Explosion and Fires at theExplosion and Fires at the

Caribbean Petroleum Caribbean Petroleum

Corporation (CaPeCo)Corporation (CaPeCo)

Alejandro De La CampaDirector

Caribbean Area Division (CAD)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency

Friday, October 23, 2009

12:23AM AST

Explosion and ignition of tanks containing petroleum derivates began at the Caribbean Petroleum Corporation (CAPECO) located in the Municipality of Cataño.

12:45AM

FEMA R-II CAD Director was notified of the incident by Director of PREMA.

1:00AM

IMAT-CAD External Affairs staffer commenced media monitoring (radio, web, TV) and provided CAD Director reports from state and local officials.  CAD Director forwarded information to RII Watch Officer.

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Initial Response Phase

Initial Response Phase

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Friday, October 23, 2009

2:00AM

PREMA activated partially the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

2:15AM

CAD Director contacted Region II and activated CAD IMAT.

3:00AM

The CAD was fully operational and the FEMA IMAT-CAD liaison was deployed to the PREMA EOC to receive and translate updates.

7:00AM

First Situation Report forwarded from CAD to RII Watch Officer.

Friday, October 23, 2009

9:00AM

PREMA activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

11:00AM

CAD Director participated at the Governor’s meeting with Local, State and Federal agencies at the Municipality of Bayamón Emergency Operation Center.

11:30AM

As per the request of the Governor of Puerto Rico, the CAD established an ICS-compliant Incident Command Post with CAD resources within 24 hours.

Initial Response Phase

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Friday, October 23, 2009

3:00PM

PREMA established ICP at Puente Blanco Community and two preventive shelters were opened in the Municipalities of Cataño and Guaynabo.

More than ten (10) voluntary agencies collaborated in providing support to First Responders and the impacted community.

6:00PM

CAD Director participated at Governor’s press conference to announce the establishment of the Unified Command Post starting Saturday morning.

8:00PM

CaPeCo conducted press conference.

Initial Response Phase

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

8:30AM

PREMA relocated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to the Unified Command Post (UCP) at Pedrín Zorrilla.

CAD IMAT staff was deployed at the Incident Command Post (ICP) and UCP to coordinate logistics and provide resources (i.e. computers, tables, chairs, etc…) to augment PREMA response operations.

9:00AM

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico requested an Emergency Declaration for FEMA assistance.

Initial Response Phase

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

11:00AM

CAD Director participated at the Governor’s press conference meeting at the

UCP with Local, State and Federal agencies.

2:00PM

Governor of Puerto Rico requested voluntary evacuation in nearby

communities. Three (3) shelters in the municipalities of Cataño, Toa Baja

and Bayamón hosted a total of 604 evacuees.

Initial Response Phase

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

6:30PM

A Presidential Emergency Declaration was issued in record time, creating FEMA-3306-EM-PR.

Public Assistance (Section 406, Stafford Act), Category B – Emergency Work is approved for five (5) municipalities: Cataño, Bayamón, San Juan, Guaynabo, and Toa Baja.

Initial Response Phase

Sunday, October 25, 2009

9:00AM

Due to limited resources within the EPA, IMAT-CAD External Affairs lead executed coordination of State and Federal PIOs, support for media outreach, media monitoring/analysis; created joint Federal/State messaging, and provided photo-documentation support to EPA and other federal partners.

11:30AM

Fire was suppressed at the incident site.

2:00PM

Region II designated FCO arrived at the Unified Command Post.

The Joint Field Office (JFO) was established in the same building as the Region II /CAD facility.

Initial Response Phase

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FEMA Region II JFO provided key support and coordinated the flow of

information from other federal agencies such as NWS, EPA, FBI, USCG,

USACE, HUD, SBA, USFWS, CBP, ICE, and CSB.

FEMA-3306-EM-PR developed a Joint Incident Action Plan.

EPA and USCG served as lead federal agencies to support the oil spill and

fire contamination incident response.

FBI was the lead law enforcement agency with support of ATF, ICE, and

CBP.

Additional Response Highlights

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After Action Report

Observations/Recommendations

ICS/NIMS Training and Implementation ICS/NIMS training was highlighted as one of the key findings. PREMA has

made it a priority to offer courses to appointed Senior Management officials, State and locally elected officials who will be interacting with multiple jurisdictions and agencies during emergencies as soon as possible.

Two weeks after the event a meeting was held between FEMA and PREMA to create an action plan for the development of ICS/NIMS trainings.

ICS/NIMS exercises (table top, functional, full scale) must be conducted at all levels of government to assess understanding of ICS/NIMS and training effectiveness. PREMA will be scheduling future exercises.

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After Action Report Observations/Recommendations

Notification/Activation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)

Recent updates of the EOP have been performed and will be shared with State and local level officials to enhance response operations.

Training exercises will be conducted incorporating Federal partners to integrate operations for future incidents.

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After Action Report Observations/Recommendations

Development of Mass Fatality and Mass Casualty Plan

Essential coordination for mortuary capacity and transportation resources is needed to respond to a mass fatality incident, which did not occur during this event. PREMA will provide leadership to facilitate this objective.

Alternative resources will be identified by PREMA in the case casualty capacity exceed state capabilities.

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After Action Report Observations/Recommendations

Critical Resource Logistics and Distribution Plan

Develop a Logistics Critical Management Plan and enhance the Commonwealth Distribution Plan.

PREMA is aware of the need to create a “Central Tracking Database” system in order to avoid duplication of resources during emergency operations.

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After Action Report

Observations/Recommendations

Interoperability Communications Plan Implementation

PREMA will facilitate ongoing trainings to provide all State and local

Emergency Coordinators the tools to create a successful flow of

critical/essential information among state agencies, local jurisdictions,

organizations, the private sector and other related entities involved in

response and recovery operations.

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After Action Report Observations/Recommendations

Establishment of a Joint Information Center PREMA will provide leadership for the establishment of protocols for an

operational State JIC for all types of emergencies in which state, local, federal and private sector (i.e. voluntary agencies) partners can link up.

Annual training and exercise will be performed with state, federal, local and private sector Public Information Officers.

Enhance the knowledge of ESF-15 External Affairs and State JIC operations in order to effectively channel public information to the media and other stakeholders.

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After Action Report Observations/Recommendations

Federal Agencies Trainings

Develop specific trainings related to Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) 5, 10, 13 and 15 to address unique emergency operations responses.

Perform Federal Table Top Exercises (TTX) to improve existing emergency response plans.

Create interagency agreements between Federal Agencies to build up capabilities to respond and coordinate emergency events.

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