Wildfire Response Plan for Gambrill Park Road Comm : Evacuation Plan

Any evacuation undertaken in the Gambrill Park Road Community should be planned and overseen by the Incident Commander and/or local Fire Police. Upon initiation of any evacuation scenario, a local law enforcement agency, such as the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department, should be called upon to help with crowd and traffic control. The plan outlined below is only a suggestion of possible evacuation guidelines and should not be implemented without the approval and supervision of a qualified public official. All decisions regarding evacuation are ultimately the jurisdiction of the qualified public official in charge of the evacuation.

Evacuation may or may not be necessary, depending on the extent and severity of the fire. Typically the evacuation of only a few houses would be required, which should not present any serious problems. In the event of a large-scale evacuation of the community, however, traffic problems should be expected and anticipated. Traffic control measures will need to be taken and organization will be required. When residents are briefed on the situation at hand, they should also be informed of how to properly evacuate, and which way to drive out of the community. An evacuation location can be used to give people somewhere safe to go and be kept updated on the fire status. The Tea Room at Gambrill State Park, a school, or a church would all work well for this purpose.

Due to the narrowness of the roads in this community, it will be exceedingly difficult for engines, tankers, and other firefighting equipment to enter the community while residents are evacuating (except along Gambrill Park Road and Tower Road). This is where traffic control will be crucial. During an evacuation scenario all roads except for Gambrill Park Road and Tower Road should be treated as one-way and traffic should be directed in such a manner as to maintain a one-way flow of traffic. The routes that engines, tankers, or other equipment are using to enter and exit the community should be kept clear. Two-way travel for fire equipment along many of the smaller roads would be difficult, so every attempt should be made to choose roads that create a one-way tanker shuttle loop. Traffic congestion should also be taken into account in estimating response times and tanker shuttle turn around times.