In order to strengthen inter-agency coordination during an emergency situation, the Starke County Local Emergency Planning Committee will host a table-top exercise tomorrow.
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Members of Starke County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee are focused on getting the incident command trailer back in working order. When they met Wednesday afternoon, they discussed how the trailer is structurally fine but it’s currently not functional.
Officials report that it does not have power and they believe that the generator needs a new battery to alleviate the issue. There is some money remaining in the EMA Department’s maintenance fund that will be utilized to purchase a new battery. Continue reading
Local emergency personnel gathered in the Knox-Center Township Fire Department Wednesday morning to discuss how to test preparedness by responding to a hypothetical incident involving a hazardous chemical.
Starke County EMA Director J. Nier ran the exercise and it was monitored by Pulaski County EMA Director Sherri Gaillard. Officials from the medical field, law enforcement and fire departments were there to participate.
ISP Trooper Jim Strong was the first person on the scene of the hypothetical accident where a distracted semi driver carrying 6,000 of Anhydrous Ammonia crashed into a train track guardrail, damaging the tanker and causing a pungent white cloud to fill the air. Continue reading
The Local Emergency Planning Committee determined a few more details about the tabletop exercise scheduled for later this year that will allow local emergency responders to test the county’s All-Hazards Plan. Continue reading
Starke County EMA Director J. Nier alerted members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee that she has received permission to proceed with the LEPC Grant process.
She mentioned that the grant is due July 13th and it is offered through the Indiana Emergency Response Commission. She said she wasn’t given a specific cap but she was told they could potentially apply for up to $10,000. Continue reading
Members of Starke County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet this afternoon to discuss details surrounding a recent hazardous material incident and how it was handled successfully.
The LEPC will meet at 2 p.m. in the lower floor of the Starke County Annex Building #2 (the old jail) in the Purdue Extension Office meeting room.
The members were scheduled to hold their meeting last week but there were not enough members there to have a quorum so the meeting was rescheduled. Continue reading
The Local Emergency Planning Committee of Starke County was scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday but there were not enough members present to have a quorum.
However, since no quorum was required to hold the first planning meeting for a tabletop exercise that will be held to test the County’s All-Hazards Plan, members went over some preliminary information about that.
A tabletop exercise is a meeting to discuss a simulated emergency situation where officials talk about their individual roles and responsibilities when it comes to responding to a situation. Continue reading
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director J. Nier {Nigh-er} officially assumed her position back in early October. Currently, she’s working on organizing a meeting for the Starke County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for January of next year.
Director Nier stated the responsibilities of the EMA include promoting preparedness and acting a logistical support for first responders. The LEPC specifically deals with tracking where hazardous materials are within the community and coming up with plans to take action on potential spills if they occur. Continue reading
The emergency plan formatted by the Local Emergency Planning Committee, or LEPC, was presented to the Marshall County Commissioners for approval Monday morning.
LEPC President Gene Gray told the commissioners that the plan is in line with the county emergency plan so it will not confuse emergency responders. There are maps and site plans within the emergency plan for 85 county facilities.
