CAPE COD – In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the Barnstable County All Hazards Incident Management Team (BCAHIMT) stood ready to deploy to assist southern states with running their emergency operation centers. On Friday, October 7, the team received a request from the state of Florida to report to Tallahassee. On Saturday, October 8, the state of Georgia requested team deployment to Chatham County. While team members were packed and ready to go, rapidly evolving conditions in the affected areas caused plans to change and the team did not deploy.
The BCAHIMT has been deployed both in and out of state in previous years. After Hurricane Sandy, team members deployed to New York City to run a Logistics Center. In Massachusetts, team members worked at Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) headquarters to help manage resource distribution after a broken water main left thousands without drinking water in the Boston area. The team also assisted MEMA in March 2010 during a period of flooding in the Freetown area.
In Barnstable County, the team is responsible for managing the Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC). The MACC works with Cape towns in gathering resources during major storms, monitors power outages and supports the operation of the Regional Emergency Shelter system. The team is also on standby to assist the Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team when it is deployed.
Trained in all aspects of incident management, the BCAHIMT operates under the auspices of the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee (REPC). The team, led by Dennis Deputy Fire Chief Robert Brown, retired Wellfleet Fire Chief Dan Silverman and retired Chatham Police Captain Michael Walker, follows the National Incident Management System guidelines when working for states, counties or towns.
