Posted on October 25, 2021
When a disaster hits an area within the United States, it takes time, grit and a little bit of help to recover. Fortunately for Louisiana survivors impacted by Hurricane Ida when the Category 4 hurricane made landfall Aug. 29, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stood ready to assist.
One of the key components within USACE during a disaster is its emergency response mission. Within Louisiana and under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, this work has included providing technical assistance with housing and debris, unwatering flooded areas, conducting more than 200 infrastructure assessments, performing 82 generator installs immediately after the storm made landfall, and completing more than 31,000 blue roof installations. The latter mission continues with an estimated 2,000 homes still needing the free, temporary blue roof. In total, USACE has received more than 34,000 validated requests for the plastic, reinforced sheeting.
While the response inches past the 50-day mark, none of it would be possible without a team of safety specialists on the ground ensuring that the work is done in a safe manner. Sarah Futrell, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, safety and occupational health manager currently deployed to Louisiana to support the Operation Blue Roof mission, said the response has been impressive.
“When you are on an emergency operation mission, you have to be able to think on your toes, pivot your priorities and adapt to changes quickly,” said Futrell. “My role as a safety leader is to work with leadership to identify the risks, anticipate needs and assist with developing solutions to accomplish the task in the safest way possible.”
She added that while the work has been critical to help Louisianans in their recovery efforts, the safety and protection of the USACE staff has remained one of the top priorities during this disaster response mission due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Deployments are stressful,” said the Murray, Kentucky, native. “USACE employees are working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for 30+ days.”
Futrell said was of the biggest challenges as the safety manager is reminding everyone about the dangers of becoming complacent. At the end of the day, Futrell said the role of safety in a disaster response effort is all about ensuring everyone is working in a safe environment. She said the last thing we want to do is have an USACE employee and/or one of our contractors become injured and need to use resources that the local communities could be using to expedite their recovery.
“Hurricane Ida is my 4th deployment as a safety professional, and the best part about this mission is that I am able to support my home district’s temporary roofing mission,” said Futrell. “Being here with my St. Louis District team has made the decision-making process a lot faster because I already have relationships with the team, and everyone understands what needs to be done and how to do it in a safe manner.”
Futrell said the shared understanding was clearly visible when her team approached the temporary roofing team leadership about being able to use their management system software to add contractor safety findings. She said the findings are a part of the official record, and the leadership had zero hesitation about incorporating her suggestion. “The team really understands the importance of what the safety office brings to the table, and they are committed to doing it the right way.”
