Salamander Technologies' SERG Assists Texas Emergency Management with Hurricane Ike Operations
As residents evacuated away from the Houston area in anticipation of Hurricane Ike, members of Salamander Technologies' Salamander Emergency Response Group (SERG) headed towards the city to help one of Salamander Technologies' largest customers. The fourth largest city in the United States, and the largest city in Texas, Houston's Emergency Management Officials faced the daunting task of tracking evacuees as they left their homes to head for safer ground.
Houston, TX (PRWEB) November 1, 2008
As residents evacuated away from the Houston area in anticipation of Hurricane Ike, members of Salamander Technologies' Salamander Emergency Response Group (SERG) headed towards the city to help one of Salamander Technologies' largest customers. The fourth largest city in the United States, and the largest city in Texas, Houston's Emergency Management Officials faced the daunting task of tracking evacuees as they left their homes to head for safer ground.
"We called in SERG to help our staff and volunteers run Salamander Technologies' evacTRAX solution," said Terry Moore, Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Houston's Emergency Management office. "They stepped in to help us run the solution, providing critical support before, during and after the storm."
"The members of SERG are highly trained first responders," said Russ Miller, President of Salamander Technologies. "As experts in both Incident Command and working our solutions, the dedicated members of SERG step right in to help our customers whenever needed."
Salamander Technologies' SERG is most often used on national exercises and to provide product training. However, SERG is available to help whenever an agency needs additional support brought in to manage resources, track evacuees or patients, or to otherwise help manage a large incident.
"Our team is comprised of men and women who have spent their life in public service," said Mike Whelan, Co-Founder of Salamander Technologies and SERG Leader. "They know how to handle a large scale incident, and have managed everything from fires to the Super Bowl. This group is ready and willing to head into areas where help is needed at a moment's notice."
SERG members processed evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center using Salamander Technologies' evacTRAX solution. The team also used the incidentID and COMMAND solutions to badge volunteers and track where resources were assigned. During the storm, SERG members waited out the worst of the weather in the Houston Emergency Operations Center (EOC) before heading back to the George R. Brown Convention Center to continue processing evacuees. Over the course of several days, SERG helped Houston officials track the movement of almost 8,000 individuals as they moved through temporary shelters, to long-term shelters or to healthcare facilities if needed.
"The first in SERG members worked around the clock until replacements arrived," said Robert Schwarz, SERG Leader and Field Services General Manager of Salamander Technologies. "We tracked evacuees, including individuals with special needs and pets, as they were sent to shelters. We provided the ability to search for evacuees, so that families could be reunited after the storm had passed."
"Actually, the total Salamander Technologies' Assistance didn't stop in Houston," said Joseph Robinson, Vice President of Marketing and Sales of Salamander Technologies, "Our solutions were in operation in the San Antonio Region and the Dallas Region."
Salamander Technologies' interTRAX Suite proved to be flexible and met the tough requirements of helping handle this NIMS Type 2 event. Where challenges occurred with other vendor's systems, Salamander Technologies proved the quality of its application. A provider of quality hardware, software and services can indeed make a difference in people's lives.
"The folks in Texas fared as well as could be expected in the face of a disaster of this magnitude," adds Whelan. "SERG was proud to help and felt honored by the chance to contribute our experience on behalf of the citizens of the State of Texas.
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