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Regional council outlines hazardous-material and health-sector emergency training for Jacksonville
Summary
Tyler Nolan of the Northeast Florida Regional Council told the Duval neighborhoods committee the council funds hazardous-material planning (LEPC), a Region 3 healthcare coalition, training for first responders, UAV courses and pediatric evacuation equipment, and leverages state and federal grants to stretch local dollars.
Tyler Nolan, special projects coordinator at the Northeast Florida Regional Council, told the Duval neighborhoods committee on April 6 that the council provides funding, training and coordination to support local public-safety partners.
Nolan said the council runs the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) under a federally driven program the state implements with regional councils and that, in Florida, LEPCs focus strictly on hazardous-material preparedness and response. "This allows us to leverage state and federal grants and provide cost-sharing for fire rescue, sheriff's offices and county emergency management," Nolan said.
Nolan described the council's Region 3 healthcare coalition — funded by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) — as an 18-county effort centered on Jacksonville that serves more than 980 individual members and 550 organizations. He said the coalition provides equipment, training and shared resources to health-care facilities at no cost.
The presentation listed recent training and equipment investments: sending 15 personnel to the Florida Hazardous Material Symposium, sponsorships for JFRD personnel to attend advanced hazmat life-support and maritime hazmat courses, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) training approved for recurring federal funds, and purchase of 70 pediatric restraints for Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department rescue units — procured after post-Hurricane Ian after-action reports highlighted evacuation shortfalls for young patients.
In response to a question from Council member Michael Boland about hazardous-commodity flow data, Nolan said the council previously conducted a commodity-flow study and is exploring use of cameras and AI to capture standardized placards on vehicles to improve data quality with less staff time. Nolan also said the council is coordinating with FDOT and other partners to study traffic impacts from new corridors such as the First Coast Expressway.
Nolan closed by saying the council’s role is to provide continuity across changing first-responder leadership and to leverage relatively small local contributions into broader regional preparedness work.
The committee had no formal action on the presentation; members thanked Nolan and highlighted interest in continued coordination on traffic and hazardous-material monitoring.
