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The Greene County Emergency Management Agency Staff is committed to do all that we can to safeguard the citizens of Greene County and minimize damage to property from all kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made. The EMA staff works closely with all first responders and public safety organizations to achieve this goal. In addition to the paid staff of public safety personnel, we have approximately 175 volunteer fire fighters that give of their time on a daily basis to safeguard our citizens . |
Emergency Management is comprised of four major areas of emphasis, including:
- Planning,
- Mitigation,
- Response, and
- Recovery.
Planning
Planning is focused on preparation in the event that a major disaster should occur. At the core of this function is the Local Emergency Operations Plan. We are required by law to prepare a LEOP every four years. Our current plan was approved by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency October 25, 2004. The LEOP outlines the responsibility for each Emergency Support Function. For example, Law Enforcement is listed under the Greene County Sheriff as the Primary owner. Greensboro and Union Point Police each have Support responsibility. All of the Emergency Support Functions are listed in the LEOP along with the Primary and Support responsibility. The plan lists all of the agencies that may be called on during an emergency. Each agency is responsible to develop the detailed Standard Operating Procedures necessary for their organization. The LEOP can be accessed by following the link below.
Mitigation
Mitigation is those things, which can be done to lessen the risk of loss during a disaster. For example, a strict building code and enforcement program can eliminate or minimize damage from severe weather. Not allowing building in flood plains is another major mitigation plan. At the direction of FEMA we are currently developing a Pre-disaster mitigation plan, which will be complete before September 2005. We hope to identify several mitigation programs that can be addressed in the future by grants or direct funding.
Response
When disasters occur, this is the function that is immediately activated to save lives and minimize damage to property. We conduct exercises throughout the year where we simulate various kinds of disasters and measure our response for timeliness and correct decision-making. We learn a lot with each exercise. Our intent is to constantly learn and improve our performance. We also conduct training with our first responders in a classroom environment. Areas of focus include Hazardous Material Awareness, Rescue Specialist, Vehicle Extrication, etc.