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Douglas County emergency management outlines EOC role, mutual aid and lithium‑ion battery training plans
Summary
Emergency Management Director Robert Bunecki briefed commissioners Jan. 29 on the county’s emergency operations center, mutual-aid frameworks for large incidents and planned trainings — including lithium‑ion battery fire response — ahead of major events such as FIFA 2026.
Robert Bunecki, director of Douglas County Emergency Management, told the County Commission in a Jan. 29 work session that his office coordinates planning, training and operations support for first responders and county partners and will play a central role in large planned events and incidents.
"When there's a declaration of emergency, a disaster… I can get that verbal and then follow-up within writing within 7 days," Bunecki said, describing the county-level declaration process that he said allows access to state and federal resources and documentation needed for reimbursement.
Bunecki outlined the agency’s staffing and support roles: the county funds two full‑time emergency‑management positions (director and deputy director), a planner (Josh Taylor) and a program specialist. He said the office has two duty officers who rotate one week a month to provide 24/7 on-call coverage and that the agency works with a volunteer pool (he said about 54 volunteers) to support community resilience activities.
The office manages the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), a multi‑agency coordination point that Bunecki said supports incident commanders in the field rather than directing on-scene tactics. He described the EOC’s organization into emergency support functions — communications, fire, police, public information and others — and said the county maintains a Joint Information Center to centralize public messaging during activations.
Bunecki described ongoing and planned work: supporting city emergency‑operations planning (including drafting Lawrence’s emergency operations plan), training exercises for rural resource management and a multi‑agency unified command structure for FIFA 2026 planning. He said the county and regional partners will use the major event to practice interoperability and response coordination.
He flagged lithium‑ion battery fires as a high concern for first responders and said the county is producing a white paper and hosting trainings funded by a grant, including sessions planned for May. Bunecki cited risks from battery storage, transportation and the presence of batteries in consumer devices and industrial settings.
On funding and grants, Bunecki listed federal programs his office monitors and applies for, including the Emergency Management Performance Grant, Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HEP) grant, FEMA BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities), Homeland Security project funds and FEMA Public Assistance. He said some federal funding guidance changed recently and staff are watching the status of those programs.
On regional collaboration, Bunecki said Kansas emergency managers meet monthly and that the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) provides an opt‑in mechanism for requesting resources from other jurisdictions during emergencies. He said the county participates in regional planning and expects to request external resources if large events strain local capacity.
Bunecki recommended commissioners consider basic emergency-management training and said some courses are available online; staff also offered to host in‑person sessions for commissioners. He encouraged commissioners to join training and to participate in EOC and policy‑group briefings if the EOC activates.
No formal action was taken during the work session; the briefing was informational.
