When Disaster Strikes, the Hurricane Deployment Team is Ready
by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist
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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) has many plans in place for what to do if a hurricane strikes our area. But if the storm misses us and instead hits another part of Florida or the Gulf Coast, the PCSO has a Hurricane Deployment Team that can mobilize within 12 hours to head to that city to provide support through our mutual aid agreements. This spring the Special Events Unit, which is led by Sergeant John Luckett and Corporal Josh Short, held training for the more than 100 members of the Hurricane Response Team to get them ready for what promises to be a very active 2022 hurricane season (June 1st - November 30th). One prediction calls for 19 named storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes, along with a 47-percent chance that a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) will hit somewhere in Florida.
Special Operations Division Captain Greg Danzig said that “Hurricane City,” as the base camp is known, can be set up quickly and is completely self-sustaining for a month or more. “We have a new 200kW generator, in addition to smaller generators,” said Captain Danzig. “Using the big one, the entire camp can be powered at the same time.” Before, using only the smaller generators, they had to pick and choose which sections got power. Now they can run everything at once – lights, kitchen, bathroom, ice maker, laundry, tents – on a grid system. The generators can run for 4-7 days before they need to have fuel added.
Captain Danzig has made some changes to the training since joining Special Operations. Before, trainees would arrive to find the equipment already set up. “Now they arrive to an empty field and set everything up from start to finish, from inflating the tents to breaking everything down again at the end of the day.” Each day of training is 12 hours long. Half of the team trains one day, the other half the next.
The team’s four tents can be rolled small enough to fit into a bag for storage, but once unfurled and inflated they are 860 square feet – big enough to be used with bunks for sleeping quarters, as a command center, or a field hospital. Up to 20 people can sleep in each tent. The tents are sealed from the elements and insects, and are even air conditioned – a luxury that many other agencies don’t have.
Deputies are taken in small groups for specialized training while the rehearsal Hurricane City is being set up. One group learned the proper technique to winch a vehicle out of the mud. Some train as chefs in the mobile kitchen while others are on the chainsaw crew to learn how to safely clear downed trees and brush.
Another group participated in a search and rescue simulation in a heavily wooded area with hazards including water, thick vegetation, difficult terrain, and wildlife. In that scenario, they found a distraught man who had been lost in the woods for three days, looking for his missing daughter. Deputies practiced searching technique, radio use, best practices for relaying information, how to mark the coordinates of a body, and how to be sensitive to people in distress.
Hurricane City can organize a field hospital in one of the tents, with the capacity to set up IV bags. The medical personnel who accompany the Hurricane Deployment Team are tactical paramedics – the same paramedics who accompany SWAT.
The PCSO Department of Detention and Corrections also has a specialized hurricane deployment team. Two squads of 15 members each are ready to go to any corrections facility that has been hard-hit by a hurricane and assist with their jail operations. Keep an eye on Inside the Star later this summer for more about how the jail responds to a hurricane.
PCSO is always ready to deploy in Pinellas County in the event of a hurricane. In fact during a hurricane here, every essential member of the agency is mobilized to help our citizens.
Preparation can dramatically reduce the danger posed by hurricanes and their aftermath. “As for our perspective on hurricanes,” Captain Danzig said, “we respect them and obviously carefully watch them, but never fear them. For hurricane season every year, we’re ready to deploy anytime, anywhere.”
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Marine Move Over Law Keeps Deputies and Citizens Safe on the Water
by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist
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Most drivers know what to do when they see an emergency vehicle on the road. If an ambulance, fire truck, or law enforcement vehicle is approaching with its lights or siren activated, you should make sure to yield the right of way so the road is clear for the vehicle to proceed safely and swiftly. If the emergency vehicle is parked on the side of the road with its lights on, a driver should vacate the lane nearest them, or if that’s not possible, slow down to at least 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.
There was no law specifically requiring boats to move over or slow down for emergency vessels until 2021, when Florida Statutes were amended to include a law specific to emergency vessels in Florida waterways. According to the law under the Special Hazards section, “A person may not operate a vessel faster than slow speed, minimum wake within 300 feet of any emergency vessel, or firefighting vessel, when such emergency vessel’s emergency lights are activated.”
When a member of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Marine and Environmental Lands Unit stops a boat, they tie up to it. Vessel stops can range from a safety inspection for a family on a pontoon boat, to a Boating Under the Influence stop, to an arrest with a combative subject. In any of these cases, a deputy needs to think of their own safety, and that of the citizens.
Doing anything on the water has inherent hazards, and tying up to a vessel makes it even trickier. “We tell people to keep their hands in,” said Deputy Robert Mitchell of the Marine and Environmental Lands Unit. “People want to help, but we ask them to let us do everything, for their safety.” He doesn’t want anyone to get a hand caught between the boats.
If a passing vessel creates a large wake within 300 feet it presents a great danger to life and property. “When we’re tied up to a boat, everything is constantly moving.” Already at the mercy of wind, waves, and currents, adding a large wake poses extra hazards. “We’re responsible for their boat and for ours.” The boats are at risk of crashing into each other in the wake, causing damage to both boats. Deputy Mitchell has seen damage to fiberglass and cleats, and objects going overboard. He said that damage is more likely to happen to a citizen’s boat than a PCSO vessel. “Our boats are pretty sturdy.” A wake may even cause a deputy or a citizen to fall into the water. Any disruption to the emergency vessel can be a serious safety issue.
What is slow speed, minimum wake? The wake is the wave that a boat creates behind it as it moves through the water. In a no-wake zone, a vessel has to be operating at the minimum speed necessary for it to still be moving forward and able to be steered. For the slow speed, minimum wake required for the Special Hazards/Marine Move Over Law, a boat must be fully off plane and settled into the water, producing either no wake or minimal wake.
Or, a vessel can move 300 feet out of the way, the length of a football field. Make sure you give all emergency vessels with their lights on plenty of space, and don’t rock them with your wake. Together we can help to keep our waterways safe.
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Get Your Emergency Access Pass Soon
by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist
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When a major storm hits and there is a mandatory evacuation, law enforcement closes the Barrier Islands to preserve lives and property. In the aftermath of the storm, unoccupied houses are vulnerable to burglars and businesses could be prime targets for looters. While it may be days before the islands are reopened for the public, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) has a program that allows residential and business owners or renters to get an Emergency Access Permit so they can return to their property after the storm, whenever it is safe to do so.
To apply for a pass, visit the PCSO website. The pass is available to owners or renters of properties on the Barrier Islands, as well as owners or renters of boat slips. Business owners can also apply for a pass, but they must apply in person at the city or town hall where their property is located. After the storm has passed, permit holders can access the Barrier Islands at one of the nine entry points that is closest to their address.
Don't wait until the storm is approaching to apply for your Emergency Access Pass.
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Job Feature: Internship Opportunities
Looking for internship opportunities for the fall semester? We are accepting applications for interns in our Patrol Operations Bureau, Department of Detention and Corrections, and our Fiscal Affairs Bureau.
Get your applications in fast! The deadline to apply is June 30th.
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