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Emergency management briefs commissioners on EOC upgrades, power outage response and CISA partnership
Summary
The county emergency manager reported upgrades to EOC equipment, volunteer additions, warming center activations during a recent power outage affecting about 1,000 people, and offers of cybersecurity and physical-security assessments from CISA.
Jefferson County’s emergency management director updated commissioners on operations, facility upgrades and disaster partnerships at the Jan. 23 meeting, describing a recent multi-site power outage, new volunteers, EOC computer replacements and potential support from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Officials said a power outage in North Madison that stretched to Dupont and other locations affected just under 1,000 people across the day; the county coordinated warming and support through partners including the Salvation Army, the Boys & Girls Club, Rockhurst Fire Department and volunteer offers from River Valley Community Church (20 2535 Cliffy Drive) and Common Ground Ministries (103 Miles Ridge Road). Local businesses including Analog Coffee and Records (329 Main Street) offered free coffee, internet access and seating during the outage.
The emergency manager reported replacing end-of-life workstations in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with four new computers to reduce security risks, and said the county is replacing projectors with TVs to improve displays for larger meetings. Two volunteers with long emergency-service experience — Charlie Craig and Earl Slott — joined the team.
The office said it helped coordinate responses and shelters during the outage and has developed plans to use the facility’s two garage doors for drive-through distribution in future public-health or disaster responses.
The director described a recent trip to Indianapolis for drone training and said CISA has offered no-cost cybersecurity checks and physical-security assessments for county buildings, water and wastewater infrastructure. The director said he will coordinate meetings with county partners to scope CISA’s work and other federal assistance offers and may involve neighboring jurisdictions and state representatives for grant and review support.
Commissioners were told the office is engaging community churches and local industry partners to improve disaster response and continuity planning for 2025.
