TULSA, OK – City of Tulsa agencies and departments are in Moore to assist with recovery efforts after a tornado swept through Oklahoma yesterday afternoon.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (ODEM) has requested the help of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency (TAEMA), Tulsa Fire Department and the Tulsa Police Department.
“After this devastating tragedy, the City of Tulsa is ready and available to help the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Oklahomans that were impacted by the tornado in Moore,” Mayor Dewey Bartlett said. “We are thankful to have some of the best trained and skilled employees that can be of service in this time of need.”
TAEMA
The TAEMA Deputy Director and the Finance and Grants Coordinator have been requested to help with communication efforts and reported to the command post in Moore this morning.
TULSA FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Tulsa Fire Department deployed two members on Monday, May 20 to assist the OK Incident Management Team (IMT) in setting up the Incident Command System in Moore.
The OKTF1 (OK Task Force One), the Tulsa Area Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team was requested by ODEM and deployed operations this morning. OKTF1 deployed 39 members, 29 which were Tulsa Fire Department personnel. The Task Force was tasked with the secondary search of the Plaza Towers Elementary School. With the help of heavy machinery, the 39 members are working to remove all of the debris from the school site in search of survivors.
The Tulsa Fire Department also deployed eight members of its Critical Emergency Response Team (CIRT) to help first responders cope with the stress that they may experience operating at an incident of this magnitude. The team will be available to all of the agencies operating at the Moore Tornado incident.
There are also approximately a dozen members of Tulsa Firefighters Local 176 who have deployed to Moore with various local and state agencies and volunteer departments, which they play an active role in on their days off as Tulsa firefighters.
Tulsa Fire Chief Ray Driskell assured that the Tulsa Fire Department services, equipment and personnel would be available to those cities affected by the traumatic tornadoes that swept across Oklahoma.
TULSA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Requested by the Oklahoma Incident Management Team, the Tulsa Police Department’s Disaster Area Response Team (DART) will be working directly on the management of the incident command center in Moore, identifying specific needs at the scene in order to make requests to Federal and State agencies for assistance.