Emergency specialists convene in Springdale

Speakers discuss disaster databases

SPRINGDALE - About 350 Arkansas emergency management professionals are meeting this week in Springdale for the annual Arkansas Emergency Management Conference.

The conference, which began Wednesday and concludes today, includes agencies associated with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and members of the Arkansas Emergency Management Association. Speakers, attendees and about 50 industry vendors met at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale.

A series of speakers from government agencies and private industry addressed the crowd in 15- to 30-minute segments, presenting information on topics including regional weather trends, gang activity in Northwest Arkansas and operational procedures used when investigating threats ranging from explosive devises to letters containing unidentified powders.

Noah Reiter, a director with Massachusetts-based Rave Mobile Security, spokeabout the implementation of Smart911, an informational database introduced in Arkansas last summer. The system allows state residents to build secure online profiles including photos, physical descriptions, medical conditions and other information that 911 dispatchers can access based on callers’ cellphone numbers.

David Maxwell, director of the Emergency Management Department since 2006, said 911 systems across the state have received about 17,000 calls from Arkansans with Smart911 profiles since the system’s introduction. Maxwell said about 11 percent of the state population has signed up for the service, which is free to users.

“That’s kind of in line with national figures on people who will do anything for preparedness,” Maxwell said. “If we can get to 25 percent or better, I’d be thrilled.”

Arkansas is also working with Rave Mobile Security to implement SmartPrepare, a national database which aggregates information provided by private citizens to help emergency management responders prepare for both disasters and recovery from those disasters.

Permanent funding for the two systems was secured during the 2013 legislative session with the passage of Act 442, which amends Arkansas Code Annotated section 23-17-401, and is knownas the Telecommunications Regulatory Reform Act of 2013.

According to the Emergency Management Department’s 2012 annual report, responses to hazardous material spills made up 40 percent of emergency management activities in 2011. Maxwell said that while “hazmat” is likely to continue occupying much of his department’s efforts, personnel are also focusing on earthquake response, particularly in the northeastern portion of the state, which is near the New Madrid Fault.

“We’ve been concentrating on that for about four years now,” Maxwell said. “We did a major national exercise in 2011, and are taking the data we learned from the after-action reports.

“We’re going to run the exercise again in June 2014 tosee where we stand. Earthquake has taken a lot of our time,” Maxwell said.

Randy Pruitt, coordinator for Grant County Emergency Management and president of the Arkansas Emergency Management Association, said much of the value of the the association’s annual conference lay in the networking opportunities between participants.

“It’s just really good for emergency managers to come from all over the state and share their ideas,” Pruitt said. “Networking is sometimes the best way to learn. Sometimes, with the sidebar conversations in the hallway, you get lessons learned.

“When someone’s dealt with something - been there and done it - that’s the easiest way to learn,” Pruitt said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 08/30/2013

Upcoming Events