FEMA Mass Evacuation Bus Spotted on Interstate

Originally posted by finemanm
Sorry to break it to you, but its just more wasteful spending for a useless government vehicle.

Useless til you need it, right?

I am unable to view the video since I am at a friend's house and their computer seems to think YouTube is a virus-ridden site, or some such security risk.

I concur with what some others have posted, about the possible nature of the vehicle(s) in the video, versus other means of evacuation.

I can tell you about what kind of planning goes on in Massachusetts, and I imagine other areas would be similar.

I served as an NCO in the MA Army National Guard for many years, leaving in 2007. I was heavily involved in contingency planning and in fact I was one of the people who teamed up with the Air Guard medics to write the SOP for the state's CERFP team.

Our plans for evacuation included buses and vehicles of all kinds, from many sources. We had arrangements with companies providing everything from transportation to office supplies, divided by MEMA region, depending on the nature of the emergency. There was no cookie cutter definition of an "evacuation vehicle". Everything from large taxi companies, to airport-based car rental, to charter tour buses-- basically any business involved in the hire of people-moving vehicles-- was involved in our arrangements. Some businesses did refuse, for one reason or another, to offer their services when we approached them, but most did not.

If we needed something, anything, even a ballpoint pen, we could take out a guidebook or look in a database to find the local company that we already had an arrangement with to provide the needed items or services during the disaster. This includes vehicles of all types.

Like I said, I would not be surprised if other areas have similar arrangements in place.

The reason there are no windows is the same reason we don't have a lot of windows on our ambulances. (and the couple we DO have are darkly tinted).

It's the same reason Emergency Room treatment areas have curtains and doors.

Namely.. privacy, security and sometimes structural integrity. You will notice the stretcher mounts in the picture of the inside of the bus. The walls of the vehicle had to be reinforced so that the mounting systems could be installed.

We often use city buses at mass casualty incidents to evacuate uninjured or slightly injured victims. As a Paramedic I would LOVE to have a bus like this at my next plane crash or train wreck. Being able to load multiple stretcher patients instead of one or two per ambulance would be awesome.

Also about ten years ago we had somebody crash into the giant oxygen tank at our hospital. We thought we were going to have to evacuate hundreds of patients. A typical ambulance holds TWO supine patients.

That day there were about seven staffed ambulances available in our town so it would have literally taken DAYS to evacuate patients.

FEMA is not the enemy. FEMA is visible.

The enemy is one you can't see.

Now THIS is what I'm talking about...

Disaster Evacuation - In Style

Originally posted by emsed1
Now THIS is what I'm talking about...

Disaster Evacuation - In Style

Heck yeah! If they are going to ship me off to some FEMA camp, hopefully they'll at least let me go out like a P I M P!!!!

Originally posted by emsed1
Now THIS is what I'm talking about...

Disaster Evacuation - In Style

Holy crap. American's sure love BIG toys. Does that thing even fit in a single lane? I guess it doesn't matter since America has 7 lane freeways....

I live in the county that both these videos were taken. The Emergency containment sign has been there for a long time. It's nothing new. and the rest area that it's at would not be a good place to serve as a prisoner containment. It's not even on an interstate, it's on hwy 17 in Shallotte NC. Just say that this guy is right and it has to do with some evil government plan. Why would the government put the sign up there for everybody to see? It makes way more sense that it has to do with containing highway emergencys.

As far as the bus, It's clear that FEMA has nothing to do with it. It's a county owned emergency vehicle. The county that owns it is Brunswick county, and I've seen it myself a few times. So the county is not hiding it and it wasn't being shuttled from one secret hiding place to another. If the county wanted to move it without it being seen, why do they drive it around in the middle of the day. I think they would move it in the middle of the night or better yet they would put it on a flat bed truck and cover it.

To the people that says it's not needed. Brunswick county is hit with a tropical storm or hurricane almost every year. Most years we are hit with more than one. We probably average a major hurricane every decade.
This bus will be very useful and save a lot of lives next time we get another hurricane like Hazel, Fran or Floyd.
We also have a nuclear power plant and a military port that deals with heavy munitions and probably nuclear weapons.

Just across the river in New Hanover county there is a major commercial port, a fuel terminal, nuclear fuel factory, and many other industries that could effect the saftey of the residence of Brunswick county. I'm also sure that if a disaster occurred in a surrounding county like New Hanover that this same vehicle would be there to save lives.

Some people just need to use some common sense. The guy that posted those videos has to be one of the thousands of new residents.

[edit on 10-7-2009 by voodoodancer]

[edit on 10-7-2009 by voodoodancer]

Here is a news article that mentions the bus.

www.starnewsonline.com...&tc=email_newsletter

It went something like this: A category 3 hurricane with wind speeds of 110 mph and tornados hit Brunswick County on Saturday morning, collapsing two houses in Shallotte and Grissettown. Dozens of people were injured, some were dead, and others were trapped under debris inside the homes. The scenario was, of course, fictional on an otherwise sunny and hot Saturday, but emergency crews participating in the “hurricane structural collapse training exercise” treated every detail – even using real radio channels and codes – as if the disaster really happened. “This is probably the largest multi-jurisdictional exercise that we’ve done in the county,” Brunswick County Emergency Services Director Randy Thompson said. “We never did one utilizing this many local resources and multiple sites at one time.” A $25,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security paid for the training, and more than 170 emergency workers from more than a dozen agencies participated. Thompson said the exercise was an opportunity to use new sophisticated equipment and work with other agencies on scenarios that potentially could occur here. Different training scenarios happened simultaneously at houses in Shallotte and Grissettown, which were collapsed by heavy equipment before the exercise. In one situation, several “victims,” played by Boy Scouts and other volunteers, sat on the ground outside the collapsed house on Frontage Road in Shallotte. Wounds – painted on with fake blood and paint – were noticeable on their arms, legs and other body parts. Rescue workers practiced carrying them to the county’s new Mobile Evacuation Bus that can hold 20 patients on stretchers and 10 in wheelchairs. The bus carried the “victims” to Dosher Memorial Hospital, where hospital administrators knew of the exercise, but doctors and nurses were unaware of the training they were about to go through. Urban search and rescue responders from Greenville and Fayetteville fire stations participated, using rescue dogs and cameras that could detect people caught beneath debris, where rescue workers can’t see. The exercise concluded Saturday afternoon with a review, and Thompson said emergency officials will implement the training report into the county’s disaster recovery plan for future reference in case a similar situation happens. “I think there’s a lot of different things to take out of this today,” he said. Shannan Bowen: 343-2016

Did anyone see FEMA anywhere on the bus?

from BRUNSWICK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
OFFICIAL MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 6, 2008

This year the EMS department participated in a grant opportunity to increase the medical surge capacity should it be challenged to evacuate patients or special needs individuals. The Brunswick County Emergency Services Department has been approved for a $324,162.00 grant award to assist with the purchase of a Medical Transport Bus. The bus would be utilized for the transport of mass casualty victims, special needs transports during disaster evacuations and assist with patient relocation from fixed facilities within the region. We are receiving the grant award as a way to build partnerships regionally with a needed resource for this area.

reply to post by mf_luder


Yes it would be a travesty to america if another disaster like Katrina happened and the government was ready. (sic)

looks like just a big ambulance just in case its needed so why would it have windows do regular ambulances have many windows besides would you really want to see that thing i wouldn't

Originally posted by emsed1
FEMA is not the enemy. FEMA is visible.

The enemy is one you can't see.

So true..

The ones to worry about are the ones who direct fema and the ability to skew and abuse their power..Most know Fema has ultimate say in a state of emergency in the US..

I'm fine with what ever they have pre-planned for a disaster,I'm happy they are looking ahead with the 50,000 coffin liners incase we have a NBC attack so our bodys wont contaminate the ground..

What I don't like is the ability to abuse these ultimate powers that have shown to happen when people have ultimate say over the populace..


i think that the whole FEMA paranoia is just basicly two things in a nutshell..
fear of abusal of powers,as above..
and
fear and hatred of authority over ones self by officials..

both are equaly justified given the past history and currect direction of abuse of powers..



[edit on 13-7-2009 by Redpillblues]

If thats going to a death camp they must want them to be cool there is 4 AC units on top most RVs only have one it just an mass evac transport for the ones that dont have a set of wheels but if I was gonig to evac this would be my ride www.allterrainwarriors.com.au...

That bus reminds me of something i have seen in a movie.That bus was a mobile bio-lab level three-containment vehical.

WOw big deal its a bus with no windows... some people have watched way to much late night SyFy. Windows break & from the looks of it I would have to say that bus can withstand some nasty weather. Also who knows what kinda of medical support it may have. Dont need a buch of looky-loo's when someone is trying to get care.

Common sense after Katrina the local gov'ts learned they couldnt depend on Big Gov't to be ready. So why not invest in support bus, cars, trucks whatever is needed when SHTF.

Good fine but really some people need to relax.

(btw I was in gulfport when Katrina hit...a bus like that would of been a God-send at the time)

If it's an "emergency evac bus" good job ny the designers, no windows to protect those being evacuated from the hysterical mobs not being evacuated, or those who choose not to be evacuated and change they're
minds at the last minute!

All of the videos have been removed. What's going on?

Can someone send me the .flv ?

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