Emergency Training Helps Algonquin Deal with Flood Disaster

The National Weather Services flood warning for the Fox River tailwaters at Algonquin served as a call to action for Algonquin officials, who began figuring out what type of emergency action will be needed.

An emergency operations center, consisting of department heads from police, public works and the administration, was set up and Algonquin went into emergency mode on a Wednesday.

“It was phenomenal, it was seamless,” Mayor John Schmitt said of the operations center.

By that night, Public Works crews were filling up sandbags and Algonquin police had canvassed the neighborhoods expected to flood, talking to residents and providing information.

As the flooding unfolded, Schmitt declared a state of emergency allowing the village to obtain help from McHenry County and the state of Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

Algonquin’s response to the flooding has received residents’ thanks and has served as practice for officials to use the skills learned at the National Emergency Training Center during a seminar last month.

 Algonquin Deputy Chief Ed Urban was among those who attended the four-day training at the Maryland center last month.

The training helped Algonquin officials look at policy and procedures and figuring out who is responsible for what, he said.

“It gave you a global idea of who is responsible for what,” he said.

Urban had the chance to work with people from other departments on solving simulated problems. He also learned how the National Weather Service handles storm warnings

“We ran through several exercises. Those are also beneficial, they simulate disasters and you can work your mind around problem-solving issues, “ he said.

Topics included how to set up an incident comment, what is emergency management, how to organize a large scale response and the logistics of getting people and equipment to areas that need help, he said.

The training helps emergency response look at a problem and develop a plan, he said. Additionally, there’s the aspect of recovery emergency training. “What would happen is you have to rebuilt a community?” he said.

Team effort

Police deal with emergency events but emergency management deals with the consequences of an event, not the cause, he said. Officers have traditional roles focused on enforcement and investigation, but the roles can change in an emergency or disaster.

A unified, team approach is needed when dealing with emergencies, he said.

Each department within the village has its own task in an emergency. For example, police would work with Public Works to put up barricades and keep traffic away from the damaged areas. Public Work would also clean up and help the community rebuilt.

Last month’s training brought together police, public works and other departments to work together on simulated emergencies. While the emergency training focused on situations with mass causalities like tornadoes, hurricanes or other sudden weather events, the skills used for dealing with emergencies can be used when dealing with terrorist attacks like the one in Boston or with the flooding experienced in Algonquin.

Urban found the training helped Algonquin officials think about the weaknesses in the village’s emergency plan. For example, the village did not have a designated emergency shelter.

“It defined some gaps we have that we will try to fill in,” Urban said.

Whether the cause is a terrorist attack or a tornado, the consequences are similar, dealing with mass causalities and finding shelter for victims, he said.

Algonquin Police Department has been working on updating its emergency plan, per federal guidelines, he said. It can be a long process to rework policies and procedures, he added.

Algonquin flooding

Urban worked on the flood emergency Algonquin has been dealing with since last week. He and other Algonquin department heads constantly monitored the Fox River’s height and assisted victims in preparing for the flood.

Police cordoned off flooded areas and provided security to keep people out of the flooded areas. Over the weekend, police also arrested several people who were on the river, which has been closed to the public.

Algonquin went into a state of emergency April 17 and over the weekend. While the emergency ended earlier this week, the village continues assisting residents.

Public Works Director Bob Mitchard also attended the training, which he found helpful. He doesn’t work in emergency services so the training provided a good experience.

The village staff's response to the flooding was amazing, Schmitt said.

The state of emergency has ended, however, a flood warning continues for the Fox River at Algonquin where the National Weather Service reporting the water level was at 11.8 inches, above the 9.5 flood stage. The flood warning is expected to continue through the weekend.