A terrible flood hit Nashville in May, killing 11 and leaving thousands homeless. Flood response operations were in part led by Steve Halford, chief of the Nashville Fire Department, a fire and EMS department that covers 526 square miles and a population of 620,000. Halford also serves as acting director of the mayor's Office of Emergency Management of Nashville and Davidson County. Specifically, he was the lead manager of Nashville's/Davidson County's Emergency Operations Center during the flood, where he coordinated the operations of all metro government agencies and other external agencies.

He joins FIRE CHIEF Associate Editor Mary Rose Roberts to discuss how the EOC structure, flood preplan operations, resource deployment, and how training and online education can help fire personnel prepare for massive disasters.