Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue

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News Release

Northwest Firefighters Assist In Hawaiian Volcano Incident (Photo) -05/08/18

Hawaii- Fire officials from Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, based out of Kelso Washington, responded to the big island of Hawaii Sunday afternoon to assist with incident management of the Kilauea volcano eruption emergency. Fire Chief Dave LaFave and Battalion Chief Joe Tone flew over Sunday afternoon to serve as Deputy Incident Commander and Deputy Incident Operations within the Incident Management Team (IMT). Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives, The Army National Guard, and a Civil Support Team from Hawaii and Arizona are also working with Maui County Type 3 IMT to manage the incident and offer resources as needed. County and state declarations of emergency and a request for presidential declaration have all been made. No loss of life has been reported. The last Kilauea volcano activity of this type was in June of 2014 sending lava flows towards the Puna district on the East side of the island, according to an article from the Honolulu Star Advisor.

Evacuations of citizens of impacted areas, air quality changes, ecological impacts, and tracking lava activity are top concerns of the IMT. Chief LaFave and Battalion Chief Tone and other members of Cowlitz 2 Fire have conducted all hazards type training over the past 5 years with Hawaii Fire exchanging ideas and good practices. Chief LaFave and Battalion Chief Tone currently hold Type 1 Incident Command credentials, among others, within the National Incident Management System.