CITY OF PROVIDENCE
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE #2
C/o Providence Emergency Management Agency
& Office of Homeland Security
591 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 228-8000
Meeting Minutes of September 12, 2012
(Submitted by Craig H. Kampmier, Elmhurst Extended Care)
ATTENDEES:
Organization
•Brown University
•City of Providence, Planning & Development
Contech
•Dominion Energy
Enterprise Products
•Elmhurst Extended Care
Ferguson Perforating
•Holcim US
•Lehigh Cement
Mahr Federal, Inc.
Narragansett Bay Commission:
•Providence & Worcester Railroad
•Providence Emergency Management Agency
•Providence Fire Department
•RI Committee on Occupational Safety & Health
•RI Hospital
•RI School of Design
Roger Williams Medical Center
Save the Bay
•U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Occupational
Safety & Health Administration
•U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1
•Women & Infants Hospital
Representative
Henry Huppert
Dave Everett
Chris O’Connell
Craig H. Kampmier
Barry Nugent
Jeff Halliday
Steve Buckless
Peter Marinuccci
Michael Dillon
Jim Celenza
John O’Reilly
Alan Cantara
Erin Lambie
Jim Gaffey
Steve Knowles
Meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. by Chairperson Michael Dillon, Acting Chief
of Providence Fire Department, in the first floor auditorium of the Providence Public
Safety Complex, 325 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903.
Minutes of the 13 June 2012 meeting were approved as written.
Correspondence/Handouts: No correspondence.
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CITY OF PROVIDENCE
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE #2
C/o Providence Emergency Management Agency
& Office of Homeland Security
591 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 228-8000
Membership Committee Reports
City of Providence:
Communications: No Report.
Emergency Management: Peter Marinucci
•Operation Smart Exit took 7 ¼ minutes to evacuate 1,172 people from the
capital city’s downtown high-rise office buildings on Thursday 28 June 2012 .
The exercise was initiated at 11:30 a.m. Building managers instructed occupants
to meet at a predetermined assembly point. Poker chips were used with
accountability; evacuees went to Burnside Park, placed the chip into a bucket
and said where they were from. There were no reported problems with alarm
systems. Participants agreed this exercise should be conducted every few
years.
•Monsoon Madness was conducted 6 – 9 August, providing the PEMA
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) response team with training and
application exercise.
•A functional exercise will be conducted in January 2013 with 800 MHz
communications within Providence.
•There will be training and an exercise for Integrated Emergency Management in
May 2013.
•Snow removal operations plans are being honed, including driver training and
GPS monitoring from the EOC.
•A bid has been approved and awarded for expanding the EOC; work should
begin soon.
Providence Fire Department: Chief Dillon
•A walk-through inspection (orientation) of National Grid’s LNG facility is in
progress. There is an Emergency Response Plan (ERP); on day 1 fire personnel
gain familiarity with the site, and on day 2 fire personnel return to the site and
address an incident.
•Hazardous Materials Training: Ongoing; in – suit training this month.
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CITY OF PROVIDENCE
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE #2
C/o Providence Emergency Management Agency
& Office of Homeland Security
591 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 228-8000
•Boom Training: At Sprague, the annual practice of boom deployment.
•Suspicious Package: Department will participate with a financial institution and
their exercise of COOP and command team, relative to white powder.
•Incidents: No hazardous materials incidents other than fuel leaks.
Inspections & Standards: No Report.
Mayor’s Press Office: No Report.
Planning & Development: Dave Everett
•Working with Army Corps of Engineers on feasibility study regarding flooding.
Pursuing matching money to fund it.
Police Department: No Report.
Colleges/Universities:
•Rhode Island School of Design (RISD): Alan Cantara
◊Table Top Exercise: Fire in a dormitory; 60 participants.
◊Planning for a Functional Exercise in Spring 2013.
◊Began discussion with Brown University about sharing resources, e.g.
feeding, booms, other types of equipment.
•Brown University: Henry Huppert
◊Semi-annual siren test this coming Tuesday.
~Chairperson, Chief Dillon interjected perspective on school fires, referencing a 1940’s
incident, evacuation, the amount of time required to evacuate, and the number of
evacuation drills per year. He noted a rule of thumb; one (1) minute per floor to
evacuate, in a six (6) story or seventy-five (75) foot tall building.
Public Property: No Report.
Public Works: No Report.
Solicitor’s Office: No Report.
Tax Assessor: No Report.
State of Rhode Island:
Department of Environmental Management (DEM): No Report.
Department of Labor and Training (DLT): No Report.
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CITY OF PROVIDENCE
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE #2
C/o Providence Emergency Management Agency
& Office of Homeland Security
591 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 228-8000
Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA): No Report.
State Emergency Response Commission (SERC): Chief Dillon
•There was a meeting of just LEPC chairpersons. There have been efforts to
revitalize the SERC, which is under the auspices of RIEMA. It has been realized
that the Governor appoints members. The number of agencies or appointees will
be reduced. The Department of Labor and Training has a significant role in the
SERC.
•Removal of chemicals from schools throughout Rhode Island. A letter, as
discussed at the June meeting, was sent to all school principals. No reports or
inquiries were received from Providence schools by the fire department or RI
Department of Environmental Management. Noted was the heightened anxiety
and issues with parents responding if an incident happened at a school.
RI Public Transit Authority (RIPTA): No Report
Federal Government:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Jim Gaffey
•FY13 level funded programs.
•Assistance. Looking to SERC to inform their outreach or businesses that need
assistance to contact Chairperson Chief Dillon.
•NOTE: The Chairperson indicated that cell phone switching is part of the ‘critical
Infrastructure,’ using batteries, and they are not reporting; the Chair requested
PEMA to follow up on this.
U.S. Coast Guard - Sector Southeastern New England: Erin Lambie
•Meeting before year end Table Top Exercise.
•Port Security Grants: Rhode Island is not a recipient. We changed from a Grant
3 Port to a Grant 2 Port, but there is no money. FEMA will be coming in October
to explain the Port Grant process; Erin is scheduling it and will include 40 – 50
people between Rhode Island and Fall River.
Hospitals:
Rhode Island Hospital: John O’Reilly
•See attached.
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CITY OF PROVIDENCE
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE #2
C/o Providence Emergency Management Agency
& Office of Homeland Security
591 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 228-8000
Roger Williams Medical Center: No Report
Women and Infants: Steve Knowles
•Working on Active Shooter policy, training, and conclusive Table Top Exercise.
Non-Governmental Organizations:
Red Cross / Visiting Nurse Association (VNA): No Report.
Industry:
Facility Representatives / Owners: No Report
Providence Harbor Co-op: No report.
Old Business
•Providence Fire hazardous materials exercise areas of improvement such as Incident
Command Post location, and documentation, are a work in progress.
New Business
•The Chairperson will be purchasing software to help identify community hazards, and
hazardous conditions. It also assists the LEPC in identifying noncompliance.
•Providence & Worcester Railroad and Amtrak. When the railroad station and tracks
were moved in the 1980’s there was limited consideration for increased rail service and
limited consideration for domestic preparedness. Over the summer, engineering
resolutions began being considered, e.g. vapor barriers, because hazardous materials
and passengers on a rail platform cannot simultaneously be in a downtown Providence
tunnel.
•Meeting dates for the coming year: Wednesday 12 December 2012; Wednesday 13
March 2013; Wednesday 12 June 2013; Wednesday 18 September 2013 (scheduled for
the 18th so as not to conflict with 9/11 remembrances on 11th); and Wednesday 11
December 2013.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 10:54 a.m.
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CITY OF PROVIDENCE
LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE #2
C/o Providence Emergency Management Agency
& Office of Homeland Security
591 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 228-8000
The next LEPC 2 Quarterly Meeting will be held on Wednesday 12 December 2012
(12/12/12) at 10:00 a.m. in the Providence Public Safety Complex’s first floor Main
Auditorium.
Please visit the LEPC #2 website at www.rilepc.org to check for previous meeting minutes,
upcoming events, training opportunities, and important compliance information.
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