Sherril Gladney Welcomed as State Mutual
Aid Coordinator
Missouri’s fire service identified the
need to develop a statewide system in the 1990’s to provide resources to fire
departments throughout the state when an emergency situation occurred that exhausted local
resources or capabilities, hence the creation of the State Fire Mutual Aid System.
Oversight and administration of the system was housed within the State Fire Marshal’s
Office.
Since its inception, the system has been
activated on numerous occasions, not only within the state, but when emergency situations
occurred in other states as well, such as in response to Hurricane Katrina. These
activations have provided much needed resources in local areas that have been overwhelmed
and resources depleted. Although the system has been successful, there is always room for
improvement. Admittedly, administration and system maintenance has been a challenge.
During the systems long history, no financial support has been provided to the State Fire
Marshal’s Office.
Over the past few years, various events
requiring mutual aid activation have spotlighted the extreme importance of the system.
Based on these events, the time came to seek financial support for the system.
In September, a proposal was presented to
the Governor appointed Homeland Security Advisory Council, seeking funding for the State
Fire Marshal to hire a part-time state mutual aid coordinator. The Council understood the
necessity for this position and fully supported the request. Hired in November was Sherril
Gladney to fill the coordinator position. Sherril is a member of Missouri Task Force One
and Boone County Fire Protection District. She also has communications experience through
Columbia/Boone County Communications Center where she is employed as a part-time
supervisor.
As each of us realizes, and as experience
has dictated, having a robust mutual aid system in place is critical when faced with
significant emergencies or disasters. Sherril’s main role as a mutual aid coordinator
will be to identify potential system enhancements and ongoing maintenance. Plans are
underway to assist other disciplines in developing and establishing mutual aid systems
within those disciplines such as law enforcement, EMS, EMD’s and public works.
Recently, in an attempt to improve
the activation and deployment process of the state’s Homeland Security Response
Teams, the process was incorporated into the Mutual Aid System. Notification and
deployment of these teams will now be initiated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office
through the nine regional Mutual Aid Coordinators. It is imperative that this process be
followed so that coordination and management of an event can be maintained, not to mention
coordination of potential federal reimbursement funding.
Another valuable asset that is
accessible is the state’s Incident Support Team (IST). We currently have two teams in
the state, one in the Region F and the other in Region C. These teams include various
public safety and emergency responders designed to deploy to an area and “assist and
support” the local jurisdiction/incident command.
To view more information about the mutual
aid system please visit the State Fire Marshal’s website, www.dfs.dps.mo.gov and follow the “mutual
aid” link.
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