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Posted on Fri. Oct. 23, 2009 - 10:10 am EDT
Police, fire make plans should flu hit
Safety agencies may shut down non-essential services, alter shifts.
By Aaron Organ
of The News-Sentinel
Way back when media was allowed to call H1N1 swine flu, Allen County Homeland Security Director Bernie Beier began preparing for the worst the virus could potentially offer.
Beier called every branch of city and county government relating to public safety and had each devise a continuity of operations plan that would reach farther than the standard disaster plan most already had. This plan would cover a disaster that could shut down an operation for weeks to months, not days. It was initiated with H1N1 in mind, but it could be applied for any similar situation.
The H1N1 pandemic is not at the point yet where local agencies need to use their plans - but it's nice to have one ready.
?We had all agencies look at what services or what functions that they provide that are critical, that we must continue to provide no matter what, and which ones we can suspend or delay, or which ones can we do without for a period of time, so that when we have a time like H1N1 and we've got a lot of people sick and out when we can't do everything, what is it we do and what is it we don't do,? said Beier.
Public safety agencies might seem like organizations that would function in the most desperate of times. But what happens when 30 percent of the Fort Wayne Fire Department is sick? What occurs when too many Fort Wayne Police officers or Allen County Sheriff's officers fall ill?
The Allen County Sheriff's Department may be in the best position to absorb overwhelming numbers of officers calling in sick, as it boasts a reserve squad of more than 130 officers - more than its regular staff.
Sheriff Ken Fries said that while his department - and most law enforcement offices in general - have always had disaster plans, his ability to call on a vast number of officers at any time has his mind at ease.
?If it gets to the point where we have to stop non-essential functions, we will, but I don't anticipate that,? said Fries. ?We have a lot of reserve power we can call in.?
Should the need arise, however, Fries said he'll start scaling back non-essential duties such as court bailiffs, for example, and place those officers on patrol instead. Fries said his officers are all trained as policemen first, no matter where their daily duties have them.
The Fort Wayne Police Department has a slightly different plan, which generally consists of calling on officers to work overtime to cover any needs an H1N1-based outbreak demands.
Spokesman Michael Joyner said the department's plan features scheduled officers working a few hours overtime, then the next shift coming in early to pick up any slack.
Should one quadrant get hit worse than another with flu symptoms, Joyner said the department has ?float? officers who are not assigned to a specific quadrant who would fill in where needed.
Joyner said in his 15 years on the force, the department has never had to employ such a plan, and, as of now, ?we have not experienced any concerns close to that.?
The Fort Wayne Fire Department is tight-lipped about its plan.
The department's Health and Safety officer, District Chief Jim Noll, hinted that the department had discussed, in the event of an H1N1 disaster, how to staff, what rigs may be shut down or how they be staffed with fewer people, but forwarded questions on the details of such a plan to the department's operations chief, Deputy Chief Eric Lahey.
Lahey said he didn't want to compromise such a plan by spilling its details, saying, ?under certain benchmarks, what takes place, is how the plan works.?
Lahey did confirm the department, like other public safety entities, does have a plan in place should the need arise.
That has Beier optimistic that Fort Wayne's public safety operations will function well, even if H1N1 cases increase.
?The main thing we can plan for now is to put ourselves in a position to make good decisions,? Beier said. ?We can make decisions and continue to get stuff done in these uncertain times.?
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pb...NEWS/910230336#
Police, fire make plans should flu hit
Safety agencies may shut down non-essential services, alter shifts.
By Aaron Organ
of The News-Sentinel
Way back when media was allowed to call H1N1 swine flu, Allen County Homeland Security Director Bernie Beier began preparing for the worst the virus could potentially offer.
Beier called every branch of city and county government relating to public safety and had each devise a continuity of operations plan that would reach farther than the standard disaster plan most already had. This plan would cover a disaster that could shut down an operation for weeks to months, not days. It was initiated with H1N1 in mind, but it could be applied for any similar situation.
The H1N1 pandemic is not at the point yet where local agencies need to use their plans - but it's nice to have one ready.
?We had all agencies look at what services or what functions that they provide that are critical, that we must continue to provide no matter what, and which ones we can suspend or delay, or which ones can we do without for a period of time, so that when we have a time like H1N1 and we've got a lot of people sick and out when we can't do everything, what is it we do and what is it we don't do,? said Beier.
Public safety agencies might seem like organizations that would function in the most desperate of times. But what happens when 30 percent of the Fort Wayne Fire Department is sick? What occurs when too many Fort Wayne Police officers or Allen County Sheriff's officers fall ill?
The Allen County Sheriff's Department may be in the best position to absorb overwhelming numbers of officers calling in sick, as it boasts a reserve squad of more than 130 officers - more than its regular staff.
Sheriff Ken Fries said that while his department - and most law enforcement offices in general - have always had disaster plans, his ability to call on a vast number of officers at any time has his mind at ease.
?If it gets to the point where we have to stop non-essential functions, we will, but I don't anticipate that,? said Fries. ?We have a lot of reserve power we can call in.?
Should the need arise, however, Fries said he'll start scaling back non-essential duties such as court bailiffs, for example, and place those officers on patrol instead. Fries said his officers are all trained as policemen first, no matter where their daily duties have them.
The Fort Wayne Police Department has a slightly different plan, which generally consists of calling on officers to work overtime to cover any needs an H1N1-based outbreak demands.
Spokesman Michael Joyner said the department's plan features scheduled officers working a few hours overtime, then the next shift coming in early to pick up any slack.
Should one quadrant get hit worse than another with flu symptoms, Joyner said the department has ?float? officers who are not assigned to a specific quadrant who would fill in where needed.
Joyner said in his 15 years on the force, the department has never had to employ such a plan, and, as of now, ?we have not experienced any concerns close to that.?
The Fort Wayne Fire Department is tight-lipped about its plan.
The department's Health and Safety officer, District Chief Jim Noll, hinted that the department had discussed, in the event of an H1N1 disaster, how to staff, what rigs may be shut down or how they be staffed with fewer people, but forwarded questions on the details of such a plan to the department's operations chief, Deputy Chief Eric Lahey.
Lahey said he didn't want to compromise such a plan by spilling its details, saying, ?under certain benchmarks, what takes place, is how the plan works.?
Lahey did confirm the department, like other public safety entities, does have a plan in place should the need arise.
That has Beier optimistic that Fort Wayne's public safety operations will function well, even if H1N1 cases increase.
?The main thing we can plan for now is to put ourselves in a position to make good decisions,? Beier said. ?We can make decisions and continue to get stuff done in these uncertain times.?
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pb...NEWS/910230336#