Emergency Management Agency

EMA

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

Knox County EMA relies on trained volunteers like the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) when disasters strike or major events occur in the county. The CERT program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. CERT offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, which allows them to focus on more complex tasks. Through CERT, the capabilities to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters is built and enhanced.

The Knox County Emergency Management Agency wants to assist the citizens of Knox County to be prepared for a disaster. To accomplish this the agency provides the CERT Basic Training Course. The course consists of nine weekly training sessions. The CERT course prepares individuals to care for their own family or neighbors at the time of a disaster. Information covered includes minor first aid, preparing for a disaster, how to secure a scene/disaster area, how to turn off the gas, extinguish small fires safely, disaster psychology and how to safely perform a proper and effective search for victims in buildings and homes.

Participants are required to attend all sessions to receive certification. Individuals must be at least 18 years of age and it is preferred that they have a valid Ohio driver’s license. The course is free of charge.

Once participants have completed the training, they will have the opportunity to become part of the County CERT Team. CERT members will continue to train as a team which responds to assist other emergency responders in the county.

Pre-registration is required for the CERT Basic Training. For more information on CERT please contact our office.

Knox County Healthcare Coalition

The Knox County Healthcare Coalition (KCHC) is a multiagency, multidisciplinary group of entities and individuals working together to promote, consolidate and collaborate in a unified response to emergencies affecting county healthcare organizations. Membership in the KCHC is open to all healthcare or other organizations or entities including response agencies that agree to work collaboratively on healthcare emergency preparedness and response activities.

The KCHC enhances the region’s ability to meet emergency preparedness capabilities as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Achieving the emergency preparedness capabilities will give Knox healthcare partners and other response partners the opportunity to continue developing and implementing a statewide strategic vision for comprehensive preparedness. The focus of the KCHC will be the common capabilities between public health and healthcare as listed in guidance documents provided to each by the CDC and ASPR. The common capabilities include:

Healthcare/Community Preparedness
Healthcare/Community Recovery
Emergency Operations Coordination
Fatality Management
Medical Surge
Information Sharing
Responder Safety and Health
Volunteer Management

The KCHC works to promote regional emergency response coordination through cooperative planning, training, and exercising to jointly respond to man-made or natural emergencies. Examples of member organizations that are part of the KCHC include:

Hospitals
Clinics
Dialysis Centers
Emergency Management
Community Health Centers
Urgent Care Facilities
Medical Reserve Corps

Long Term Care
Woman’s Health
Local Public Health
Home Health
Pediatrics
Private EMS Agencies
Fire Departments

Poison Control
Private Physician Groups
Medical Examiners/Coroners
Surgery Centers
Law Enforcement Agencies
Mental/Behavioral Health
American Red Cross

The KCHC endeavors to develop and promote county emergency preparedness and response capabilities of the county by:

Strengthening medical surge capacity and capabilities
Building relationships and partnerships
Promoting situation awareness among KCHC members
Facilitating communication, information and resource sharing
Maximizing movement and utilization of existing resources
Assisting emergency management and Emergency Support Function (ESF) #8 partners.
Coordinating training, drills, and exercises

Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

The LEPC is instrumental in fulfilling the purpose of the Community Right-To-Know law to increase the protection of the community from chemicals produced, used, stored, and/or transported within Knox County. The purpose of the LEPC is to serve as the official Local Emergency Planning Committee for Knox County, Ohio, as specified by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) (United States Public Law 99-U99), Title III (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act), Section 301 (c), and as appointed by the State of Ohio.

The LEPC is responsible for meeting all of the requirements as stated in Ohio Revised Code Section 3750.04(A). These responsibilities include the following:

Developing a comprehensive emergency response and preparedness plan for hazardous material incidents within Knox County
Collect detailed information on all facilities with Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) and conduct a hazard analysis which is included in the emergency plan
Providing public information and education programs
Receiving and processing requests for information from the public
Notify the public of LEPC activities and meetings
Distributing the emergency plan and making it publicity available
Receive reports and information as specified in ORC Chapter 3750
Establish and maintain a data base of hazardous chemical locations and quantities in the district
Establish and maintain a computer system for data management for that information

The LEPC is comprised of elected local officials; law enforcement; emergency management; local environmental; hospital; firefighting; health; EMS/first aid; transportation; media; community groups; and owners and operators of facilities subject to ORC Chapter 3750.

All meetings, including sub-committee and ad hoc committee meetings are open to the public. For more information on the LEPC please contact our office.