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.
The city is entitled to request reimbursement for up to 75 percent of the total expenditure for the seven days of service provided to the cities in Sevier County, or about $16,500, Kerley said. But on Monday, Oak Ridge City Council will consider waiving the request for reimbursement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the city’s help fighting the fires. The Oak Ridge municipal staff has recommended that the request for reimbursement be waived.
Kerley said the City of Gatlinburg is currently estimating its out-of-pocket expenses at about $12.5 million.
“By waiving reimbursement for the City of Oak Ridge emergency response services, FEMA will allow the City of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to apply the reimbursable amount to their out-of-pocket expenses for recovery efforts in their respective communities,” Kerley said.
The Monday night City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. See the agenda here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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