Today’s emergency management is an updated version of the Civil Defense system that was started during World War II. From
the days of WW II until the end of the Cold War the nations focus was
on the threat of invasion and of nuclear attack from the former Soviet
Union. Little was done at the federal or state levels of
government during this timeframe to provide relief from the effects of
natural disasters. This focus started to change during
the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s as a result of multiple major disasters that
occurred across the country that exhausted the resources of many local
communities and states. In 1979, then President Jimmy
Carter created the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which
consolidated the myriad of federal programs conducted by numerous
federal departments that were related to disaster response and
management. FEMA’s approach to disaster management used
an “all-hazards” concept that addresses the four functional areas of
emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. This approach continues today as FEMA’s mission continues under the Department of Homeland Security.
State and local efforts in regards to emergency and disaster management followed roughly the same timeline as federal efforts. Bradley
County’s first Civil Defense office was located in the insurance
offices of Morris Greene who was the local director of Civil Defense
from 1959 until 1981. Other locations for the Civil
Defense offices (later renamed the Cleveland / Bradley County Emergency
Management Agency) over the years were in the basement of the
courthouse and in the basement of the Courthouse Annex. In
December or 1997, the offices of the Cleveland / Bradley County
Emergency Management Agency moved to its current location on Guthrie
Drive where they are co-located with the 911 Center. This
new facility houses office space, food preparation facilities,
bunkrooms, and a state of the art Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Cleveland
/ Bradley County Emergency Management Agency is currently under the
direction of Troy Spence who was appointed as the agency's 6th director in July of 2006 after serving as interim director since the departure of Tim Gobble in April 2006. Previous directors include:
Morris Greene (May 1959 – December 1981)
Don Gardner (January 1982 – February 1984)
Hal Munck (February 1984 – December 1995)
Jeff Young (January 1996 – November 2004)
Tim Gobble (December 2004 – April 2006)
The
current staff of Cleveland / Bradley County EMA consists of 4
individuals that have brought a variety of experiences and technical
abilities to the agency. Director Troy Spence joined the
staff of EMA in 2002 after service in multiple positions over 20 years
with the Bradley County Rescue Squad and has previously held the
positions of Fixed Nuclear Facility planner and Operations Officer with
EMA. Jeff Gunter accepted the position of Fixed Nuclear
Facility Planner in June of 2006 after retiring from the U.S. Army
after 25 years of service and brought with him a unique perspective on
the security issues and risk that we face in today’s volatile
environment.
Jerry
Johnson, who joined the EMA as Operations Officer in November of 2007,
brings over 2 decades of experience in law enforcement and emergency
services. He has received training in various fields from criminal
investigations, to patrol techniques, to managing the SRO unit for the
sheriff’s office. Jerry is also trained as a Hazmat technician, vehicle
extrication, and valued experience in leadership and managing
resources. Jerry brings a diverse background and a fresh outlook to
the EMA.
Matthew Cason
joined the EMA in July of 2007 as Administrative Officer, with years of
experience in executive office coordination and web design to commend
him.
The
mission of the Cleveland-Bradley County Emergency Management Agency in
2007 is to continue provide the highest level of emergency preparedness
to the citizens of Cleveland and Bradley County as they face new
challenges presented by the 21st century. Working as inter-agency
coordinators in partnership with local, state, federal and private
entities, Cleveland / Bradley County EMA will seek to continue to
provide comprehensive emergency response, hazard planning, and disaster
mitigation services to the citizens of Bradley County and it’s
communities through the
enhancement of our
public education programs, improved relations with the local media
outlets, continued compliance with the National Incident Management
System and federal and state directives, and ensuring that the citizens
of Bradley County are afforded the protection of the many technological
advances and tools that are available to the Emergency Management
community.
Emergency
Management is responsible for the development and implementation of a
variety of disaster response plans and procedures. These
include plans that address mitigation activities that are geared toward
the reduction of potential damage during a disaster to the actual
response guidelines for the entire county during a major event such as
severe weather events and technological incidents at Sequoyah and local
industry. Since 2001, homeland security concerns and mandates have also fallen under the purview of emergency management.
EMA
is also responsible for the command and control of all emergency
services and responders during the times of a declared disaster. During
a disaster, all emergency operations are coordinated and controlled by
departmental representatives through the Emergency Operations Center
which serves as a clearinghouse for all information and support
resources responding to the affected area. For day to day
emergency response, EMA plays a support role to all of the local
emergency services by coordinating and providing outside resources and
expertise.
Cleveland
/ Bradley County EMA also participates in a wide variety of activities
in the community such as the Safe Schools / Healthy Students
Initiative, the Community Advisory Panel for Olin / Arch Chemicals, and
the Local Emergency Planning Committee which is a joint not for profit
committee consisting of local business and industry representatives and
emergency services personnel.