First responders play an important role in our communities, protecting citizens and entities from threats and unsafe circumstances. They provide their expertise and utilize countless hours of training to bring safety to people in need.

At Port Houston, public safety plays a big role in ensuring the Port and the Houston Ship Channel continue to operate and drive commerce to the region. We provide security for the entire Channel, which includes Port Houston’s eight public terminals and more than 200 private facilities.

The Port’s Security and Emergency Operations (PSEO) division include emergency management, police, fire fighters, and security, working in partnership with private, local, and state-level entities. Each group performs various tasks and distinct roles, including dispatch, patrol, fire safety inspections, emergency planning, training, and more.

Jessica Montecalvo, Port Houston’s Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, along with the rest of the emergency management staff, acts as a first responder. The Department of Emergency Management is responsible for planning and responding to incidents. In addition, the team is responsible for implementing all emergency management-related activities. This includes driving initiatives like building a hurricane preparedness plan and working through various scenarios that can affect the port’s activity or operations due to emergency disruptions.

Port Police is its own department, separate from the City of Houston’s police. This team helps keep truckers, port employees, and those on Port Houston property safe. Port police takes on a lot of responsibility, answering a large amount of calls across port property. These calls include response at the gates, damage to port property, disabled vehicles, lost or recovered property, making arrests of any persons with an outstanding warrant, and PH vessel calls when a vessel needs help moving.

Port Houston’s Fire department supports all terminals and facilities both waterside and on land, of the 52-mile ship channel. Covering all the way from Bolivar Road in Galveston to Buffalo Bayou and all its tributaries that stem from it, this team takes preventative measures to ensure the Port stays safe by enforcing code, tariffs, providing extinguisher inspections, and reviewing plans for new construction.

Port Houston’s Security department works hard to operate and ensure that the port gates stay secure. Jessica Thomas, Director of Port Houston Security notes, “I have a team of thirteen people, this includes facility security managers who manage the basic security in the facility, I have port security officers that go around the terminal checking fence lines, doing gate requests and access control, and the credentialing department which does all the access control for Port Houston, employees, contractors, and port tenants.”

Extensive training and the right equipment allow the port first responders to act quickly and potentially save lives, making their job a critical part of Port Houston’s workforce. As leaders in the organization, they also are active in volunteering and community service at nearby communities. To learn more about recruitment opportunities and careers in port security and emergency operations, visit: porthouston.com/careers-2/

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Days before Hurricane Laura stormed the coast between Louisiana and Texas with sustained winds up to 150 miles per hour, Port Houston maintenance workers busily went about the task of protecting assets and securing facilities from the much-anticipated stiff winds. This is necessary anytime a storm as ferocious as Hurricane Laura enters the gulf and threatens the gulf coast’s biggest container facility. While Hurricane Laura spared Houston this time, this was a big wake-up call for what may come.

Hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th, keeping the port on high alert for several months. Port Houston though is always ready to spring into action under the leadership of Roger Guenther, Port Houston Executive Director.

“This [Hurricane Laura] was a massive storm and we were really fortunate to miss major damage in our region, but we were prepared,” Roger Guenther wrote in an email to employees after the hurricane made landfall. “I am extremely pleased with the coordination of our Emergency Management Team and all of our employees working together to protect our Port employees and assets during preparation.”

Though the work that goes into preparing for a major storm is time-consuming, Hurricane Laura made us even better prepared for future events, Guenther noted.

The true backbone for running smoothly during these critical situations are our Emergency Management and Operations teams. Just like when COVID-19 hit earlier this year, both teams have essential personnel that work the front lines of our terminals making sure the port is prepped in case of a catastrophe.

The Operations team handles most of the heavy lifting and prepping at port terminals. They are responsible for gathering and replacing all emergency supplies, stacking loaded containers in an orderly and strategic fashion, organizing cranes to function as barriers, and making sure all portable buildings are properly secured. In addition, they secure all terminal equipment, fill extra drums with fuel, lubricants, water, and hydraulic fluids for use after the storm, board up all windows, and keep all transportation vehicles supplied with fuel (boats, cars, vans, trucks, etc.).

The Port Houston Emergency Management team, part of the Port Security and Emergency Operations (PSEO) division, works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard in keeping the Houston Ship Channel safe. Port Houston Emergency Manager Colin Rizzo said one of his greatest fears is that a hurricane could hit the port and damage crucial infrastructure like ship-to-shore cranes at the container terminals, which could take a months to repair or replace.

“You can’t take these huge cranes down and hide them from the wind,” Rizzo said. “The maintenance department does a great job of tying them down.”

When there are potentially big storms looming, the National Hurricane Center updates the storm tracks morning and night, and Port Houston monitors those updates, Rizzo noted. The Emergency Management team then weighs matters carefully, conferencing daily with Port Houston chiefs, and other local jurisdictions, taking note of what actions other agencies are taking. Once the storm is less than 24 hours from impacting the area the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated. The EOC is staffed around the clock until the hurricane threat passes.

Though most of the work goes into prep, the recovery process can be tireless depending on the amount of damage caused. The potential for such serious damage keeps the Port Houston Office of Emergency Management officials ever vigilant. The Coast Guard, Port Officials, Emergency Management, Operations, and Port Executives all do various assessments to determine the amount of damage that may have occurred.

While hurricanes pose the greatest threats to property and life, tropical storms and depressions can also be devastating. It’s important for us to prepare before storms arrive, clean-up damages in the area, and help our community recover from these destructive storms.

The post How Port Houston Preps for Hurricane Season appeared first on Port Houston.

 Members of the committee monitor and identifies trends in the fire and emergency response community and industry with regard to emergency response to hazardous materials incidents, both nationally and internationally.

The committee also monitors and provides recommendations regarding the development of new equipment and associated training and tactics, along with developing lessons learned from major incidents.

Additionally, the committee advises the IAFC board on policy issues involving hazardous materials response, as well as working with Congress and other federal agencies on fire and emergency service matters.

The Port of Houston Fire Department operates three fire stations strategically stationed along the Houston Ship Channel, which is the busiest waterway in the country. Members of the department fight marine and land fires and respond to other emergencies throughout the ship channel and its tributaries.

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