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Hampton Roads Incident Management Team deploys to Florida

Five members of the Hampton Roads All-Hazards Incident Management Team are headed to Florida to help areas impacted by Hurricane Michael.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — Five members of the Hampton Roads All-Hazards Incident Management Team left for Florida on Tuesday.

“We will be staged in advance of the storm and then based on the impacts of the storm on the area in Florida… we would get some sort of assignment to go help manage incidents whatever they might be,” said Steve Lesinski, Operations Section Chief for the Hampton Roads Incident Management team.

On Tuesday morning, team members loaded trucks full of supplies like water and food to take to Florida.

“[Hurricane Michael] can do some serious destruction, the tidal surge, the things of that nature,” said Lesinski.

There is a total of three Incident Management Teams in Virginia. Members from each team will combine to form a “blended team” of 14 and go to Florida as part of the state’s coordinated effort to help.

Members come from different professions such as EMS, Police, Fire and Public Utilities departments.

“We know that there's going to be a lot of people down there impacted by this storm so if we can help, that's what we want to do.,” said Norfolk Fire Battalion Chief Harry Worley.

Incident Support helps manage incidents and provides resources and relief where needed. Worley said team members fill-in spots in the designated location in order to provide support and financial help.

Worley said the crew could be deployed for up to two weeks.

The five team members deploying from Hampton Roads are:

1. James Ramsey Deputy Chief of Virginia Beach Fire

2. Steve Lesinski, District Chief for Virginia Beach Fire

3. Barry Bailey, a Master Firefighter Paramedic with Chesapeake

4. Jonathan Wright, Chesapeake Public Utilities Safety Officer

5. Rich Shelley, retired Virginia Beach Fire Captain and volunteer in this organization

RELATED: Virginia Task Force 2 heads to Florida for hurricane assistance

The Virginia Beach-based Urban Search and Rescue Team Virginia Task Force 2 (VA-TF2) is also on its way to the Florida Panhandle, ahead of Hurricane Michael.

When the 16 members of Task Force 2 arrive, they will defer to FEMA and Florida officials as to how they can help in the storm response.

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