Borne out of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Fire Department’s Incident Management Team (IMT), with 170 members, “manages resources [in the case of] large scale incidents.”
And over the course of three days last week, they held a simulation at Fort Totten – very apropos with what is going on in the Gulf – “to see if we have all we need, if it’s working properly, and if we’re ready to respond,” according to public information officer Sean Johnson.
The scenario: a Merchant Marine vessel leaving its berth was struck by a breakaway barge, spilling 10,000 gallons of fuel oil into the water. The Coast Guard and several other agencies were called in and the FDNY IMT was appointed lead agency to coordinate all volunteer assistance.
The purpose of the drill was to “see if things are getting by these guys.”
The IMT, which has responded to such natural disasters as Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, as well as wildfires in Idaho, can be used for major non-emergency events as well, explained Johnson. These include All Star games, the World Series and others.
