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NJ Office of Emergency Management
Colonel Rick Fuentes Major Dennis McNulty
Superintendent, New Jersey State Police
State Director of Emergency Management
Commanding Officer, Emergency Management

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Mary Goepfert (609) 963-6818 December 21, 2011

Pre-incident Planning, Coordination
Enhances Emergency Response

NJOEM Personnel Trained, Had Planning Sessions with NTSB
Prior to Morris County Aircraft Incident

WEST TRENTON N.J. – The tragic aircraft incident in Morris County yesterday required a swift and well-coordinated response. The number of fatalities, large debris field, closure of a major roadway, and need to coordinate response and investigative activities with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other local and federal agencies resulted in a complex emergency management operation.

Yesterday personnel from the NJOEM Emergency Response Bureau North Region Office assisted with establishing a Unified Command and an Incident Action Plan, interacted with the NTSB and assisted with their investigation, coordinated the voluntary agencies who assisted with human needs response, worked with the NJ State Police Incident Management Unit and the NJ Department of Transportation in establishing a traffic diversion plan and established communication between the NTSB, the NJSP and other key agencies.

But just a month prior to the crash, the focus was on training for events of this type. From November 15-17, NJOEM staff members teamed with representatives from the NTSB, the FBI, the New York State Police and the Minneapolis MN Police Department to deliver the NTSB "Transportation Disaster Response for Emergency Responders" Course in Ashburn VA. Students from across the United States and as far away as Saudi Arabia and South America attended the program, which was developed by the NTSB after a 2005 crash at Teteboro Airport. NJOEM personnel Lt. Kevin Fowler, Lt. Jeff Mottley, SFC Robert Paddock, and Trooper II Marc Pellegrino instructed at the course.

The course gives public safety professionals the chance to learn by examining case studies from the perspective of the NTSB and the command leadership from the local agencies involved in the response. Designed specifically for emergency responders and planners, this course provides participants with the tools to most effectively manage a major transportation disaster. Audio/video materials, case studies, recent examples and panel discussions are employed to illustrate key principles of the unique aspects of responding to major transportation disasters.

Topics discussed at the course included transportation disaster case studies from Teterboro, Bergenfield, and Hoboken, New Jersey. The Minneapolis bridge collapse, the TWA 800 plane crash and the Buffalo Colgan plane crash were also included in the case studies.

"One of the goals of the NJOEM is to build resilient communities; communities that are prepared for all types of large-scale events," said Major Dennis McNulty, Assistant Deputy State Director of the NJOEM. "Planning, training and inter-agency coordination are the keys ways to achieve resilience and best serve others when adverse, and sometimes tragic, incidents occur."

 

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