LEPC upgrades county emergency operations center

Havre and Hill County Local Emergency Planning Committee Chair Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross told the committee during its monthly meeting Tuesday that he had a contractor come in after its last meeting and install two antennas at the emergency operations center to allow better radio communication with other agencies. 

The courtroom at the Hill County Detention Center is designated for use as an emergency operations center in times of emergency.

Ross added that the antennas will allow two radios to be attached if needed. The radios would be able to communicate on both the Montana Trunking Systems, a statewide digital radio system and conventional radio systems.

Another new addition to the emergency operations center was the addition of a flatscreen TV, which was provided by Hill County Health Department. Ross said the TV is hooked up to cable and will allow, in an emergency situation, teams to monitor weather conditions and monitor situations across the state.

“We can do all of that from this room, which we never used to be able to,” he said.

The emergency operations center was already equipped with the trunking system, but the conventional radio system was needed, he said. A number of agencies on the Hi-Line and in the general area are not equipped with the trunking system, such as Bear Paw and Rocky Boy fire departments, and without a conventional radio system they would not be able to communicate with those agencies.

Ross said in an interview that the radio consolettes are from the sheriff’s office command trailer and are portable so they can be hooked up when needed. He added that it is a great addition because the communication is crucial in an emergency situation. 

He said that with the radio systems, cable TV, generator, cellphone booster and wi-fi in the emergency operations center, it is fully prepared to be a headquarters for operations for a number of emergencies if needed.

Ross said during the meeting that the sheriff’s office and Havre Police Department staff and Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Director Dave Shepard have attended a number of tabletop exercises in the past month with both U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and NorthWestern Energy.

The Bureau of Reclamation held a tabletop exercise at Fresno Reservoir to go over what would happen if the dam experienced a complete failure, Ross said. He added that, in the scenario, the dam suffered a complete failure at full capacity, and with the use of inundation maps the people attending the exercise could see what impact it would have on the community.

“It would be a major catastrophe,” he said. “It was more of a catastrophe than I thought it would have been.”

The tabletop exercise with NorthWestern Energy was simulating a natural gas pipe burst at Beaver Creek Golf Course, he said, adding that the exercise was to go through what different agencies would do in that situation and how to evacuate people.

“It was more of an exercise that was internal for them, but it was nice that they invited us so we could see what their reaction was and what they would do,” Ross said.

He added that both exercises were very informative.

Committee member and Rocky Boy Director of Public Health Janet Runnion said Rocky Boy will have a drive-through flu clinic next week and is hiring a new DES coordinator, Jason Lodgepole.

The Havre Police Department is doing a number of things to improve operations, such as working on the department’s dispatch consoles and antennas and replacing the department’s servers, Police Chief Gabe Matosich said. He added that McGruff the Crime Dog will be in Havre Public Schools Oct. 21 for Red Ribbon Day.

Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson said that this week is fire prevention week and the department is doing a number of tours and training events. He added that the new ambulance has also officially been put into service.