Been biting my tongue for a couple of days. I spent 30 years working my summers on large scale campaign fires though out the western states. The Incident Command System (ICS) works and should be employed on all incidents no matter the scale. I have worked with type 3, type 2, type 1 and NIMO (national incident management organization) teams on local fires to some of the largest wildland complex fires in history.
FWIW, here is my take. The Incident Commander/IC (fire chief) should have welcomed the helicopter and pilot as a much needed and valuable resource. The helicopter pilot's efforts should then be coordinated with the operations section. If the ICS was in its infancy, the IC would coordinate the pilot's activities himself, then brief incoming members of the ICS face to face.
There is a possibility that the local fire chief was simply overwhelmed and not capable of handling the situation because of lack of training, lack of experience, or both. It sounds like he stepped on his wiener. In spite of what some people might believe, the vast majority of people who manage this type of incident really do care about helping people, and about getting stuff done in the most expedient fashion.
On a personal level, I was on a fire adjacent to the South Canyon Fire in 1994 as I watched the fire blow up and travel up the side of Storm King Mountain killing 14 fellow firefighters. I was working a large fire in Southern Colorado on June 20, 2013 when activities stopped at the incident command post to advise us of 19 fatalities at the Yarnell Hill Fire when the Granet Mountain Hotshots were burned over. I left the command post and went to the chow tent for some coffee where I visited for about an hour with one of the firefighters who discovered the bodies on Storm King.
My point is this, I can really relate to those of you who live near the hurricane area. I feel your pain and you have the right to be pissed off. Sure, you might want to take the fire chief behind the shed and beat him until his eyes swell shut. But please remember the vast majority of people who work incidents, at all levels, are doing the best they can in a dynamic environment with the resources they have available.
