When disaster strikes, the plan kicks in for Cheyenne's first responders

Mar. 1—CHEYENNE — On days like Saturday — days when a large, fast-spreading fire breaks out — the response is calculated before anyone knows what's going on. Inter-district collaboration, communication and training have all made sure that the protocol for first responders is dialed in when disaster strikes.

Saturday's grass fire west of town, which some officials said could have been far more destructive, was contained because county fire districts, Cheyenne Fire Rescue and Laramie County Fire Authority knew that they could count on one another.

"I mean, it's a testament to like a decade or more worth of leadership in this county," said Laramie County Fire District 10 assistant chief Jason Ruff. Saturday's fire began in Ruff's district, and he eventually needed to pass command of the scene over when his wife, an LCFD10 firefighter, was injured during the response.

"I was able to call them, and they're like, 'Yep, this is what I've got, what do you need? Where do you need it?' And, so, everybody is, I mean, volunteer agencies are extremely involved and extremely dedicated."

Without the trust between districts, one that began well before this most recent incident, Ruff said it could have gone very differently.

"I'm kind of a new, new, new kid on the block," he said. "Without a decade-plus of super strong leadership in this county, from all of the cross-coordination, this dynamic of a problem set is not solved without that type of leadership involved. So, I feel very fortunate to be involved with such a strong set of leaders that have really worked diligently for the last 10, 15, 20 years. I now have been around for six years and, like I said, I would consider myself a newbie. Without these guys ... this becomes a much bigger problem.

"I think it's probably the biggest fire that this district has ever encountered."

County fire officials have trained their volunteers and staff for large disasters and so, when the time came, officials had faith in their crews, and others', to rise to the occasion.

"In fact, we're getting ready to do a training scenario in June or July that was going to tackle this exact problem set, and that's because people are always thinking about the different problem sets that are out there," Ruff added.

Helping out

All of the county's fire districts have mutual aid agreements with each other. For that reason, when emergencies require all hands to be on deck, an agency won't be left to fight off a large emergency by itself. Some districts also have an "auto aid" function with other districts.

"Auto aid is (for) situations where, if a call comes in, depending on what type of call, they have pre-designated other fire districts to come and assist automatically," said Laramie County Fire Warden Matthew Butler. "So, as soon as the home fire districts get a call, that auto aid gets the call right after them, without having to request for assistance. It just happens automatically. Then, on the other side of that is just the normal mutual aid requests that are all coordinated kind of on scene."

The key to managing large incidents like last weekend's fire, Butler said, is communications, like good radio skills, efficient orders and command of the scene.

"It starts with communications, making sure that everyone is able to communicate on scene," he said. "Through these large events, a lot of times what will happen is they're broken up into divisions. So, there'll be an incident commander of the scene itself, and then a West or East or North or South Division, where there'll be another person that's kind of in charge of that geographic area ... to make sure that that span of control is is handled in an efficient manner."

According to one fire official, around 90% of the people that responded to Saturday's fire were volunteers, all of whom have been trained to communicate with other agencies.

WyoLink

Part of the communication structure that makes emergency response a fluid process in Wyoming is the WyoLink program, which allows any first responders to communicate directly with one another throughout the state.

"For these outside agencies ... there's national inter-operable channels that most all fire districts and departments in the nation have programmed into their radios, to allow for that communication to occur across state lines," Butler said.

Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper Jason Simmer told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that one of the benefits of WyoLink is that troopers can listen and communicate with people in different cities and counties statewide.

The program, maintained by the Wyoming Department of Transportation, allows first responders to communicate on a single radio channel, making crisis communications much easier than before the program's inception. According to WYDOT materials, the program started after a recommendation from the U.S. Congress 9/11 Commission report, which recommended that first responder communications should have more "interoperability." Before WyoLink, first responders had to communicate with each other through an emergency dispatcher.

While this has improved communication drastically, Simmer said there are unwritten rules first responders use with WyoLink. With rare exceptions, Simmer said, it's generally frowned upon to communicate on a different agency or area's emergency channel. He added that it was because using that channel, especially if there is little reason to, takes away valuable time from another person who could be using it to report a genuine emergency.

In instances like Saturday's fire, WyoLink, practically, can streamline requests for aid from other counties. In that case, firefighters from Albany County were able to offer assistance more quickly.

Beyond the fire, WyoLink and the precedent of good communication set by county officials is what keeps emergencies from spiraling out of control. The authority with which officials controlled the scene was a point of pride for Ruff, among others.

"It was a big incident, right, lots of moving parts and pieces," Butler said. "I think that the incident commanders, the overall incident commander and then division commanders worked really well together.

"That's one thing that I am really proud of in Laramie County as a whole is, when it comes down to something like this, they all can work really well together and accomplish the goal that everyone wants. So, anecdotally, I think the scene went well."

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Samir Knox is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice and public safety reporter. He can be reached by email at sknox@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3152. Follow him on Twitter at @bySamirKnox.