[lit-ideas] Re: Emergency equipment
- From: "Veronica Caley" <vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 15:59:33 -0400
I heard the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans ask for help,
over and over again.
I also heard that Al Gore hired a private plane to rescue a doctor who operated
on his son and the patients with him to take them out. No go though. It
required federal approval for a private plane to go there.
One man did commandeer a school bus and picked up people until the bus was
full. When he got to Houston they weren't going to let anyone in because it
wasn't "official." They finally relented. I am wondering why others didn't
do this. Since the schools have all been destroyed, no need for buses at that
time or shortly thereafter.
On the other hand, I think we are not justified in being too harsh with these
people. First, we don't really know what we would have done. Second, these
places had experienced many hurricanes, most not so severe. Andreas posted the
NOAA warning. The FEMA, Bush, Cheney, homeland security guy should have been
reading it. Most of these people are very poor. Some were most likely at
work, many I am sure didn't have computers.
During WWII people were selling food on the black market to the starving. But
only if they had gold.
Veronica
----- Original Message -----
From:
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 9/3/2005 3:22:17 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Emergency equipment
<<You don't wait to be "requested." You take proactive action and go>>
That's one of the two things which absolutely stuns me about this. Why in the
HELL didn't the DHS just SEND the stuff, w/out having to be "asked"?
Bureaucracy? The right forms weren't filled out and notarized?? And what the
HELL was wrong with the governors that, even after being reminded of the
existence of these supplies, didn't they ASK for them?!
Just one more unconscionable thing in this whole mess. I keep thinking humans
are too stupid to live. Sorry -- my level of disgust just keeps growing.
Julie Krueger
========Original Message======== Subj:[lit-ideas] Re: Emergency equipment
Date:9/3/05 2:00:16 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From:andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx
To:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent on:
You don't wait to be "requested." You take proactive action and go.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 3:05 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Emergency equipment
>
> This is the most mind-boggling piece since the incident of shots fired at
> helicopters evacuating a hospital. What the hell were the governors
> thinking?!
> Anyone have a semi-rational notion why in the bloody blue blazes this
> equipment was not requested, even after the gov's were reminded it was an
> option?!?! I'm ..... there are not enough scatological words......
> Generators.
> Breathing apparatus. Cots. COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS. All available and
> entirely
> ignored and unused. So much for "Domestic Preparedness" (see last line of
> article).
> _http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/03/katrina.unusedgear/index.html_
> (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/03/katrina.unusedgear/index.html)
> <<WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nine stockpiles of fire-and-rescue equipment
> strategically placed around the country to be used in the event of a
> catastrophe still
> have not been pressed into service in New Orleans, five days after Hurricane
> Katrina, CNN has learned.
> Responding to a CNN inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Marc
> Short said Friday the gear has not been moved because none of the governors
> in
> the hurricane-ravaged area has requested it.
> A federal official said the department's Office for Domestic Preparedness
> reminded the Louisiana and Mississippi governors' offices about the
> stockpiles
> on Wednesday and Thursday, but neither governor had requested it.
> The gear -- including generators, radios, breathing apparatus, cots and other
> items -- is stockpiled by DHS in nine locations. The three closest to New
> Orleans are College Station, Texas; Columbia, S.C.; and Clearwater, Fla. The
> gear is intended to replenish or sustain up to 150 first responders.
> Contractors who maintain the gear are required to transport it to a disaster
> site no later than 12 hours after the initial request is made by local
> authorities and approved by DHS.
> Short said that while the stashes contain some items like generators, much of
> the gear would not be useful in the circumstances faced by the Gulf Coast
> region.
> But Steve Beaumont, a retired contract manager for Homeland Security's
> Prepositioned Equipment Program, said the gear would be helpful for fire
> departments wiped out by the hurricane. Each pod has 200 radios, including
> sophisticated equipment to make radios inter-operable, tying different
> communications
> systems together.
> "The concept was basically, if you had a major incident, this equipment could
> be brought into the city and reconstitute the local first responders. So
> they get fresh bunking gear, breathing apparatus," Beaumont said.
> Each stockpile consists of a tractor-trailer filled with $2.2 million in
> gear, he said. Contractors are on call 24 hours a day to move the gear.
> "There has been no movement of this equipment to this emergency. As of now
> there's been no movement at all," Beaumont said.
> "I think it's sad because you've got almost ... $20 million worth of gear
> that's ready to be distributed. You've firefighters (in New Orleans) fighting
>
> fires in shorts. That tells me they're running out of stuff."
> The project is run by DHS' Office for Domestic Preparedness.>>
>
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