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Emergency staff outlines tornado drill, FBI NCIC audits, command-trailer upgrades and security reviews
Summary
Jefferson County emergency management staff told commissioners on March 6 the county will participate in a statewide tornado drill, is expecting FBI NCIC audits, has performed equipment upgrades to a command trailer, and is coordinating physical-security reviews with CISA and a cyber questionnaire with Indiana and Purdue.
County emergency management staff reported a series of public-safety and security activities at the March 6 Jefferson County Commission meeting, including a statewide tornado drill, planned FBI NCIC audits, upgrades to a command trailer and upcoming physical-security assessments by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The staff member said the county plans to set off alarms during the statewide tornado drill on March 12 and that training on building a quality assurance program is scheduled later in March. The transcript records the staff saying: "We plan to set off the alarms at that time," when describing participation in the drill.
On audits and cybersecurity, the emergency staff said the FBI will conduct NCIC and INEX audits in Indiana in the coming weeks and that the county has completed a questionnaire supplied by "Indiana and Purdue" as part of a cyber project; staff said they have a face-to-face meeting scheduled with those partners and a later meeting with a CISA team to perform physical security assessments of water and wastewater facilities. The staff said those assessments will likely be staged in phases and that the county will provide addresses of county water-treatment sites for review.
The staff also described recent equipment work: a mini-split system and LED lighting were installed in the county's command trailer using grant funds, and new radios with panic-button programming have been ordered to route panic signals to dispatch. The staff noted the radios were programmed at the county tower and said the county will check whether similar panic-button units can be installed at other county facilities, including the highway garage, to cover employees who work alone.
The transcript records the emergency staff discussing a recent search for an aircraft or drone that was reported missing; the search included county equipment (described in the transcript as a "$20,000 drone"), the state police helicopter and local responders. "I think we got everything documented well about where we were," the staff said; the search found nothing.
No formal vote or new ordinance resulted from these updates; the items were informational and staff noted further meetings and follow-up planned with federal partners and project collaborators.
