PTF Completes Response to 1,000-Year Flood in West Virginia

“In spite of all the promises of help and assistance from countless public agencies, Disaster Solutions repeatedly proved through its actions that it was the best possible resource any small town or city could rely upon. Hire this team of professionals.”

- Chief of Police John Pauley, White Sulphur Springs, W.V.

The Pathfinders Task Force (PTF) has completed its response to the flooding incident that impacted the City of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. PTF was responsible for assisting local first responders in coordinating response and recovery efforts and documenting the impact of flooding damage to public and private resources in the City. The After Action Report for this response is located at www.disastersolutions.cc/history

The Pathfinders Task Force was contracted in part to create a Type III Incident Management Team for the City of White Sulphur Springs. This IMT, led by PTF, received its delegation of authority from the City of White Sulphur Springs on 07/02/2016. The PTF worked closely with local first responders to manage resources effectively during the initial response phase of this incident.

“Disaster Solutions also formed the perfect Public/Private partnership for our historic hotel and its local community. Scott, as our Incident Commander, literally worked miracles in terms of making things happen on a huge scale.”

- Greenbrier Resort Agency Administrator, Habibi Mamone

Sample of the Virtual Badge application used to document flooding impact

The PTF IMT organized local first responders based on the principles of the Incident Command System and provided just-in-time training for local government responders. This IMT improved the efficiency of response efforts and created a system for government verifications which facilitated the communication of critical information and cost allocations from the various responding agencies.

PTF first focused on Family Support Services for the 1,800 employees of the Greenbrier Resort. To assist in conducting rapid damage assessments, Greenbrier’s Chief Operations Officer chose to have his personnel rapidly trained in the use of the Virtual Badge software and dispatched to document the impact of this historic flood. With 30 minutes of training, including an operations and safety briefing by the Pathfinders Task Force Commander, Greenbrier staff conducted damage assessment operations spread across the 11,000 acre Resort. The time/date stamped and geocoded forms and pictures were an excellent source for resource allocation and insurance claims documentation.

“Disaster Solutions’ costs were returned more than ten-fold to our City. Other cities looking to save this emergency expenditure only hurt themselves.”

- Finance Director Linda Coleman, City of White Sulphur Springs, W.V.

PTF Managing Points of Distribution in West Virginia

In addition to organizational support, PTF also acted as a consultant and advocate for the City of White Sulphur Springs. Daily Operations Briefings were conducted by the IMT, and all response operations were managed directly by this team. PTF also worked closely with the City of White Sulphur Springs to facilitate proper documentation and reporting for the FEMA Public Assistance grant program to ensure proper procedures were closely followed. One member of the PTF remained behind to facilitate this documentation process.

A significant Lesson Learned was the dramatic comparison of similar sized, nearby cities which opted to try and secure similar reimbursements from FEMA and the State of West Virginia. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in such reimbursements were claimed by White Sulphur Springs, which no other similar city has cobbled together as of this writing. White Sulphur Springs, according to various analysts, was the first to begin to apply to the city for Cat B reimbursements in the impacted area. With PTF being reimbursed by the State and FEMA to the City at a 100% rate for such advocacy, a dramatic value add was laid out for small cities and towns for tasking in PTF.

For more information, please contact Matthew Campbell.

Matthew Campbell

Pathfinders Task Force

(561) 329–0068

matt@pathfinders.cc

For more information about the Virtual Badge software, please visit www.virtualbadge.com