Nick McWilliams reporting – A program that has been little utilized since the start of COVID pandemic is expected to ramp back up for mutual aid across states.
Tuscarawas County Emergency Management Agency Director Alex McCarthy spoke with county commissioners recently, discussing the Emergency Management Assistance Compacts.
The completely voluntary program for counties was put to the wayside during the worst parts of the pandemic, but due to an expected return to standard operations, McCarthy requested signing the county back into participation, which would designate them as a group willing to help
“A request would go out to all the state EMA’s across the country, and Ohio could look to the association and say, ‘You guys have four people that area ready to go now?’ The association would send out an email saying who is available, and it gives us at the local level the opportunity to evaluate what’s going on here at home and in our own offices to figure out if we have the time to commit right now to a deployment or not.”
The last time a Tuscarawas County EMA Team was sent out of state was in 2019, where they assisted with flooding issues caused by Hurricane Florence.
McCarthy says that the assistance is part of the compact, but it can also serve as educational tools for EMA managers who are shipped out as a part of disaster relief.
“What’s nice is there’s a good amount of experience you get when you go out to one of these areas that is devastated by a storm. You can kind of see how different communities approach different types of problems. There’s a great amount of experience you can get from this.”
The compact is completely voluntary, and reimbursement is available for man hours, supplies, lodging, food, and more.
The commissioners ultimately approved the request.
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