Kevin Sims
Sports Writer   

   The events of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina brought attention to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on a national scale, but many do not realize the impact these events still have locally.

   Those events brought about billions of dollars in grant money and equipment for local governments to use in case of an emergency. Bradley County’s Office of Emergency Management recently purchased a surplus FEMA trailer that went unused after Katrina for to be used as a Mobile Command Unit.

   Terrorist attacks and hurricanes might not be major concerns in southeast Arkansas, but County Judge Keith Neely said tornadoes, floods and people drowning are. The 30-foot-pull-behind trailer cost the taxpayers approximately $3,500 and should be fully operational within the next few months.

   When ready, the MCU will be a completely self-contained command center to be used at the site of an emergency. The unit will be completely stocked year round with a generator and communication capabilities with all local, state and federal agencies, for the purpose of being ready in a moment’s notice.

   Recently appointed OEM Coordinator Jason Wallace said the trailer would greatly aid in response time and efficiency in the help given in case of an emergency not only in Bradley County but in the surrounding counties as well.

   “It goes back to our federal government wanting us to be ready,” Wallace said. “If an incident happens and the surrounding areas are ready, they can converge on that one area. You got help in the matter of hours, or minutes sometimes, where you didn’t have any.

   “In these rural areas like we are, it’s import to get there in a timely manner.”

    Before being appointed to the coordinator position last month, Wallace worked as a deputy in the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department for 17 years, earning the rank of Chief Deputy.

    In his years of experience, Wallace said he built a working relationship with all the other agencies, like the state and local police, fire, road and water departments, which helps in his new position. Neely said Wallace's experience and contacts with other agencies played a major role in appointing him to OEM coordinator.

   When a disaster strikes, Wallace said communication between the different departments is vital.

   “The Mobile Command Unit, in case of a major disaster, we can go set up and have a place we can communicate with all the other different agencies,” Wallace said. “We can stay there for a prolonged period of time and take supplies with us.”

   This year, the judge said the county’s OEM dealt with a tornado in a neighboring county, an ammonia leak and a chlorine leak at a water pumping station. Wallace said he must be ready for anything from tornadoes to tanker spills.

   Last February an F-3 tornado devastated the town of Dumas causing millions of dollars in damages and injuring dozens. Many agencies within Bradley County went to the aid of the victims within a matter of hours, but Wallace said with the MCU they could have done a lot more.

   Since 1949, Neely said Bradley County saw three major tornadoes within the county, two of which were deadly.

    “The major concern when you have tornadoes is you have no power,” Wallace said. “With the mobile command unit we can go there for a prolonged period of time and we have power to talk to, to get information out and get information in, to get service in because we have the communication.”

     When a tornado hits the area, Wallace said it's important to keep the public notified on what to do and he will be in constant contact with the local radio station from the MCU.

   In Bradley County, accidents involving outdoor recreation are common. Wallace said one year four people drowned in the county, and in one instance workers searched for a victim for four or five days.

   In that case the MCU would be a place where those searching can rest, get water, eat, sleep and get themselves back together to go out again.

   Hunting season also brings risk of people getting lost in the woods, Neely said.

   “If you have people lost in the woods and you have to stay out there all night and it’s freezing weather, at least you can pull this and drive it to the middle of the road and park it. You got a place to have a command center,” Neely said.

   Although it is hard to imagine something major happening in southeast Arkansas, with the arsenal in Pine Bluff and chemical plants and oil refineries in the surrounding area, Wallace said plans are in place if something happens and Bradley County serves as a “safe haven” county.

   “In the event of something happening in one of these counties they will send their people and we will have to be ready for it,” he said.

   Wallace said it is important for the county to stay up to date with equipment, which is hard to do in a county without much money. With the MCU, Neely said it opened up other avenues to apply for grants for other equipment, like communication equipment and other vehicles.

   Neely said nothing is in the works yet, but he hopes to build a search-and-rescue building one day to go along with the MCU.

   “This trailer is a starting point and you can build stuff around it,” the judge said.