HEET: San Luis Obispo County Horse Emergency Evacuation Team

Monday, February 20, 2012

HEET: San Luis Obispo County Horse Emergency Evacuation Team

Each fire season, Cal Fire designates San Luis Obispo County as at risk from wildland fires spreading into urban areas. In the 2002-03 Highway 58 and Parkhill fires, the agency reported 2,200 acres, five residences and $110,000 lost.

That’s when a few concerned horses owners realized their animals were at risk during wildfires.

Stuart McElhinney said, “There wasn’t a coordinated emergency evacuation system to care for the horses and organize their rescue. We needed a volunteer effort to develop a plan (and to) implement a system.”

By January 2003, Morro Bay attorneys and Los Osos residents Stuart and Susan McElhinney filed nonprofit paperwork for the Horse Emergency Evacuation Team (HEET). Their mission is to work cooperatively with Cal Fire, the county Fire Chiefs Association, the Sheriff’s Office and CHP to coordinate a first response evacuation plan for large animals.

They quickly realized they needed to provide the public agencies more than a willingness to serve.

“We needed to train and develop strong relationships with first responders, first aid representatives and large-animal veterinarians,” Stuart McElhinney said.

HEET now has 25 members throughout the county ready to train more volunteers. Susan McElhinney is HEET’s secretary, and Stuart McElhinney is communications director. The president is Julie Monser.

HEET offers training each month in subjects including fire safety/incident command systems, Red Cross disaster services, first aid/CPR, horse handling, trailer handling, large animal rescue and horse triage.

Over the years, HEET has improved its database by listing more horse owners, developed a site visit protocol to determine the best evacuation plan and identified large animal shelters such as the Paso Robles Event Center.

Stuart McElhinney said they “now have a 24/7 emergency communication center. Our all-volunteer group keeps costs minimal. Insurance is a major expense. For HEET members to support county first responders, our group must carry at least a million-dollar policy.”

Susan McElhinney agreed some fundraising was needed to purchase more evacuation and emergency equipment such as the rescue slide HEET has donated for emergency use.

“We always need more volunteers. Two volunteers must always respond,” she said. “Many thanks for Dr. Andy Dibbern at the Equine Center for making himself available.”

In the coming months, www.sloheet.org will feature the group’s upcoming training schedule.

The McElhinneys are proud that after years of slowly developing HEET and training members, the group is now considered the lead agency for large animal rescues in the county.

Original Story Here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/02/19/1955823/heet-helps-horses-in-peril.html
More Information: http://sloheet.org/

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

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Monday, February 20, 2012