Morrow County EMA seeks lithium‑ion and hazardous‑materials training; EOC exercise set for May 22

Morrow County Emergency Management Director Michael told the Board of Commissioners on May 5 that Ohio EMA has opened the hazardous materials emergency planning grant and projects must be submitted by May 30.

“The big thing is, we wanna get some lithium ion battery training in the county because that's become a big thing,” Michael said, describing lithium‑ion battery response and additional hazardous‑materials training as his priorities for any grant proposal.

Michael said the county will discuss potential project submissions with local fire chiefs and mentioned a planning meeting on May 19. He also invited commissioners and staff to an emergency operations center (EOC) exercise scheduled for May 22 at 8 a.m., which he described as an internal EOC exercise with simulated injects from a control group and limited seating. “All of you are invited. There's minimal space, but we can accommodate,” Michael said.

The training priorities and exercise are framed as preparatory steps: Michael said his “big goal is just training,” and described the May 22 exercise as a chance for EOC personnel to work procedures and integrate hazardous‑materials scenarios into their response practice.

Michael asked for feedback from fire chiefs and said he had already solicited input by email to identify projects to submit by the May 30 grant deadline. He did not specify any grant dollar amounts or which specific agencies would receive funding if awarded.

The director also mentioned the county will hold a final planning meeting for the exercise on the Thursday before May 22. He said the exercise will include a hazardous‑materials inject and that light refreshments (coffee and pastries) would be available for participants.

No formal votes were taken on the grant or training at the May 5 meeting; commissioners were invited to participate in the exercise and asked to provide feedback on projects to include in the grant application.