Police/Fire
Central EOC Prepared Early for Hurricane
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By Mia Freneaux
While the rest of us slept, the City of Central’s Emergency Operations Center was on duty 24 hours a day throughout Tropical Storm Isaac. Meeting days before the actual storm arrived, Central public officials including Mayor Mac Watts and Chief Administrative Officer David Barrow, Council Member Aaron Moak, Central Sheriff Substation Captain Bobby Dale Callender, Central Fire Department Chief Bill Porche, Gordon Hutchinson from the Central Police Department, Central Community School System Superintendent Mike Faulk, and City Services Chief David Ratcliff, all were coordinating efforts to make sure Central weathered the effects with the least amount of damage and danger.
Attending the EBRP OEP meetings regularly, representatives of these various organizations were kept updated with the most current storm information. An EOC was set up at the Central Fire Station on Sullivan Road, with laptops and large screen televisions displaying a direct feed from the National Weather Service and OEP. Meeting hours before the storm hit, these public servants decided which of their people would staff the EOC throughout the storm and its aftermath. Noting that the storm front had significantly slowed, Fire Chief Bill Porche stated the biggest challenge Central faced was a “one-two punch” of flash flooding followed by river backwater flooding.
As the storm track took it further west of Central, the possibility of up to 20 inches of rain became more and more of a threat. The CFD was prepared with 3 crews of water rescue personnel activated to man the three rescue boats, and truckloads of sand being delivered on a regular basis. “We have 3 locations for sandbags,” Chief Porche shared, “We’re going through that sand as fast as we can dump it. We’re having 2 truckloads of sand delivered at a time to all 3 locations.”
The CFD was open with at least a skeleton crew throughout the storm. After wind speeds reach a sustained 45 miles per hour, the 911 dispatch office closes and no more EMT personnel are dispatched. The CFD was geared up and ready to stand in the gap, though they do not have transport capability. “We are ready to handle life threatening situations,” Chief Porche stated. Capt. Glover also shared that road closure information would be kept updated on the CFD Facebook site.
The City Services office provided 2 staff members to stay at the EOC 24 hours a day throughout the storm. Chief Ratcliff shared that prior to the storm, city service personnel had been busy clearing debris from culverts and storm drains to minimize flooding hazard, and had prestaged barricades at places known to flood to prevent driving through deep water. “We have 2 trackhoes ready and we are prestaged in 3 different locations so that if one stage is blocked in, the others are able to answer emergency needs,” said Mr. Ratcliff, “Our crews are activated 24 hours throughout the storm.”
Central Volunteer Police Officer Gordon Hutchinson shared, “The Central Police Department all have their unit radios and portables. We have our own channel, and are coordinating with the Sheriff’s office on their channel to have our units assist as needed.”
Superintendent Faulk said that the school system as of Tuesday morning was already prepared for whatever the storm would yield. He stated with confidence, “Our new schools are built to withstand 150 mile an hour winds.” He was staffing the CCSS Office and in communication with the EOC to meet any challenges school property might have to withstand.
Central Sheriff Substation Capt. Bobby Dale Callender was staffing 2 crews throughout the storm. He had a representative going back and forth between both EBRP OEP and the Central EOC to keep fully informed and to provide the best coordination between personnel. He coordinated the boat that is stationed at the substation with the CFD’s dive rescue teams.
Mayor Mac Watts, after encouraging all emergency response personnel to make sure their families were taken care of, shared, “We have tree cutting equipment ready. We will be coordinating with City Services through the EOC. Citizens are calling in with offers of assistance. We have corrected any problems we observed during Hurricane Gustav, and are better prepared and coordinated than ever.”
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