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0 1 Florida Forest • - Indian River County Staffing and Equipment Florida Forest Service personnel stationed in Indian River County include 1- Forest Area Supervisor (FAS)four Wildland Firefighters (1-Senior Ranger and 3-Forest Rangers). Personnel and equipment are located at the Indian River Forestry Station at 5255 41" street Vero Beach. Initial attack fire equipment stationed in Indian River County include: 1-100 gallon 4x4 pickup,1-500 gallon 4X4 type V wildland engine, and 2-type III dozers with fire plows on transport. Okeechobee District has one Public Information Officer/ Adult Wildfire Educator that is centrally located in St. Lucie County. The PIO will coordinate the dissemination of information with the county fire department designated PIO. The PIO's responsibility is to provide accurate information to the affected public on the status of the wildfire. Also the PTO's role is to disseminate information to the media, cooperating agencies and public through media alerts, press release, pictures, videos and social media (twitter). The district office in Okeechobee County houses the dispatch center and the mechanic shop. The dispatch center has 5 dispatchers (1-Duty Officer Supervisor and 4-dispatchers). The dispatch system operates off a VHF communication system. A certified three person mechanic team maintains our fleet of ground firefighting equipment. Strategically located at the Okeechobee County Airport, aerial resources can quickly provide aid to ground units. Aerial resources assigned to the Okeechobee District include: 1-single engine fixed-wing for patrol and reconnaissance and 1-medium helicopter with bambi bucket (300 gallon water capacity). State initial attack resources include: 7-medium helicopters and 2-light helicopters with bambi bucket (110 gallon water capacity). There are two pilots and one mechanic at the Okeechobee County Hanger. Additional aircraft (tankers and helicopters) are contracted through private vendors who specialize in wildland firefighting air operations. Air resources work in tandem with ground resources to extinguish the wildfire; safety protocols have been established with these private vendors BEOFRE wildfires ignite. Since we are a state agency, we can utilize resources throughout the state as needed. During periods of significant fire danger/activity additional resources nationally can be brought in to relieve local resources. When local resources are strained, additional resources quickly responded from the other counties in Okeechobee District and/or neighboring districts initially. During periods of extended attack, strike teams or Incident Management Teams can be brought from around the state to relieve local firefighters. Nationally, a southeast compact has been established http://gacc.nifc.gov/sacc/and then finally response can be activated nationwide. 41 ts