Saturday, Sept. 27

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Preparing for "The Big One"    Send a link to a friend 

Saturday practice will prepare Logan County first responders

 

[SEPT. 27, 2003]  When Logan County first responders, supporting private sector and government agencies and community leaders meet today in the Crisis Management Center they will be doing several things.  They will be preparing for any of a number of different possible disasters.  They will be learning to work and communicate together.  They will be preparing for “The Big One” that will come to Logan County on May 8, 2004. 

“The big one,” in emergency management terms is when a disaster of such proportion hits that every type of responding agency, law enforcement, fire, paramedic, health, utilities, public works and multiple jurisdiction assistance is needed. State and federal agencies will also be a part of next May’s mock practice. The effort will be much like the recent Top Off II state exercise that was held in the  Chicagoland area in May of this year.
     Illinois Emergency Management Agency will be receiving state and federal funding as part of U.S. Homeland Security. A request was issued at the annual IEMA conference earlier this month for a county to volunteer to be the first to host a large-scale terrorism exercise. No one responded.
     Logan County Emergency Disaster Service Agency (ESDA) and Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) director Dan Fulscher said that he received a letter from Governor Rod. R. Blagojevich a week later requesting Logan County to accept the challenge of being the first county to do this exercise.


     Fulscher announced his decision at last weeks quarterly LEPC meeting saying, “Because all of you have done such a great job, if you are willing, we will be the first Illinois county to do this exercise.” As he looked around the room he remarked that for the first time since 1993 when LEPC began, every agency was represented. He said that this is the kind of commitment that shows the dedication of Logan County officials.

Fulscher went on to say that Logan County has been asked to do this because we are the most prepared county in Illinois. The Emergency Operation Plan has been updated with the necessary terrorism annex, weapons of mass destruction section, as well as having a hazardous materials annex, hazardous material analysis with industrial chemicals identified and businesses placarded through out the county. And we have a trained Terrorism Task Force. ESDA and a number of other agencies also have mutual aid agreements and have practiced with other counties.
 

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     Supporting agencies such as the Lincoln City and Rural Fire Departments have plans to handle and have practiced for hazardous material procedures.
     The city police have a trained and equipped Emergency Response Team (ERT) that acts like a swat team prepared for hostage situations.
     Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital has a haz-mat plan and decontamination unit.
     The Health Department has plans including a pharmaceutical stock pile and mass immunization locations in place.
     There are a number of trained volunteer support teams in place such as Logan County REACT,   Logan County Mounted Search and Rescue, a radio communications team with updated equipment and a Disaster Intelligence Team.
The Sheriff’s Department has an auxiliary mounted posse.
     And with today’s practice Logan County will have had a terrorism practice.
     Illinois Emergency Management Agency Region 7 Coordinator Dan Smith and other state representatives will be in the crisis management center monitoring and critiquing today’s practice.     Local departments and leaders will take identified weaknesses and work on fixing them in preparation for the May exercise when the big boys will be in town too.
      A practice of this magnitude is costly and will take lots of time and effort to prepare for. Preparations between now and May will be intense. However, there is no better way to test emergency plans, technology, communications and prepare responders and leaders to work together.

[Jan Youngquist]
 

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