This summer was a wet one for many parts of Colorado. The State was hit repetitively with severe storms that caused massive flooding. As if that wasn’t enough, tornadoes, landslides and mudslides caused further damage. The State of Colorado declared a State of Emergency and then requested a federal declaration in support of recovery efforts. President Barack Obama made a Major Disaster Declaration for Colorado on July 16, 2015, making federal funds available for public and individual assistance statewide. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) contacted the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA) with a request for support following the declaration. Five people from DEMA headed to Colorado to help document the impacts to public infrastructure in affected communities. DEMA was able to help because both states are a part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a national mutual aid agreement. EMAC is the mechanism by which states can share resources and personnel during times of disasters and emergencies. These resources supplement, and in some cases replace, the need for other responding agencies normally deployed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the National Response Plan, which establishes a comprehensive framework for the management of domestic incidents. “Often, a state’s needs for response and recovery resources exceed their capacity in a post-disaster recovery period,” said Julie Augeri, DEMA’s Recovery Branch Manager. “Through the EMAC system, we can augment them with additional personnel who specialize in recovery-related functions such as damage assessments, project worksheet development, individual assistance center operations, and volunteer management.” EMAC requests are very specific regarding what is needed. When DEMA gets a request and is able to send staff to help out, they will do so. “If the supporting state has trained personnel who are otherwise not tasked reacting to emergencies within their state, the Director of Emergency Management can offer up resources to assist the state in need,” Butch Wise, DEMA’s Logistics/Mutual Aid Coordinator said. “Only the Director or one of their authorized representatives can approve such support.” DEMA’s staff members – Vic Calderon, Dennis Erickson, Anne Marie Guest, Dave Heinert, and Rebecca Sosa – working in DEMA’s Recovery Branch as Disaster Recovery Coordinators and Specialists. Following a disaster, they work with the affected jurisdiction to assess and document the level of damage to buildings and infrastructure in order to file the necessary paperwork to receive the federal assistance. One of the team’s main jobs in Colorado was to fill out project worksheets. A project worksheet is the form used to document the scope of work and cost estimate for a project. It includes the location of all damages, as well as detailed descriptions of the damages, and quantifies specific disaster and non-disaster related damages. Project worksheets are a required part of the Public Assistance request process. “Damage assessments identify the scope of a disaster’s impact upon a community,” Augeri said. “The damage assessments can capture emergency protective measure resources expended during the response phase. These may include EOC (emergency operations center) activation or search and rescue activities.” The Arizona team was assigned to an Alternate Field Office (AFO) in Colorado Springs. Most of the team deployed for one to three weeks. One member of the team is deployed for close to three months. Working alongside three FEMA teams, they attended meetings and participated in site visits as representatives of Colorado DHSEM. "We worked closely with the FEMA folks to develop damage descriptions, scopes of work and cost estimates to repair the storm damaged elements,” Dennis Erickson said. “Our skills were tested when it came time to discuss eligibility concerns and making sure the Public Assistance Program standards were followed to avoid the loss of funding during the close-out /audit process." "My role in the disaster was to represent Colorado while working alongside FEMA, to streamline the recovery process and be a liaison for them as well,” Rebecca Sosa said. “Colorado was extremely receptive to the help from Arizona and that made the mission well worth it. I was able to see firsthand, the first-class kind of support we can offer to other states.” Arizona has responded to many EMAC requests; sending one person to wildland fires in Montana in 2001; two people to Florida hurricanes in 2004; over 650 personnel and equipment to various locations after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Irene in 2011, and Sandy in 2012; as well as personnel to Colorado after flooding in 2013 and 2014. “Through EMAC, states are able to join forces and help one another when they need it the most: whenever disaster strikes! Deploying resources through EMAC leverages federal grant dollars such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Emergency Management Performance Grant, which are invested in state and local emergency management resource capabilities,” said Wise. “Additionally, personnel who deploy under EMAC gain valuable experience and training while deployed on EMAC missions which they can bring back to their home state for future use.”