At first fire departments may not think of emergency planning for special events as particularly special, but each type of event presents challenges. Think about the problems that can arise at frequent outings such as parades or sporting matches, or at one-time functions that bring unusually large crowds such as championship games or political conventions. Whether the special event is small or large, one time or recurring, the fire department will most likely play a role in the response if there's an emergency. So why doesn't the fire service play more of a role in planning for special events?

When the 2002 PGA Golf Championship was held at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska, Minn., the Chaska Fire Department and Carver County Risk and Emergency Management participated in the planning. Although this was a large event, many of the principles used for the smaller special events provided a foundation for successful planning.

Getting started

As the planning process begins, it's important to remember that politics will come into play, both internally and externally. Does the community support the event? What information has been distributed to the community? What do the neighbors know? Gathering specific community intelligence will help with the committee work and will be important in the overall development of the written plan.

Internal and inter-departmental political issues can be head off by developing relationships. Taking the time to build camaraderie will help foster effective and efficient response and recovery planning. Starting the relationship-building process early also will enhance later interaction during response or recovery.

At the cornerstone, both of this relationship-building and of planning in general, is communication. This dialogue occurs in a variety of ways: written communication, personal contact, phone, e-mail, fax, radios, cable TV or Web-based interaction, even body language.

Early communication will help ease the implementation of the incident management system when the time comes — this system is a must. Identifying an organizational chart and assigning effective span of control will assist in the development of the plan as well as during responses.

This communication also will help when it comes time to form committees. Committee work is valuable, but it's often challenging to accomplish specific goals and objectives. Working within the various committee structures to provide balance and input to create the most effective plan and response framework will be to the advantage of the organization and the overall system.

A written plan provides a framework for all parties to operate from. The written plan should not be a standalone document, but rather work in conjunction with an existing emergency operations plan. A written plan should include a hazard assessment, details of operations, assignment of responsibilities and specific discipline operations, to name a few.

While preparing for the special event, it's important to look at lessons learned from previous events for suggested uses of mutual aid. Documentation, volunteers and communication media are examples of areas where such lessons can be applied. Examples and prototypes are available from many different organizations. Why start from scratch? Obtaining existing examples or templates of written plans, organizational charts, operation procedures or guidelines may be helpful in the planning and response strategies.

Development of special operating procedures or guidelines for each agency and department will foster teamwork and lessen the potential for interpretation by individuals. Development of guidelines should be as close as possible to day-to-day operations to minimize confusion.

Identifying resources available for the day-to-day events as well as the resources that may be needed specifically for the special events is an important step in the process. This may determine the need for mutual aid assistance.

Checklists will help with this identification. The many participants active in this planning and response wear many different hats. If we can use checklists to make our jobs easier, safer and more effective, we should use them. Develop checklists that are specific to the event.

Plan specifics

The hazard assessment should incorporate day-to-day hazards as well as any specific to the event. These may include security, medical emergencies, fire, expected weather, bleacher collapse, and terrorism or protest issues. The time of year an event may be held also creates planning issues.

Special events bring special buildings. Plan for hazards accompanying these special buildings such as on-site food preparation, large crowds in the special buildings, weather considerations and potential fire considerations.

With any special event it's important to determine the type of crowds that will be present. Gathering specific demographic information as well as specific numbers of people will help determine various planning functions.

How and where will the parking be? How will it affect traffic flow? Who is responsible for managing traffic and staffing the parking areas? It's important to coordinate traffic and parking areas in conjunction with the overall plan because they will affect the operations and potential evacuation considerations of the on-site event.

Overall site analysis and risk assessment was performed prior to the event and was updated on a regular basis leading up to and at the event. The analysis included how hazmat teams would respond to the chemical storage facilities that surround the course. It also included a notification enhancement plan for the championship week.

On-site hazmat equipment was staged in strategic locations and specific protocols were put in place for hazmat incidents on site or in the immediate adjoining area. The Carver County Fire Department's Hazmat Response Group, in coordination with the National Guard 55th Civil Support Team, provided the lead coordination in hazardous materials.

Designate a location for the emergency operations center before the event. Identifying and equipping a location for all agencies to report to in the event of a major incident at the event will allow the individuals, agencies, and overall special event organization to respond in a more effective and efficient manner to the situation. The EOC should use the incident management system in conjunction with on-site operations.

Also identify a staging area ahead of time and assign responsibility for staffing this area. An identified area for public safety vehicles to stage until needed will decrease the potential chaos of responding agencies.

Also important to consider early on is event-specific training. This should cover such areas as the written operations plan, discipline specific operations and overall special event operations. All crew members from the Chaska Fire Department and the mutual aid departments participated in a training session prior to the event, which included an overview of the event, public safety and fire operations, and hands-on training with equipment. A site tour site also was conducted.

The big day

During the golf tournament, the fire departments provided stand-by coverage on site during the course of the operations. The crew consisted of a five people plus a duty commander. The fire crew members were identified with specific uniforms and provided coverage for the entire golf course area and the surrounding fire coverage area in the city of Chaska.

The Chaska fire marshal provided on-site prevention and inspection services in preparation for the event and during the week-long operations. The fire marshal and the fire crew conducted morning inspections of all facilities and the overall grounds to reduce the fire potential.

To provide effective staffing for the duration of the event, mutual aid and stand-by was provided by the Carver County, Chanhassen, Victoria, Mayer, Watertown, Waconia and Shakopee fire departments. Additional fire departments in the area were briefed prior to the event on staging areas, equipment needs and response protocols in the event of a multiple-casualty incident.

Fire crews were on site with a pumper/engine and a utility vehicle. In addition to these two vehicles, the crews were provided with a 6×6 all-terrain vehicle and golf carts for on-site operations. During the seven days of the tournament, the fire crews responded to 12 calls for service. They included odor of gas in a building, smoke in a building, suspicious packages, a crash at the immediate off-site area, evacuation assistance during severe weather and medical assists to the EMS providers on site.

Probably the most unusual request for service came from the Hazeltine National Golf Club and PGA staff on Saturday, Aug. 17. The night before, the Chaska area had been hit with heavy rain and strong thunderstorms that produced over five inches of rain in a 12-hour period. Due to the heavy rain in the short period, the on-course lakes and runoff areas were not able to contain the water runoff.

The Chaska Fire Department was called in to assist in removing water from a ponding/drain tile area. This ponding area was where the water runoff from many of the individual golf holes on the golf course drained to. The fire department provided two engine/pumpers with 5-inch large-diameter hose to the area and assisted in removing over 500,000 gallons in three hours to a natural lake area.

Chaska Fire Department personnel, city public works staff, golf club maintenance staff and volunteers from the PGA event assisted in positioning hose. Over 2,000 feet of 5-inch large-diameter hose was laid to move the water from the ponding area to the lake area. The 2002 PGA Championship staff, Hazeltine National Golf Club staff, city leaders, local and national media, and players credited the Chaska community with the successful improvement of the condition of the golf course in order to finish the major championship golf event.

Planning is key to effective emergency management and overall emergency services in your community. If something catastrophic should occur at a special event, the fire department will be called to assist. In fact, the fire department will most often take a lead role in the incident command system. Therefore, an early and sustained involvement in special events planning will build relationships, form a response plan and enhance the effective and efficient response to the incident. The overall result will be enhanced community relations and ongoing enhancement to emergency services in your community.

Special events occur on a regular basis. The fire service can take an active or passive role in the planning component of this event, but they often can not take a passive role in response.

Scott Gerber currently serves as the director of Carver County (Minn.) Risk and Emergency Management and as a captain with the Chaska Fire Department. He is the current president of the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Association and is a past president of the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers.