Pinal County Sends Personnel to Aid in Wallow Fire Emergency

“Incidents that continue for days or weeks take a tremendous emotional and physical toll on responders,” Miranda said.  “The Wallow Fire is at zero percent containment as of this afternoon.  There is a tremendous amount of work to do on the front lines and coordinating relief teams as well as aiding those who were displaced by the fire.”

Miranda would know.  In addition to his duties as Pinal County’s Emergency Manager, he is an officer in the US Marine Corps, a firefighter and paramedic and a certified hazardous materials technician.  He has used his expertise and training to respond to several state and national incidents. 

When emergencies exceed a local jurisdiction’s ability to respond, additional resources are typically requested through state emergency managers or through agreements with neighboring jurisdictions.  Throughout a response, personnel, supplies and equipment are tracked in detail using guidelines in the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  After the emergency has passed and teams demobilize, responding agencies are reimbursed through state, local and federal emergency management funding.