Holmes Local Emergency Planning exercise goes perfectly
The objective of the Holmes County LEPC exercises is to learn how to deal with problems before disasters arise.
When Jason Troyer, Holmes County Emergency Planning Agency director, and Jordan Tschiegg, assistant director, created the LEPC functional exercise that took place Saturday, May 31 at Crow Works in Killbuck, they had one goal in mind, and it wasn’t perfection.
“We want something to go awry,” Troyer said. “We’re taking a proactive approach to figuring out the best way to approach these disasters, and I really believe that the best way for us to learn is to learn from our mistakes and figure out how to best improve in certain areas. I’m not sure that happens when everything goes perfectly right. And it’s not any type of finger pointing at anyone. It’s a collective effort where we all learn together.”
In drawing up the plan for the event, the LEPC group created a scenario that perpetuated a case of a semi tractor-trailer rollover, the truck carrying 3,500 gallons of propane.
With winds carrying toward town and the elementary school in particular, the desire was to work through every possible communication in making sure students, staff and any residents in the path of the harmful gas were alerted and taken to safety.
“We evacuated all of the students and staff to the Glenmont Community Center, where we had a Red Cross shelter set up,” Troyer said. “Everything went really well. We got great work from everyone involved.”
The exercise focused on four main topics, those being emergency operation center management, public information officer communications, population protection action and overall communication throughout each participating agency.
The local participating agencies in the exercise included Holmes EMA, Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Killbuck Fire Department, Glenmont Fire Department, American Red Cross and Holmes County Health District.
The exercise was witnessed and evaluated by area EMA directors from the counties of Wayne, Ashland and Tuscarawas.
“The only thing we need to improve on was some of the communication between the incident commander, the EOC and the shelter,” Troyer said. “We need to do a little bit better job communicating, but I was glad to get that type of feedback because we put all of this time and energy into setting up these exercises. They are designed to figure out how we can best serve the people of Holmes County during times of disasters. It’s about learning to work together as one team.”
He said the other critical part of the exercise that came to the forefront was already an issue they know about, but one that will take plenty of work to improve.
“Cellphone service and Marks radio reception is horrible in that area,” Troyer said.
Troyer said Tschiegg borrowed a StarLink system to improve connectivity production, but he said it is an area of concern in protecting and warning the entire Holmes County population.
He said if the county recognized there would be a prolonged disaster event, they could call Ohio Marks and set up a temporary tower.
“That was one of the challenges the evaluators brought to our attention,” Troyer said. “It’s imperative to add that third layer of communication.”
He said adding the old radio systems in case of emergencies is one option, as well as the more expensive StarLink systems, with another option being the possibility of adding amateur radio groups involved as volunteers, something the county doesn’t currently have.
“These are legitimate concerns, and that’s what the exercise is designed to do,” Troyer said. “I’d rather have these issues brought up in an exercise and explore options rather than dealing with them during a time of disaster.”
These types of exercises are mandated by the state through the State Emergency Response Commission. In order for the county to receive funding through the state, it must conduct four different types of exercises over a four-year cycle, meeting the 13 objectives put forth by the state.
The year 2026 will see Holmes County’s cycle begin anew, and Troyer said the county has the option to formulate those exercises in any desired order.
Troyer said when the county does its full-scale event, it is determined on when it can receive grant funding to provide Hazmat training.
He said the company Bad Day Training will actually do all the behind-the-scenes work necessary to conduct the full-scale operation, courtesy of the grant funding.
“There’s a lot of moving parts to a full-scale exercise,” Troyer said. “To be able to get the expertise of Bad Day or any type of consultant isn’t cheap, so we won’t do that until we receive the grant.”
Troyer said from day one when he took the role of EMA director, the entirety of the county from law enforcement and first responders to the health department and the community itself have been incredible in their work and effort to make the county safe.
“We can’t ever eliminate disasters, but we can mitigate the impact and have a plan in place where all of the partners come together and provide the services Holmes County people will need in the aftermath,” Troyer said. “It takes the community as a whole. It’s special to feel that community-wide support.”
Each year the different exercises are moved from one part of the county to another to include as many entities as possible.