On Saturday, September 3, 2005, the Calvert County Fire/Rescue/EMS Division Chief, Mr. Jim Richardson, received a request from the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) to report available Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and EMS apparatus resources available for a 1-week deployment to assist in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
In accordance with the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) agreement between states, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) sent a request on Sunday, September 4, 2005, to Mr. Richardson for the available EMS personnel and available EMS apparatus resources to prepare for deployment to Jefferson Parish Louisiana (just outside of New Orleans). It was requested that the personnel bring enough supplies to sustain themselves (food, water, etc.) up to 4-days. Their assignment is to support the West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, Louisiana (7-miles from New Orleans). The operations will be under the command of Jefferson Parish Emergency Management. Duties will include emergency medical response and hospital patient care, with a potential for body recovery activities. Maryland doctors and nurses will also support the in-house medical operations at the West Jefferson Medical Center, which is being coordinated by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
At approximately 4:00 a.m. on Monday, September 5, 2005, the following Calvert County Volunteers departed for the staging area at the Montgomery County Fire Training Academy:
- Paramedic Sharon Eskins and Medic Brandi Elliott from Calvert Advanced Life Support (CALS)
- EMT John Dorsey, EMT Robert Rountree, and EMT Ryan Muholland, all from the Huntingtown Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad
- EMT Katie Hanko and EMT Brendan McGaffin, both from Solomons Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department
- Paramedic Bruce Kaufman (also from CALS) was deployed via military transport from Martins State Airport at 2:00 p.m. to join the team
This Calvert County Eight-Person Volunteer Team and one Medic Unit (CALS Suburban) is part of the Maryland EMS response that consists of approximately 40 people and 10 ambulances. Our EMS Team is traveling with the Montgomery County Task Force, but will split from them just outside of New Orleans. The Montgomery County Task Force will be providing fire and rescue services to the City of New Orleans.