Livingston County Office of Emergency Management

Did you know, State statute requires the every Kentucky county have an Emergency Management Agency? Some cities have embraced this idea and created an EM agency in addition to the county EM Office because they realize the critical role this agency has during disasters.

The Emergency Management Agency is routinely called EM, not to be confused with EMS (Emergency Medical Service) which is the ambulance service. The EM office in smaller counties normally consists of one person, the EM Director. They may have a volunteer deputy director or two and a Search and Rescue Coordinator, while larger County EM Offices may have several paid staff. EM is normally one of those behind the scenes agencies with a wide degree of responsibilities without the public having knowledge of what this agency does. So it is important for the public to know what this agency is and its width and breadth of duties and obligations in local government.

The EM Director is in essence the jurisdictions public safety officer. The EM Director works closely with all emergency response agencies, and health care agencies to create a emergency plan called the Emergency Operations Plan that address’s the roles and responsibilities of each agency for the various types of natural or manmade disasters that affect the jurisdiction and how local governments will respond to aid the citizens within the constraints of public law.

Among the many duties all of which cannot be covered here but of vital importance include the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). A secure EOC is the direct responsibility of the EM Director. During disasters the EOC serves as the central hub or nerve center for local government and the various response agencies where they come together in a single location to coordinate and make joints decisions as to how to make the best use the manpower and resources available in the jurisdiction. The EM Director is also responsible for hazardous materials (HAZMAT) planning and mitigation planning. During a locally declared disaster or emergency, along with a multitude of other duties, the EM Director is the lead coordinating agency that is responsible for making the decision to open shelters, request assistance from the state or surrounding counties and conduct damage assessment.

Extensive preplanning is required to establish and maintain a shelter system to take care of disaster victims that may find themselves with nowhere to go. Shelter locations need the capability to prepare meals, provide sleeping arrangements plus people to manage and run the shelter and provide security. Shelter operations may last a single night or extend into weeks, depending on the disaster and the ability of individuals to find family to live with or make other accommodation arrangements.

Often during major disaster local jurisdictions will need assistance from the state or surrounding counties. The EM Director has the responsibility for assuring those requests are properly requested and must plan for the needs of those mutual aid resources when they arrive, to include: feeding, fuel, lodging and providing an individual to serve as a supervisor for those assets to report to. During disasters the EM Director also serves as the primary liaison for the local jurisdiction of government to work directly with state agencies and FEMA to assure that that all possible support and assistance is requested to help the community recovery.

Damage assessment is a critical element to recovery from disaster that has destroyed infrastructure, businesses and private residences. The EM Director cannot successfully complete this task alone in the short time frame set by state or federal officials. This damage assessment report not only affects that jurisdiction but affects the entire State’s chance of receiving assistance from FEMA. Therefore every road that may have been affected has to be assessed and individual homes that received damages reported and requires assistance from others who have received proper damage assessment training.

Responsibilities for searches for missing persons fall to the EM Director according to state statue. It is EM’s responsibility to assure that there are agencies in the county trained to search for individuals that may have become lost. Searches may last from a few hours to weeks.

All searches are highly technical and are considered a life and death mission until the individual is found, because the current condition of the missing person is not known until they are found. The local EM is the initiating agency for Golden Alerts. A Golden Alert is activated for individuals that have been determined to have an organic brain disorder as defined in state statue NOT all missing persons fall in the category of EM responsibility, such as runaways, searches for criminals, activities that are declared criminal in nature by law enforcement or individuals that may be armed and may be a threat to searchers..

This is not an all inclusive list of responsibilities of the EM Director and it should be clear that EM cannot begin to fill their legislative mandates without the help of every emergency response agency in the jurisdiction working together for the citizens and the community. The EM office is a coordinating and support agency during major emergencies and disaster. Together they are a team.

If you are interested learning more about your local emergency management and interested in a speaker for your club or organization, contact your local EM Director and invite them to share the rest of the story with you.