Response Team Prepared for Variety of Emergencies
Published May 08, 2009
The Madison County Emergency Management Agency offers critical protection for area residents - and for those just passing through.
Heavily traveled Interstate 75 bisects the county, which means the usual number and variety of highway accidents involving cars, trucks or both.
What’s more, the county is home to the Blue Grass Army Depot, one of six U.S. Army sites where conventional and chemical weapons are stored and ultimately destroyed.
“We do have 523 tons of chemical weapons here. Some of them have been here since the mid-’40s, and we will be the last chemical-weapons storage site in the U.S. to complete demilitarization, or getting rid of them,” says Carl Richards, MCEMA director.
The demilitarization process is scheduled to be completed in 2023.
“With the Army and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), we are involved at least quarterly with face-to-face, multiday meetings where we discuss strategies,” Richards says.
MCEMA is a participant in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, created in 1985 when Congress charged the Army with disposing of its aging chemical-weapons inventory.
The Madison County agency also works closely with the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.
Not only does Richards ensure that the 11-member MCEMA staff is continually trained to respond to emergencies, including highway hazardous-materials spills, the agency also makes training available to community firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, and a limited number of school and day-care personnel and utility workers.
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
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