During the February 2010 snowstorms, Witt Associates activated a team to provide round-the-clock staffing support for the City of Alexandria, Virginia, lasting nearly a week. Mid-morning on Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 the City of Alexandria contacted Witt Associates on a no-notice basis with an initial request for a two-person staff-support team for the Alexandria Emergency Operations Center (EOC), from which the City planned to manage snow operations during and after the 1’- 2’ of snow forecast to begin that evening. This winter was the first in which snow operations were managed directly by the City manager, based out of the EOC. Witt Associates responded that afternoon by deploying Public Assistance/Documentation and Planning Section experts.

By early evening, as the snow began and the forecast worsened, the City determined that its needs were greater. Despite the late Friday hour and the onslaught of the storm, Witt Associates immediately mobilized staffing for round-the-clock EOC operations throughout the weekend. After one storm dumped 22” of snow on Alexandria, another was forecasted to bring up to 20” more early the following week. Later, upon request from the City, Witt Associates ramped up its support yet again, in addition to staffing an entire night shift in order to allow City employees a 24-hour break in advance of the next storm.

During the course of the deployment, Witt Associates staff and contractors held multiple positions in the EOC, including EOC Coordinator (which required formal deputization by the City’s Office of Emergency Management Coordinator), Deputy Incident Commander, Operations Section Deputy Chief, Logistics Section Chief and Deputy Chief, Planning Section Chief and Deputy Chief, Situation Unit Leader, Documentation Unit Leader, Resources Unit Leader, and other specialized assignments.

The City of Alexandria was lauded by citizens and media alike for its effective and efficient snow removal during this unprecedented series of events. The response eventually lasted nine 12-hour operational periods, followed by several additional days of virtual EOC management. Incident management required significant planning and coordination, as well as resource management, mobilization, acquisition (both locally and from beyond the region), deployment, and tracking. All of this was coordinated via the highly effective City-Witt Associates partnership within the EOC.

Following the event, Witt Associates staff remained deployed to support the City through the Disaster Declaration and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance documentation processes.