Local Emergency Planning Committee preparing for large regional exercise in October

[August 14, 2015]  LINCOLN - The Logan County Local Emergency Planning Committee held a quarterly meeting in June. The LEPC is made up of representatives from several county-based organizations, including representatives of the Logan County Board, the city of Lincoln, department heads for the county and communities, police departments, fire departments, the Health Department, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital; as well as representatives of mass populations such as private and public education systems, residential colleges, healthcare institutions and the prisons.

The LEPC meets quarterly to review various hazardous materials preparedness plans for the area should a release, natural or man-made, occur. The June meeting began with Dan Fulscher, the Director of Logan County 911 and Emergency Management Agency, welcoming County Board Chairman David Hepler and Lincoln Mayor Scott Cooper to the LEPC.

Terry Storer, the Deputy Director of the Logan County EMA, said that they are currently preparing for a Regional Functional Exercise. The exercise is a drill for the members of the Logan County Emergency Operations Center Staff and the various groups involved responding to a disaster or hazardous materials event.

The upcoming drill in October will build on last year’s table top exercise involving wide spread damages following a tornado and will focus on a scenario involving an event that exceeds local capabilities, what support would be needed from state agencies, and how to request them.
 

Storer said a full scale exercise has been set for next year.

Several committee members commented on these types of exercises, saying that it is a good way to get everyone involved and working together.

Iris Ducey from the Regional Office of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency said that when she is in in other parts of the state she often cites Logan County’s efforts to prepare for emergencies as an example to follow. Lincoln Fire Chief Mark Miller said these exercises also provide a good way for officials to “get to know each other before it happens,” instead of trying to work together in an emergency with no prior interaction.

The meeting shifted to agency reports that are important or helpful in awareness.

The Logan County Department of Public Health serves an important role in the public safety. One of the many purposes of the agency is prevention and treatment of communicable diseases, and the department tracks illnesses such as flu. Emergency Health Coordinator Emily Hauter said that there is one confirmed case of TB in the county currently. The person is compliant and receiving medication. Hauter also said that the Health Department will be activating an online billing service on the 1st of July.

Logan County Dispatch supervisor Mark Mann told the committee that the dispatch center is getting ready to begin the last major upgrade to their software. If all goes well, the new software would be completely operational in July. According to the representative, the Dispatch Center holds eleven times the amount of information than it did in 1993. Fulscher added that the Dispatch Center is constantly active, with an average of around five minutes between calls made to the Dispatch Center.

Before the meeting was adjourned, the LEPC set the date for their next quarterly meeting. The next meeting date is September 16th at the Lincoln Rural Fire District.

[Derek Hurley, with contributions by Jan Youngquist]