Chapter 4: Response Chapter Outline
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All Agency Involvement
In support of EPA, the U.S. Navy was assigned to coordinate water search operations. An operations base was set up at Toledo Bend Reservoir. There were eight dive teams working the reservoir: three U.S. Navy, two EPA, one each from the City of Galveston, City of Houston and the Texas Department of Public Safety. In addition, six boats equipped with side and multi-beam scanning sonar are looking for dive targets, four on the reservoir and two on Lake Nacogdoches. The Navy also deployed various handheld sonar units and an autonomous unit that were programmed to search underwater areas independently. About 130 personnel worked the water search operation. Following a tremendous initial search effort by local governments and volunteers, four base camps were established to house interagency crews at the request of the Texas Forest Service. These crews relieved the search burden on state and local resources by bringing in firefighting crews from other parts of the nation. Crews from 39 states joined the effort. In total, about 4,500 personnel arrived and about 155 crews of 20 people each daily combed through NASA assigned search areas in a corridor 240 by 10 miles wide from Ellis County in the west to Toledo Bend Reservoir in the east. Four crew base camps were set up: Nacogdoches (1,100 personnel), Palestine (about 1,000), Hemphill (about 1,000) and Corsicana (about 1,350). A mobilization unit was established at Longview Airport to assist crew arrival, travel to and from base camps and departure. Since February 14, these out-of-state crews have expended nearly 132,000 man-hours on the search. Extensive air searches were used in the search. Operating out of two facilities, one in the Lufkin area and one in the Palestine area, 33 helicopters and nine fixed wing aircraft flew search grids over the 240 by 10 mile corridor seeking possible debris sites. Possible sites were relayed to ground crews for inspection. The State of Texas rushed to assist local communities in the initial search, and continued to support the federal agencies responding to the event. The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management coordinated the state response. Among state agency personnel committed were: 353 state troopers, about 800 National Guard, four aircraft, 17 helicopters, 140 Texas Forest Service personnel, 35 horse-mounted search teams, 20 Texas Department of Transportation personnel, 27 Texas Commission of Environmental Quality personnel and various other units such as dogs and handlers, mapping support and game wardens. Most have now returned to their regular assignments. ConclusionAs a test of the response capabilities, many have argued that the Department of Homeland Security was given an easy assignment – there were only 7 initial fatalities, no injuries, and very little destruction. However, from a coordination standpoint, the event was colossal. As previously mentioned, it was the single greatest mobilization of civil service employees in the history of the nation, and with very few exceptions, the operation was carried off without a hitch. All local and State costs were reimbursed by the Federal Government, and many working relationships were created in the response and recovery phases when counterparts were able to work face to face in a relatively low-stress environment. The event proved that FEMA had retained its agency status within DHS, and was able to continue functioning as it had before the Homeland Security Act was signed just 4 months earlier. References: EPA. 2003. Response to the Columbia Space Shuttle Incident. EPA Website. http://www.epa.gov/columbia/ FEMA. 2003. President Declares Emergency in Texas and Louisiana in Response to Space Shuttle Tragedy. February 1. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2406 FEMA 2. 2003. FEMA to Lead Search, Find, and Secure Mission Following Space Shuttle Tragedy. February 1. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2405 FEMA 3. 2003. FEMA Puts Federal Resources Into Action To Assist State And Local Authorities In Search, Find And Secure Mission For Columbia Debris. February 2. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2407 FEMA 4. 2003. FEMA Establishes Joint Information Center for Columbia Debris Search, Find, and Secure Mission at Lifkin Civic Center. February 3. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2409 FEMA 5. 2003. Columbia Material Collection Guidelines: Fact Sheet. February 5. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2414 FEMA 6. 2003. President Amends Columbia Emergency Declaration to Include All States. February 6. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2416 FEMA 7. 2003. FEMA Updates Search, Find And Secure Activities For Columbia Emergency. February 6. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2415 FEMA 8. 2003. Good Progress Made In One Month Of Shuttle Recovery. March 1. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2458 FEMA 9. 2003. FEMA Will Hand On-Going Recovery Operations To NASA April 30. April 17. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2534 FEMA 10. 2003. Recap Of The Search For Columbia Shuttle Material. May 5. FEMA Press Release. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=2808 Wikipedia, 2005, Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster
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