CITY OF CROOKSTON

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN

OPERATIONS SECTION

REVISION: 5/1/2011
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I. PURPOSE

To describe how the hands-on emergency response to a disaster/emergency will be managed in the City of Crookston. It is recognized that emergency response personnel come from the city departments and private companies. It is the goal of the operations section to coordinate and manage the emergency response resources that are available to the citizens of Crookston.

II. OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE, EVACUATION AND TRAFFIC CONTROL, FIRE PROTECTION, DEBRIS CLEARANCE AND UTILITIES RESTORATION.

A. The Operations Section Chief will be responsible for coordinating the basic response branches listed above. This coordination will reflect the overall goals of the Commander. The Operations Section Chief will report directly to Command.

B. The Search and Rescue branch will be coordinated by the Crookston Fire Department with assistance from the Crookston Police Department and responsible for search and rescue operations and coordination within the City of Crookston.

C. The Evacuation and Traffic Control branch will be coordinated by the Crookston Police Department and responsible for the evacuation, security and traffic control in the affected area.

D. The Fire Protection branch will be coordinated by the Crookston Fire Department and responsible for all firefighting activities in addition to requesting and coordinating the efforts of all mutual aid fire companies and the DNR Forestry response.

E. The Debris Clearance branch will be coordinated by the Crookston Public Works Department and responsible for opening city roads blocked by debris from a disaster and coordinating assistance with other entities in larger scale events.

F. The Utilities Restoration branch will be a coordinating position managed by the Crookston Public Works Department. Coordination in opening roads and providing access to damaged equipment whether in summer or winter is a vital operation. A listing of the private and municipal telephone, electric and natural gas companies is located in the Resource Guide of this document.

G. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will be coordinated through the Operation Section. The EMS services will be responsible for triage, treatment, and transportation of victims. They will work closely with search and rescue but will not have responsibility for that function.

H. The Animal Rescue branch will be coordinated by the Crookston Police Department. They will be responsible for coordinating the rescue of stranded pets that have been left behind, coordinating the shelter and care for all sizes and types of animals and coordinating with field agents to provide the actual rescue.

III. SEARCH AND RESCUE

Search and Rescue in the City of Crookston will be the responsibility of the Crookston Fire Department with support from the Crookston Police Department.

A. Supporting Agencies

Other agencies and groups may be available to assist and should be coordinated through the Polk County EMD

B. Supporting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Law enforcement and fire departments, ambulance services and other agencies responsible for conducting or participating in a search and rescue operation will develop and maintain whatever standard operating procedures (SOPs) they may need. Such SOPs may include guidance and instructions for performing search and rescue following an accident/incident involving hazardous materials, (depending upon the level of HAZMAT response training received.

IV. EVACUATION, TRAFFIC CONTROL AND SECURITY

The rationale for evacuation, whether for a large or small-scale emergency, is that hazardous conditions or potentially hazardous conditions can best be mitigated by moving the affected population to an area of lesser risk. Prior to recommending that an evacuation take place, City officials will evaluate the benefit of sheltering in place. If sheltering in place is determined to be the most appropriate protective action, information and instructions will be provided through the PIO to the affected citizens.

A. The EMD and/or Assistant EMD prepare in advance with the Logistics Section Chief for a potential evacuation of city residents. Their preparation will include a hazard analysis and vulnerability assessment of the various hazards in the city and a determination of the appropriate evacuation routes and traffic control points.

B. The Fire Chief and the Police Chief will be responsible for recommending an evacuation.

C. The Crookston Police Department will be responsible for conducting and coordinating any large-scale evacuation of city residents. This coordination may include the evacuation activities of other jurisdictions and responding agencies. In the event of a large scale and/or long-term evacuation, essential resources (critical supplies, equipment, personnel, etc.) will be relocated as necessary using both private and governmental motor pools.

D. The EMD, Assistant EMD and the Crookston Police Department will be responsible for preparing instructions for people who must evacuate a high-risk area. This is to include identification of centrally located staging areas, pick-up points for evacuees without private vehicles or other means of transportation. All information will be sent through the PIO for dissemination to the public.

E. The EMD or Assistant EMD will coordinate with the Logistics Section Chief in coordinating the transportation of the handicapped, elderly, mobility-impaired and other individuals unable to evacuate themselves. Facilities such as nursing homes, hospitals, etc. should have evacuation plans on file to evacuate their patients. Private parties unable to evacuate themselves will contact the EOC for assistance in getting transportation. The Logistics Section Chief will coordinate with Polk County Public Health, local ambulances, buses, etc. for transportation of those individuals.

F. The EMD, Assistant EMD and Crookston Police Department will be responsible for designating evacuation routes, establishing, and staffing any traffic control points that may be necessary. This information will be disseminated through the PIO.

G. The determination for re-entry to an evacuated area will be made by the EMD,
Assistant EMD and Crookston Police Department after determining that
conditions are safe for re-entry.

H The EMD, Assistant EMD and Crookston Police Department will be responsible for maintaining access control and security for the evacuated areas.

I. The Crookston Police Department will coordinate the removal of stalled vehicles from the evacuation routes.

J. The City of Crookston Public Works Department will prioritize debris removal from the designated evacuation routes.

K. Other assistance may be requested from local resources as may be available.

V. DEBRIS CLEARANCE

To describe how debris clearance would be accomplished following a disaster in the City
of Crookston.

A. Responsibilities

1. Inside City Limits: The City of Crookston Public Works Department would be responsible for coordinating the debris clearance within the city.

2. Outside City Limits: The County Engineer would be responsible for coordinating debris clearance on county roads or county property.

B. Policies and Procedures

1. In the event that the Crookston Public Works Department expends all of their resources or that a delay in clean up would cause danger to life or property, the Polk County Highway Department or private contractors may be requested to assist in debris clearance. In any widespread disaster, debris clearance in the City of Crookston should be coordinated with debris clearance at the County EOC.

2. Except in unusual circumstances, removal of debris from private property would be the responsibility of the property owner.

3. Debris would be disposed of at the Polk County landfill located east of Crookston on U.S. Highway 2. This is the only full-scale landfill within Polk County. The City burn site may be used at the discretion of the City of Crookston Public Works Director to dispose of trees and brush. Burning of tree limbs, branches, etc. may be done with proper permitting from the DNR or MPCA. The MPCA will coordinate disposal of animal carcasses and farm chemicals.

4. The Polk County Environmental/Services department will coordinate the establishment of temporary disposal sites as appropriate and then determine types of debris acceptable at the temporary sites as well as the county landfill. The Environmental/Services department will coordinate with the local waste haulers to establish a pickup system if so required. If a pickup system is established, a news release will be cleared through the Public Information Officer.

5. Cleanup and disposal of (spilled or leaked) hazardous materials will be the responsibility of the responsible party.

C. Supporting Documents

The State Duty Officer has a listing of HAZMAT clean-up contractors.

VI. FIRE PROTECTION

Fire protection is the responsibility of the Crookston Fire Department. The City of Crookston has mutual aid agreements with the surrounding fire departments.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division has the primary responsibility for wildfire protection. The Crookston Fire Department and the DNR Forestry coordinate closely when fighting fires in the urban interface.

A. Supporting Duties of the Crookston Fire Department

1. Assisting in dissemination of warnings
2. Assisting with an evacuation
3. Coordinating or assisting with search and rescue efforts
4. Informing local government personnel of the risks associated with a hazardous material incident/accident that has occurred
5. Reporting important disaster status information (e.g., casualties, damage, evacuation status, chemical releases/exposures, radiation levels, etc.) to the EOC during emergency operations.
6. Responding to HAZMAT incidents, within the limits of their training and equipment.
7. Providing rescue services within the limits of their training and equipment.
8. Providing first responder services.

B. Mutual Aid Agreements

All of the fire departments in Polk County have mutual aid agreements.
Written mutual agreements exist and are on file with the fire departments.

VII. UTILITIES RESTORATION

Utility restoration will be accomplished by the private and/or government entities that own the particular utility, be it electric, telephone, natural gas or LP gas. If access to an area is blocked, coordination with the Public Works Department to open routes is essential. A listing of utility providers, contact names and telephone numbers is contained in the Resource Guide.

Restoration of municipal water supplies and sewage facilities will be done by the City of Crookston Water/Wastewater Services. Messages pertaining to issues of safe drinking water, limited water supplies, non or low functioning sewer systems should be forwarded to the EOC for coordinated dissemination of that information. It may become necessary to bring in potable water to affected areas. This will be coordinated through the Logistics Officer.