By Kiersten Hacker
Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE — As western North Carolina navigates the destruction in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Baltimore is readying a team of 911 operators and emergency dispatchers to potentially assist the state.
“As a city who has seen our fair share of significant emerging situations and challenges, I know how meaningful support from other jurisdictions can be,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference Wednesday following the city’s Board of Estimates’ meeting.
Scott said he has family in North Carolina , and seeing the images of the storm’s aftermath is “scary and shocking.” It’ll take significant manpower to complete the long and hard recovery, Scott said, later thanking Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace for the department’s efforts.
The emergency team would be deployed through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Wallace said at the news conference. EMAC is a federally recognized compact that allows states to request mutual aid and assistance through a process when the governor declares a disaster or emergency.
States can request assistance with specific resources and those states looking to provide assistance can submit an offer, speeding up the process by forming a Mission Ready Package. Wallace said North Carolina made a request for 911 telecommunicators, so a group of 911 operators, fire and EMS dispatchers has been assembled under the guidance of one individual as a Mission Ready Package to be submitted.
Director of the Office of Emergency Management Joey Henderson said the team is composed of 911 call takers, dispatchers, support staff and a supervisor for a total of eight people.
North Carolina must first accept the offer of Baltimore’s help. If North Carolina accepts, the team of operators and dispatchers will deploy within a few hours, Wallace said, and use their training to take part in operations right away.
“Their communications down there are very limited. The people that are indigenous to the town, we believe that destination will be Asheville , so their indigenous workers, they need a break,” Wallace said. “So we need to come in seamlessly and assume that role as this telecommunicator for the 911 system.”
Henderson said that approval could come Wednesday or Thursday with the earliest chance of deployment on Wednesday night, but they’ll likely wait for the individuals to hit the road early the next morning with the sunlight. The officials have been put on standby so they are ready when the call comes, Henderson said.
With the amount of EMAC requests that have come to the state, Henderson said it’s clear “they’re in desperate need” in North Carolina . The goal is to offer local 911 call takers a break, Henderson said, as they’ve been working around the clock since the storm rolled in.
Aid missions can vary in length and location, Wallace said. For this telecommunications request, the mission is a minimum of seven days and a maximum of 14, though more time can be requested for Maryland approval.
“We’ve sent teams out before,” Wallace said. “This request, however, is a bit unique. It’s normally, emergency response, boots on the ground … this is a technical team.”
Gov. Wes Moore also approved mobilizing the Maryland Army National Guard to North Carolina on Monday, with 12 soldiers, two helicopters and three civilian firefighters heading to support communities impacted by the storm.
The deployment of the telecommunications officials must still be approved through the EMAC process. Scott said Wallace and Henderson will collaborate with officials in North Carolina for the possible deployment. EMAC assistance is a binding agreement and states that provide assistance are required to be reimbursed by the states requesting aid.
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