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December 11, 2009 Auburn University holding emergency preparedness exercise Dec. 16 AUBURN - Auburn University will have an emergency preparedness training exercise the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 16, so university personnel and local first-responders can practice dealing with a campus emergency or disaster. Perimeters will be set up around the area of the Student Center and Haley Center for an “active shooter” drill that will include role playing and emergency response by public safety agencies. "We'll have agencies from across the Auburn area participating in the drill," said Chance Corbett, associate director of Auburn University's Department of Public Safety and Security/Emergency Management. "We need to ensure that the university and public safety agencies are prepared and ready to respond to an emergency or disaster on campus. While this exercise has a scenario of an active shooter, our planning efforts will also cover natural and man-made disasters." Participating agencies will include Auburn University, Auburn Police Division, Auburn Fire Department, Lee County Emergency Management Agency, Auburn University Medical Clinic and East Alabama Emergency Medical Services. In addition, a joint information center will be activated on campus that will allow the university's Office of Communications and Marketing to test its effectiveness in gathering and disseminating information. "In the event of a large incident or an event that attracts national media attention, our department must be prepared to provide the public with timely, accurate information," said Mike Clardy, director of communications. University officials selected Dec. 16 for the exercise because classes will have ended for the fall semester and activity on campus will be scarce. The exercise is set to begin at 7:45 a.m. and should last until about noon. November 10, 2009 WTVM: Lee County moves to storm-based siren system August 11, 2009
The Lee County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) will be hosting the next CERT classes (Community Emergency Response Team) this fall. CERT classes are open to all citizens in and around Lee County. The course is 21 hours of classroom materials, and 3 hours of practical application of skills acquired. Classroom materials include lessons on general emergency preparedness, fire safety and suppression, emergency medical operations, light search and rescue, CERT organization, disaster psychology, terrorism, emergency communications and the incident management system. Practical application includes fire suppression, search and rescue techniques and mass triage. Upon successful completion of the class, new CERT members will be issued a CERT kit containing emergency supplies, and a certificate of completion. This class is free to attend. CERT members have been utilized most recently in the successful search and rescue of the missing Auburn University student last fall, and to assist in the aftermath of the Salem tornado. There are two classes coming up in the fall (all times are Central): September 24 – November 12 (6:30-9:00 every Thursday night), and November 6 (6:30-9:00pm), 7 (9:00am-7:00pm), 8 (1-5pm), 12 (6:30-9:00pm) If you would like to become a member of the Lee County CERT, please call Chris Tate at 334-749-8161, or email him at
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to register. You may also come by the EMA office, located at 908 Avenue B in Opelika, to sign up. For more information on the CERT program, please visit the Lee County EMA website at www.leecoema.com, or the national CERT website, www.citizencorps.gov/cert.
OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS TO BE TESTED WEEKLY The EMA will begin testing the outdoor warning sirens at noon each Wednesday. We won't test them if inclimate weather is present or anticipated. This new schedule will provide us opportunity to test access to the sirens from multiple warning points and the mechanisms for sounding individual or groups of sirens in separate or multiple areas in the County. Some of these tests will be quite complicated so we're asking for your help. At noon each Wednesday, listen for the siren(s) in your area. If you hear it please note the time and location of the siren. The exact location is important but if you don't know it prepare to tell us where you were at the time you heard it. It's also important for us to know if you did not hear a siren that you know to be close by. Wait about 10 minutes. You may hear it again during that period. Then call the EMA at 749-8161 and tell us what you heard or didn't hear. Your help will help us test and refine current capabilities and explore new technologies to provide the citizens of Lee County with the most efficient siren notifications possible. Report Severe Weather If anyone experiences, or personally knows of specific, storm damage caused by wind, rain, hail or lightning, Please report it to the EMA as soon as possible - Phone (334) 749-8161. Check out the links to the latest Lee County forecast and the Central Alabama Multi-Media Impact Briefing (turn on your speakers). This briefing is updated twice daily, more often when severe weather threatens.
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