Digital Extra: The Station Fire

The Station fire revealed organizational failures and equipment lapses.

01:00 AM EST on Sunday, February 19, 2006

BY AMANDA MILKOVITS
Journal Staff Writer

CRANSTON -- Three years after the deadliest fire in Rhode Island history illuminated flaws in the state Emergency Management Agency, the new executive director said the agency has fixed many of its problems.

A report by an outside consultant that reviewed the emergency responses to the Station nightclub fire turned a critical eye on the actions of the state EMA. While individuals working for the EMA performed admirably in responding to the fire, the report said, the tragedy exposed organizational failures and equipment lapses throughout the agency. The Titan Corp.'s report listed 55 recommendations to correct the problems.

At the same time, an assessment of the agency by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program found deficiencies in planning throughout the EMA.

The two reports mirrored each other in their criticisms: the state EMA lacked an updated State Emergency Operations Plan, it had no plan for recovery after disasters, and it had no strategic plan to handle all hazards. Communication was a problem, as was a lack of a compatible computer system with emergency management software, according to the Titan report.

Since the Titan report was released in July 2004, the EMA has made progress on nearly all 55 recommendations, said executive director Robert J. Warren.

What's ahead: a $20-million proposal for a new state emergency operations center and training in "incident command" for the leaders of all cities and towns. "I'm looking to make sure government officials understand their responsibilities," Warren said.

Some of the recommendations were met before Warren was appointed to lead the EMA last August. He replaced Albert Scappaticci, who retired months after the report was released.

Following the report's recommendations, the EMA updated the State Emergency Operations Plan in 2004, a statewide hazard-mitigation plan last year, and rewrote plans for handling mass casualties.

Last year, the EMA unveiled its new $1.4-million mobile command center, purchased with federal Homeland Security money, to serve as a field office for responding to major catastrophes. Previously, all the EMA had was a 1988 box truck that so badly needed replacement that it wasn't even used during the Station fire.

The report cited the woeful staff levels and lack of a workable emergency operations center. The state EMA had suffered from years of neglect, seen as an unwanted stepchild in state government, pushed out of the basement offices in the State House into small quarters at the National Guard headquarters in Cranston. Funding and staffing were low. Since the mid-1970s, the staffing levels had plummeted from the upper-20s to just 13 people the night of the fire.

After the fire, more people were hired. Since Warren has arrived, he has hired five new staff members to plan, track equipment, and work with cities and towns on emergency planning -- bringing the staff level up to 27.

The governor's proposed budget includes a $20-million plan to house a new state emergency operations center, E-911 system and the state's computer center at the old Varley Building at the John O. Pastore Center in Cranston.

The report found that the EMA didn't have computers that were compatible with those at other state agencies, and it didn't have emergency management software. Since then, the EMA has purchased 20 laptop computers that can be taken into the field, plus another 39 laptops loaded with emergency management software, WEB-EOC, that will be distributed to all 39 municipalities, Warren said. That way, each local community will be able to see what the state EMA is doing and posting in its emergency operations center during a disaster.

In April, Warren wants a private consultant to train the leaders in all 39 cities and towns on the organizational structure known as incident command. After recommendations in the Titan report, Warren said he wants the mayors, city councilors and town officials to understand the incident command system that's used during emergencies by police and firefighters. The local charters place the ultimate responsibility in a crisis on the shoulders of the town leaders, much as the governor is responsible for the response in statewide emergencies.

He wants to have the local leaders ready now, before the hurricane season begins in June.