SAVE Coalition Inspectors Activated
for Pemiscot, Dunklin Counties Tornado Response
JEFFERSON CITY, May 16, 2006-After the devastating April
2nd tornado destroyed hundreds of homes in Pemiscot and Dunklin Counties,
local officials were overwhelmed trying to conduct building inspections.
At the request of Pemiscot County, the State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA) activated 15 SAVE Coalition (Structural Assessment Visual
Evaluation) inspectors.
“Over three and 1/2 days, the SAVE volunteers
conducted 1100 building inspections in Caruthersville, Pemiscot and
Dunklin Counties. Their expertise helped the local officials make
tough rebuilding/demolition housing decisions,” said Ron Reynolds,
SEMA Director. “These volunteers did an exceptional job under
hazardous post-tornado conditions.”
In 1991, the Missouri legislature approved legislation
creating the SAVE (Structural Assessment Visual Evaluation) Coalition
volunteer building inspection program for post-earthquake response.
The legislation has been expanded to include post-disaster building
inspections for all hazards. The legislation grants SEMA trained and
activated structural engineers, architects and building professionals
immunity for up to 72 hours to perform building inspections for requesting
communities.
Joseph Randazzo of the St. Louis County Police Emergency
Management Agency was the SAVE Coordinator for the Southeast Missouri
response. He assigned teams to inspect neighborhoods, provided assessment
placards, conducted the out-briefings at dusk, identified problem
areas, and performed administrative duties for the deployment. Each
2-man inspection team worked from dawn until dusk, and was accompanied
by a member of the Missouri Highway Patrol with GIS capability.
“Our volunteers are ‘professionals’
and their boots-on-the ground inspections validated the training SEMA
provides. They performed their duties as they were trained, and functioned
superbly as teams,” said Randazzo, a long-time Applied Technology
Council-20 (ATC-20) post disaster building safety evaluation instructor
for the SAVE Coalition. “Our volunteers are problem solvers.
At an out-briefing the maps that were provided did not supply data
sufficient enough to map coordinates of the tornado path and the damage
it left behind. As luck would have it, one of the Southeast Missouri
volunteers was able to return to his engineering office and plot a
map of Caruthersville for unified command coordination as well as
individual maps for each inspection team to plot their movement and
inspection data,” he added.
During the ATC Training, volunteer building inspectors
are taught to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours. They bring their
own food, camping equipment, and most importantly water for their
deployment.
By training, the volunteer inspectors do not enter
damaged structures. Based on their visual evaluations and ATC-20 checklists,
they post one-of-three colored placards on the outside of inspected
buildings. A GREEN placard means the building has no apparent damage
and can be safely occupied. A YELLOW placard means the building has
sustained damage and residents usually have a Limited or Restrictive
type use until specific repairs can be made. A RED placard means the
building has sustained serious damage and cannot be safely occupied
The teams inspected 956 buildings in Caruthersville,
96 buildings in Braggadocio/Deering both in Pemiscot County three
days after the tornadoes. One 2-man team inspected 48 buildings in
Kennett (Dunklin County).
In addition to Randazzo, SEMA would like to recognize
the following SAVE Coalition Volunteers: Ron Galemore of Kennett,
Dave Hoffman of Rolla, Melanie Gertis and Mark Lester both of Cape
Girardeau, Darral Hirtz, John Chittenden, Steve Hicks, Joe Leahy,
and Brad Smith all of Sikeston; Dan Molloy of Doniphan, Dan Klaproth
of Poplar Bluff, Janet Sanders of Jackson, and Jeffery Fouse and Ted
Pruess both of St. Louis.
SEMA would also like to acknowledge Winters Engineering
of Sikeston for the maps, Jim Rushing & Jerry Hudgens of City
of Sikeston Code Enforcement Office, Lawrence Dorroh, City of Sikeston's
Attorney, and Lt. McNeil from the State Highway Patrol.
SEMA has activated the SAVE Coalition three times: Madison
County Flooding in 2000, Stockton, Pierce City, Liberty Tornados in
2004, and for the Pemiscot County Tornados in 2006.
Currently there are approximately 1000 certified SAVE
Coalition volunteers statewide. For more information about receiving
ACT-20 training and becoming a SAVE Coalition volunteer contact: SEMA’s
Jason Schneider at 573-526-9119 or Jason.Schneider@sema.dps.mo.gov