FRANKLIN COUNTY ARKANSAS
Office of Emergency Management / Fire Service
 


HAZMAT Awareness Class

and

HAZMAT Operations Class

are coming up in 2010. Click the Training link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to see information regarding these important classes.

 

ALERT: Construction on Highway 23

Bridge Replacement-- on the north end of BEND HILL on HIGHWAY 23--flagman may be present, steep shoulder, trucks and equipment present.
 
Slide Repair--near CHERRY BEND on Hwy. 23--flagman present, VERY NARROW and CURVEY AREA WITH ONLY ONE LANE OPEN.

Arkansas Safe Room/Shelter Program

Homeowners who install a safe room in their home or a shelter on their property after January 21, 1999 are eligible to receive a rebate of 50% of the installation cost, not to exceed $1,000.  One rebate per individual for perpetuity.  Contact Rick Covert at 479-667-4909 for more information.

**Funding for the storm shelter grant program has been depleted for 2008-2009 fiscal year. ADEM anticipates funding for the program to be replenished in July for 2009-2010 fiscal year.

This year an outstanding response to the program was seen, due to the tremendous impact from severe weather across the state of Arkansas

If you plan to have a storm shelter or an above ground safe room installed in the near future, we will continue the inspection and grant application process, and will forward your application to ADEM. FUNDING IS NOT GUARANTEED. **

 

Franklin County SAR Hikes the             Ozark Highland Trail across Franklin Co. 

Several weekends this fall and winter, members of FC SAR and their mutual aid partners will  be hiking the Ozark Highland Trail from the Crawford Co. line to the Johnson Co. line. in a series of short hikes. Hiking the trail will aid SAR personnel in pre-planning for incidents and will help them to become familiar with the terrain.
 
*L-R: Jared Blankenship, Melissa Francis, Theresa Rothe, Leon Hall, Ann Sutter with Pearl, David and Melissa Sutter stand next to the OHT Sign on White Rock Mtn.
 
 

Fred Mullen Chairman of Arkansas Search and Rescue Committee

FC OES Coordinator Fred Mullen has been named chairman of the new Arkansas Search & Rescue Committee formed by Danny Ormond, Deputy Director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Mangement.  The purpose of this committee is to collect information regarding the current status of search and rescue in the state, evaluate training and standards, and seek funding sources. Search and Rescue teams are encouraged to email their contact information and training schedule to Fred at fc_oem@hotmail.com.  Fred also currently serves as the Arkansas Rural Search & Rescue Advisor to ADEM's Homeland Security Committee.

 
 
ATTENTION:
 
Franklin County Fire Departments

Fire department member rosters are due at the County Clerk's Office in Ozark for Worker's Compensation coverage. Please fill out the forms handed out at the last Fire Chief's Meeting. You can also download it here: Workers Comp Form  (it is an Excel Spreadsheet).
 
If you would like to get your Act 833 funds in for this year, you need to have those turned in by no later than October 31, 2009. These forms and guidance can be found at ADEM's website here.
 

OES NOTEPAD

by Fred Mullen, OES Coordinator

 

Thank you for another year's service to the citizens of Arkansas.

 

Franklin County Responders have completed another year of assisting the public when they have been in times of trouble or peril. We can be proud of what we have done--hundreds of medical first responder calls, hundreds of fire calls, thousands of EMS and Law Enforcement calls.  The City of Ozark Fire Department has answered about 300 calls this year. The Search and Rescue team has had over two dozen calls to the Ozark National Forest with an average time on scene of over four hours.  And  everyone of those calls was handled by our Dispatch Center.

Of course we could not have done it without the folks who pay the taxes, make the donations, pay the fire dues, other volunteer groups and the local businesses who help us respond.

Over the years we have had local businesses prepare food, provide heavy equipment at fires, and use their tow trucks to aid in the rescue of trapped persons without charging for the help.  We are blessed with a renewed energy in our local Red Cross Chapter.  The Sheriff's Department Chaplains have counseled with scores of victims, families, and responders. 

Let me mention Shop with Cops, hunter education classes, boating safety classes, fire inspections, school safety presentations, storm spotting and many other programs and projects that responders contribute.

Franklin County is a good place to live.But we can't rest on our past good deeds, so, mark your calendars now, next year's training opportunities will begin with the Hazardous Materials Awareness Class on Saturday January 9.  The Hazardous Materials Operations Class will be in March.  For more information, check www.fcoes.com or give me a call.

 

 

View from White Rock Mountain

 

OES Coordinator:
Fred Mullen 
479-209-0818
      2006 NW Arkansas Coordinator of the Year
 
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