The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has officially announced the initiation of the “Go Teams”, a group of responders on call to assist any local, state, or federal authority that is dealing with a disaster. The members are ready to assist with all services, including command and general staff, resource management, incident action plans, and documentation. The teams are comprised of two representatives for each Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Region.
The program was created and is administered by the IAFC’s Emergency Management Committee and receives financial assistance from the National Integration Center, a department within FEMA.
The members of the team are:
FEMA Region I: Mike O’Neal of Burlington, VT and Paul Buckley of Needham, MA
FEMA Region II: Robert Warren of Cranston, RI and Robert Edwards of Bloomberg, PA
FEMA Region III Scott Liebold of Newport News, VA and Greg Bunch of Fairfax, VA
FEMA Region IV Dennis Wolf of Germantown, TN and Frank Brocato of Hoover, AL
FEMA Region V: Bruce Harrison of Dekalb, IL and Terry Lapinski of Bridgeview, IL
FEMA Region VI: Earl Valois of New Orleans, LA and Marty Delaune of New Iberia, LA
FEMA Region VII: Mike Mario of West Overland, MO and Randy Saunders of O’Fallon, MO
FEMA Region VIII: Dan Qualman of Denver, CO and Don Taylor of Salida, CO
FEMA Region IX: Brian Sturdivant of Scottsdale, AZ and Jon Torchia of San Diego County, CA
FEMA Region X: Kirk Hale of Tualatin Valley, OR and Mike Chapman of Haley, ID
Go Team members completed a week-long training program in May which included classroom work and presentations on a myriad of topics related to disaster response. The members reviewed the primary positions and task assignments within the National Response Framework and the National Incident Management System. They also received special training on the state and national Incident Management Team (IMT) program and the state Incident Support Team (IST) programs. The training also included a special segment on the National Grid System and a review of the anticipated activities for activation, based on scenarios from several recently declared federal disasters.
To request assistance from the Go Team, call toll-free at 1-888-840-6884. If you have questions or need additional information, visit the IAFC mutual aid Web site at www.iafc.org/mutualaid or contact Bill Bullock, IAFC National Programs staff at 703-537-4849 or bbullock@iafc.org.
