A lesson learned...

The recent explosion that leveled a Long Grove home did more than stir up late-night conversations with neighbors or flood 9-1-1 with calls.

                It served as a wake-up call.  It seems as though events like that happen elsewhere as we watch media reports and think that it can’t happen here.

                It can and it did.

                The Long Grove blast was not in some low-end housing development -- we’re talking Royal Melbourne where homes generally run from $1 million on up.

                Media reports say the explosion, which damaged as many as 30 homes, was apparently caused by a natural gas leak.  There were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities.

                Despite the destruction and damage, the incident did prove that systems for handling such situations worked.  Despite some complaints, the response by 9-1-1 operators worked, even though not the way people thought it would.  Some people seem to think that emergency calls in the village are handled by members of Buffalo Grove’s police or fire departments.

Fire Chief Terry Vavra
(Photo courtesy  Village of Buffalo Grove)

                They’re not.  Buffalo Grove is one of 11 area municipalities that are dispatched by the Northwest Central Dispatch System, which handles emergency calls for a dozen communities.  The system offers a variety of services, including some for residents.  You can learn about the system at http://www.nwcds.org/. The night of the Long Grove blast, it was hit, according to media reports, with more than 1,200 calls from area residents.  No dispatch center can handle that load.  That, however, is the unique thing about the Northwest Central Dispatch System.  When its inundated, calls bounce to other dispatch systems to ensure that a call can be answered and help dispatched – which is what happened the night of the Long Grove blast.

                As soon as the explosion hit, sending shock waves through a wide area, people seem to do one of four things:  1.) Call 9-1-1,  2.) Go outside and talk to neighbors,  3.) go on social media or 4.) Drive up to the site to see what was happening. Options one, two and three are probably the most logical.

                Beyond nearby municipalities, the blast appeared to be felt to the southwest.  Buffalo Grove Fire Chief Terry Vavra speculates that geography may have played a role because of the home’s foundation which had a substantial portion facing the southwest. 

                In Buffalo Grove, the flood of calls sent the fire department to respond to a call stemming from the explosion.  Despite the initial uncertainty of the incident, Vavra said the plan for major emergency events worked as expected.

                Vavra notes that Buffalo Grove is part of MABAS – the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System – that consists of 550 fire departments in Illinois. The departments, notes Vavra, are split into a number of divisions so departments with reasonable proximity can work together.  Buffalo Grove is in Illinois MABAS Region that is essentially Lake County.

                The MABAS program, which got its start after the Chicago Fire in 1871, is a “Standard single mutual aid agreement,” Vavra says.  In essence, he says it provides a predetermination as to how departments will respond to a specific type of emergency.  “We know based on how the cards developed how we will respond and with which pieces of equipment and personnel,” Vavra says.  The cards, known as “run cards”, are the same for every MABAS member so when there is an incident that requires mutual aid, each department knows what kind support it will get or provide. 

                The program, Vavra says, is national in scope and goes beyond local fired emergencies.  He says the consortium of the more than 550 fire departments in Illinois offers agencies the opportunity for enhanced purchasing power, especially for grant-based purchasing.  Vavra says organizations that provide grants see that their support extends beyond a local department. 

                Vavra also notes that MABAS members do more than fight fires. “After (hurricane) Katrina, the governor of Louisiana reached out to other states, including Illinois, and, Vavra says, in a day-and-a-half, more than 300 fire fighters were in Louisiana to help. 

                The same held true this past November after tornadoes ravaged parts of central Illinois.  Vavra said departments Region 4 assisted by manning fire stations in the stricken area.  He said the region sent a couple of engines, a truck, and ambulance along with personnel.  Despite the severity of the situation, Vavra says it went well because there a pre-established plan.

                “This (Long Grove explosion) was not the first time this has happened,” Vavra says, adding that after every major mutual aid call, the region looks at how the process works.  In addition to the reviews, ongoing interdepartmental training is part of the regiment so the program remains effective.

                Which make sense because what has made headlines elsewhere, can happen locally.