The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was in Hampton Roads last week evaluating and training the Hampton Roads Incident Management Team (HRIMT). The group could soon be one of around a handful of agencies nationwide named a federal Supplemental Response Team (SRT).
The HRIMT is a collection of resources that can be deployed during to help manage a natural or man-made emergency or planned event within Hampton Roads, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and nationally.
The HRIMT is already a credentialed Type III incident management team, meaning it can be deployed locally, statewide or if another state asks for help dealing with things like hurricanes, wildfires and other natural or manmade disasters. We are undergoing qualification training to be able to work directly for and with FEMA on national deployments.
This level of partnership with FEMA has not existed before and it will be one of the first times we could actually work under the FEMA umbrella and under their auspices. In the near future if the federal government requests Type III incident management teams or other teams to come in and help them, we could be sent to support them.”
The Hampton Roads Incident Management Team was selected for the SRT pilot program in 2022. At the time it was one of just one of two teams selected in the Commonwealth and one of only four in the country. Currently, Virginia is the only state that has two Type III incident management teams asked to become an SRT. The HRIMT and the National Capital Region Incident Management Team (NCRIMT) are both in the process of being trained and qualified.
Though the team is largely comprised of members from Hampton Roads, the roster of about 60 members includes firefighters, EMTs, law enforcement officers, emergency management officials, public utilities employees, Virginia Department of Emergency Management employees, and others. A typical regional, statewide, or national deployment could be as small as six to eight people or as many as 20, depending on the type of incident and the need.
Once qualified, the team’s expenses when deployed as an SRT will be paid for by FEMA, not local taxpayers, when it is tasked as part of a federal response.
