People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)
Oak Ridge spent about $22,000 responding to the wildfires in Sevier County in November and December, but the city doesn’t want to seek reimbursement.
The Oak Ridge Fire Department sent fire crews to Pigeon Forge on November 28 and 29, and then to Gatlinburg from November 30 to December 4. The ORFD provided structural and wildfire suppression, and search and rescue services in Sevier County, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a February 6 memo to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.
Besides the emergency services that were provided, four employees of the Oak Ridge Fire Department provided incident management services in the Gatlinburg fire command center, serving as logistics and communications specialist on the state Incident Management Team, Kerley said.
He said it cost about $22,000 in staff, equipment, and fuel to respond to the mutual aid request for the historically large, deadly Sevier County fires, which were started by the Chimney Top 2 fire and fueled by high winds, dry conditions, and downed power lines. The money for the city’s firefighting aid came out of the Oak Ridge Fire Department salary, overtime, and fuel budget. [Read more…]
