Anderson County is now nationally Certified as a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children  (NCMEC) 9-1-1 Call Center Partner.

Anderson County is now one of only 70 agencies nationwide, and the only one in South Carolina, to have proven their commitment to protecting our children by completing all the necessary steps to become a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 9-1-1 Call Center Partner.  The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office E-911 center achieved this status by successfully completing all of the necessary requirements to become a NCMEC 9-1-1 Call Center Partner.  The process started in 2010 when Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper, Anderson City Police Chief Martin Brown, and several key individuals in County Emergency Management/E-9-1-1 attended a seminar at the NCMEC headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.  From that seminar the commitment was made to make the Anderson County Unified E-9-1-1 Center a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 9-1-1 Call Center Partner.

Every year 800,000 children go missing in the United States. That’s more than 2,000 children per day. Every 9-1-1 call center must have in place policies and training to help ensure every missing and sexually exploited child is given the best chance to be found alive and unharmed.

Calls about missing/sexually exploited children can become high profile events that can have a devastating impact on the victims’ families, our community, and even our 9-1-1 call center. That’s why very 9-1-1- call involving missing and/or sexually exploited children must be handled with the best practices available. The Anderson County Sheriff's Office E-911 Communications division has put policies in place, along with additional training to help ensure that every missing or sexually exploited child is given the best chance to be found alive.  Time is critical when responding to reports of missing or sexually exploited children. How these reports are handled is important and can mean the difference between life and death for many children. For many years there was no standardized process that was used by the nation's 9-1-1 Call Centers when answering these types of calls. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) developed an intensive set of training and standard that addresses that problem which provides a step-by-step protocol of how call takers should handle calls of missing or sexually exploited children.

NCMEC urges every 9-1-1 Call Center in the country to begin using the new standard, and strongly recommends that all state officials follow the lead of other agencies that have completed this process, such as Anderson County, to implement the standard at each of their 9-1-1 Call Centers.

Season change brings potential of serious weather events

Spring is here, and with it some unusual weather for our region.  This past winter was mild, at least in comparison to the past few years.   

As we go through the spring season, and head toward summer, this can be a season for severe storm events.  In the past, April has been a month that has seen more than its share of severe thunderstorms and damaging tornadoes in the past.    From now, until the end of summer is the time of year when much of the south, including Anderson County, is most likely to get severe thunderstorms with hail and even tornadoes.  This is why you should have a plan of what to do in case of a severe thunderstorm or tornado.

 

Here are a few steps in planning for severe weather:

1. Talk with your family about what kind of weather can be dangerous in our area.

2. Learn our community's warning signals and know how to get severe weather warnings, whether from a NOAA weather radio, television, or tornado siren.

3. Decide on the safest place in your home to go when storms come.

4. Post telephone numbers to call in case of an emergency.  Choose an out-of-state friend to call if your family gets separated.

5. Make sure someone in your house knows CPR and when and how to turn off the water, gas and electricity to your home.  If you have a person with special needs, now would be a good time to register them in our Emergency Services Project Special Response program.

6. Talk about what you would do if you needed to leave your home.  And don't forget about your pets; some hotels and motels do not allow animals.

7.  Put together a home emergency kit. And make an emergency plan.

8. Take pictures or videos of your home contents for insurance; keep them in a safe place.

9 Test yourself and your family to make sure everyone remembers meeting places, phone numbers, and safety rules. Have disaster drills; they can be fun!

10. Test your smoke detectors and change the batteries at least once a year. Test and recharge your fire extinguishers.

 

"And decide on a place that's a safe place"

Talk with your family about where to go in your home if there's life-threatening storm such as a tornado in your area.  A room or closet in the basement or on the lowest floor of your home away from windows and outside walls is usually the best. 

To avoid being a helpless victim of a disastrous storm, you need to think "how bad could it really get?" That's not fatalistic thinking, it's just smart planning.  After a tornado, hurricane, flood or wind storm, electricity will probably be out for at least 3-4 days, and drinkable water will not be available for at least 2-3 days. Telephone service will be out, cell phone towers could be down, and trees and debris or water will block roads. Minor medical services may be needed and emergency services such as ambulance, police and fire might not be readily available. 

Also recognize that when electricity is out over a widespread area, gasoline pumps and cash machines won't work.  You and your family may be on your own for awhile.  The only food, water and medicine that might be available will be what you stored in your emergency supplies kit.  Make sure you know where the water and gas shutoff valves are.  For additional information about recovering from a disaster, look over our recovery pages.

Prepare for your Children

Emergencies can especially tough for kids. In your emergency kit, pack some comfort items such as favorite books, crayons and coloring books, stuffed animals, dolls, and board games. And have their favorite candy or treats on hand.  Also, if you have elderly or physically challenged individuals in your home, take extra precautions so they will be cool, hydrated, clean, and not without their medicine or specialized equipment. Also, for elderly or physically challenged individuals in your home, now would be a good time to register them in   our Project Special Response. 

Use these pages to familiarize your children, in a non-threatening way, with the problems severe weather can cause. Make storm preparation a family project, always encouraging them to "Don't Get Scared, Just Get Prepared."

 

Smoke was visible for many miles; as a result of an accident which caused an overturned gasoline tanker truck to explode.   The incident occurred Tuesday February 7, 2012 on Shady Grove Road near the intersection of Highway 247 at about 10:15 in the morning.   Officials stated that power lines came down on top of the tanker, as a result of the wreck, which in turn ignited the fuel that was on board.

In the past, firefighters would have had to rely on conventional fire extinguishing methods, which can present their own set of hazards.   This particular tanker carried approximately 9000 gallons of gasoline, which presents not only the fire hazard, but serious environmental risks as well.

To put this fire out, a relatively new technology that utilizes compressed air and fire retardant foam was used.  These systems, known as CAFS, are far more effective than traditional water or conventional foam systems.  Very few fire agencies have such technology at their disposal.  

In Anderson County, as in other counties, we have a local emergency planning committee (LEPC).  This committee works with county emergency management and first responders to understand the chemical hazards in our county.   Together they develop emergency plans in case of an accidental release, and look for ways to prevent or effectively respond to accidents.  The LEPC is funded by fees that are paid by companies that store large quantities of hazardous materials.

It was from those funds that this new type of fire suppressant technology is available in Anderson County.    Once on scene, this particular blaze was put out in less than 15 minutes.  These systems are capable of putting out a fire using 75 percent less water than traditional firefighting methods. That can mean less property damage and less fatigue for firefighters.  After the blaze was put out, about 4,000 gallons of gasoline was left in the truck.  Anderson County Hazmat teams worked to remove the fuel and clean up the scene.

Anderson County Wins National Award.  

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) recently announced that that Anderson County, in its participation with the Western Piedmont Regional Emergency Management Task Force, is the winner of the IAEM-USA "Partners in Preparedness Award." This award recognizes programs or processes that demonstrate innovative, multi-participant involvement between local governments and governmental entities along with the private sector  which have resulted in effective and efficient incident management, emergency management or homeland security processes.  This award was for the Palmetto Shield/Red Dragon exercise held in June of 2010.  Participants included the counties of the Western Piedmont Regional Emergency Management Task Force, which includes Anderson, Oconee, Pickens, Greenwood, and Abbeville counties, along with Clemson University, and the U.S. Army Reserve.  

Above Picture Taken at the IAEM Conference held in San Antonio, Texas November 2, 2010

 Anderson County Wins Award at S.C. Association of Counties Conference

Western Piedmont Emergency Management Task Force, which includes Anderson County, wins Barrett Lawrimore Award for Palmetto Shield / Red Dragon Training Exercise.  This exercise included over 105 agencies in a full scale diaster drill.   Click Here for more information.  The story is near the botom of page two of the press release.

Above picture taken in September 2010 in Clemson, SC.  Paticipants from Anderson, Abbeville, Oconee, Pickens & Greenwood Counties receiving their awards.