterways, 23 navigation locks and dams, 16 multi-purpose flood-control reservoirs, 42 local flood-protection projects, and other projects to protect and enhance the nation’s water resources, infrastructure and environment.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2023 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 446246 |
| Location: | PITTSBURGH, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Headwater Highlights: Nation’s temporary emergency power mission surges through Pittsburgh, by Michel Sauret, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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