EMA builds county resource list for use in natural disasters

Published 3:00 am Wednesday, March 29, 2017

A countywide resource list is something Jeanna Barnes said the county has been wanting for a long time.

Yesterday, Barnes announced to the Pike County Commission that they have officially gotten a list together.

Barnes explained that the list details where resources such as barricades, signage and equipment can be found.

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But it doesn’t just list items Barnes said.

“The list also inludes personnel,” Barnes said. “So we can see how many firefighters we have, how many police officers. We’ve gotten information from all the volunteer fire departments already.”

Right now the list is still just a physical copy, but Barnes said officials are working to get the list to be accesible digitally.

Things are still fluid right now with the resource list, Barnes told the commission.

When commissioners asked Barnes who has access to the list, she replied that it is currently available to those who ahd given information about resources to the EMA, but that access is something that could be changed depending on the wishes of the commission.

Not only can city and county agencies get involved to help the EMA, but local businesses as well.

Barnes said local business such as equipment companies can get added to the resource list so officals can quickly see where needed resources are at in the county and access them more quickly.

“When a natural disaster hits, resources are spread thin and we don’t want to wait for the State or FEMA to come in,” Barnes said. “We want to be as self-sustainable as we can be. This allows us to do that.”