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Some people eat, sleep and live their work, then give back to their community by volunteering in the same capacity. These are the folks for whom work is not just a job – it’s a calling. We see it in military service to our country, and in civilians like Geoffrey Donahue, division chief of Emergency Response Division (ERD) at the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
Command Post Liaison
On a typical day, Donahue oversees the daily operation of the emergency response team. He attends a variety of meetings, such as Mid-Chesapeake Marine Emergency Response Group, to name just one. “When it’s time to jump into action, the ERD responds to all major incidents and Donahue represents the division at the command post,” said Alan Williams, program administrator. “He acts as liaison between local jurisdictions and MDE, and is the state on-scene coordinator when I’m not available.”
Failure is Not an Option
With an undergraduate degree in Business Management from Washington College in Chestertown – and an MBA from Loyola College with a concentration in Management, why is Donahue not sitting behind a cushy desk job in the private sector? “Because,” he said, “I came here to have the opportunity to actually go out in the field and respond to emergencies. Failure is not an option…in many cases, dealing with what we do – you have to be on your toes – losing sight of things is dangerous. The last time we pulled an all nighter, we worked 30 hours straight – you’re generally fatigued, but instinct kicks in – you have no other option but to respond and do a good job. The potential is always there for something to go wrong, but at the end of the day, it’s the most satisfying job there is.”
The Day Has No End
Donahue also serves as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and rescue technician with the Providence Volunteer Fire Company in Towson. He also works part-time as a field instructor for the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (an extension of the University of Maryland), teaching classes in firefighting, hazardous materials response and technical rescue (such as trench rescue and structural collapse rescue).
Management jobs for the state are not new to Donahue, he came to MDE from the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, where he worked in the Domestic Preparedness Office for more than three years.
With a few minutes to spare before his next meeting, Donahue recounts, "we started this morning around 7 am - working a spill of #2 heating oil that had entered a nearby stream.”
“A couple weeks ago, we had a tank truck loaded with oil overturned in Chestertown in the afternoon. We stopped to grab a bite to eat, and received an immediate call about an overturned tanker in Charles County, then spent 12 hours on that call.”
When incidents like Chestertown occur, where a heating oil truck overturns, an
offload is required. That means unloading the tanker contents by drilling
several holes into the tank and pumping off the oil contents into another tank
truck.
HAZMAT Expertise
Between 90 and 95 percent of calls that come in to the ERD, other than mercury, deal with petroleum products. The actual percentage of other hazardous materials is relatively low. Donahue also submits reports for cost recovery. Companies having an accident are responsible for cleanup of their product on every call. MDE bills the responsible party for spills if they can be identified, based on materials used and hours spent on each scene.
Controlled Burn vs. Uncontrolled Burn
The ERD makes instant decisions and comes prepared to a site with options to control an explosion or leaks. For example, the overturned propane tanker in Charles County rolled over and caught fire dangerously close to a wooded area. Propane leaked through some of the piping and was escaping and burning. The response to such incidents requires the ERD to burn off the contents. This process is called “flaring.” (See photo).
A flare stack, consisting of one-inch pipe is hooked to the truck, and a hose is run 100-200 feet away, and led into a tower. When lit, the product is burned off in a controlled release a safe distance away from the damaged tank.
The team must always be prepared with the right equipment and turnout gear. An incident like this required normal coveralls, but in more severe conditions, had the spill been a flammable liquid, specially designed coveralls are required that have a double-layered flame proof material with strands of stainless steel woven into the fabric. This dissipates static electricity in normal activity, “because,” said Donahue, “all you need is a spark to ignite 8,600 gallons of gas.”
Quick Decisions – Maximizing Resources
With only six responders in the division to deploy throughout the state, management-based decisions must be made in a precision process that has evolved over 18 years.
“Local fire departments notify the ERD either to keep MDE in the loop, or more importantly, to request our assistance, based on our expertise in oil and hazardous material (HAZMAT) spills,” said Donahue. “They are equipped to fight fires, not to handle significant spills. Our HAZMAT team deals in long-term issues – fire companies are the first responders, but we are there to assess post-incident, and make mitigation decisions. We are the eyes and ears for other administrations, and getting the department’s firsthand glimpse of many sites.”
When a call comes in after hours, a jurisdiction may request a duty officer from ERD. Donahue then determines how many responders to send out, depending on the nature or location of the call. When dangerous flammable substances like gasoline or propane are spilt in a county without a HAZMAT team up and running, MDE sets up a command system. “We plug into their command structure in support of the local jurisdiction,” said Donahue. “That dynamic was lost in Louisiana during Katrina - it was a good lessons-learned post analysis.”
Instant management decisions must be made regarding the number of personnel to deploy to one scene, to assure that the state is covered in case of multiple-scene incidents.
Given the chance, what would Donahue do over again? “I would have finished my chemistry degree,” he said. “It would have come in handy for HAZMAT assessment.”
Interoperability
What Donahue has spearheaded so far, is interoperability. “One of my main goals for the future is to establish interoperable communications with the various local jurisdictions across the state,” said Donahue. “Thanks to Federal Homeland Security grants MDE's emergency response division received radios for direct communication with local fire departments. The difficult part of the equation has been to form legal agreements with the various jurisdictions. After a year and a half, the first jurisdiction, Harford County is now programmed into the radios. MDE’s ability to work side by side with local firefighters and haz-mat personnel and direct communication with all parties will be more effective and enhance safety efficiency. Communicating directly with responders in all jurisdictions within the Baltimore Metropolitan area, and several of the outlaying counties is in the future. So far, this is a huge step forward from what we’ve had.” Donahue concluded: I recognize that the guys who make up ERD are the division's most important resource. They each bring a wealth of knowledge and field experience to the table. They're the ones that make my job easy!
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