Pima County, Ariz. (Feb. 29, 2012) – Pima County’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is the host of a workshop in Tucson Friday, March 2, aimed at coordinating preparedness training activities in Southern Arizona.

The event, which is not open to the public, will result in the development of a multi-year training exercise and event plan for emergency services and homeland security operations in Yuma, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Pima counties.

The counties work with each other to coordinate their incident command training, hazardous materials response and decontamination training, counterterrorism training and other activities related to homeland security and mass disaster preparation.

Representatives of military and federal agencies, utilities, private sector services and suppliers, tribal agencies, hospitals and volunteer organizations active in disaster response will take part in the “Partnership for Preparedness” workshop.

The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tucson Electric Power headquarters, 88 E. Broadway Blvd.

Among the types of events that are conducted by the counties is a full-scale, rapid-response training exercise set for April 18. In this exercise, Pima County responders will be deployed to Santa Cruz County to take part in a mock anti-terror event.

Pima County, Ariz. (Jan. 31, 2012) – Pima County’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the Pima County Local Emergency Planning Committee are offering a free, one-day training opportunity for business and industry, fire departments and local government workers to learn how to protect the community from hazardous materials regulated by government.

The 2012 Business Educational Seminar is set for Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Desert Diamond Casino, 7350 S. Nogales Highway.

The goal of the seminar is to create an understanding of how to create and maintain a safe environment for employees and the community in regard to the transport, storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials.

The seminar also will help these entities prepare, using best practices, for the unintended or accidental release of hazardous materials.

Cost of the seminar is free, paid by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Presenters invited to the training include the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Industrial Commission of Arizona, City of Tucson Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team, Pima County Regional Hazardous Materials Team, Rural Metro Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team and the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality.

To register, go to: www.pima.gov/lepc/Training.shtml and click on Business Education Seminar.

Pima County, Ariz.(Nov. 21, 2011) – Why does the early morning sky look hazy, now that cooler weather is here?

Meteorologists call this phenomenon a temperature inversion. It’s what happens when early morning temperatures fall, trapping pollutants in the chilly air. Warm air above the cool air traps the cooler air below, and keeps it from rising.

That’s what causes the haze, as airborne pollutants hang closer to ground level. But as the sun rises and the cool air warms, the hazy air begins to rise, carrying airborne pollutants with it. The hazy air moves higher and higher, dispersing as it goes, and improving visibility.

This often yellowish-brownish haze occurs mostly in winter, when nights are longer and the air stays cool until the sun rises in the sky.

Tucson is surrounded by mountains, and they contribute to the winter inversions. The mountains cause an overnight downward flow of cold air onto the desert floor and that cold air can increase the strength and duration of these morning temperature inversions.

What this means is that air quality can be poorer in winter as pollutants from motor vehicles, industry and fireplaces remain trapped longer in the air we breathe.

People can help reduce winter air pollution levels by driving less often, limiting idling our vehicles to a minute or less, and reducing our use of fireplaces.

Fireplaces are inefficient sources of heat. When you have the option, choose natural gas, electric or solar-powered heat or a wood stove certified by the Environmental Protection Agency.

To reduce the use of polluting fossil fuels, carpool or take the bus if you can, and do more than one errand while you’re out, to reduce the number of trips you make. And, if you can, drive a vehicle powered by an alternate energy source, such as electricity.

For more on local air pollution levels in Tucson, including particulates, ozone and carbon monoxide readings, go to www.AirInfoNow.org.  Also, call Pima County’s Department of Environmental Quality air pollution hotline: (520) 882-4AIR or (520) 882-4347.

Beth Gorman

Pima County, Ariz. (Oct. 6, 2011) – Pima County will be part of the first simultaneous, nationwide multimedia test of the federal Emergency Alert System at noon (MST) on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. The test will last for up to three and a half minutes.

An audio message, “This is a test,” will be broadcast for the first time in the United States and its territories simultaneously on radio, satellite radio, television and cable stations.

This is the first test of a nationwide Emergency Alert on all media. The alert will last as long as three minutes.

This EAS test will be broadcast on radio and television stations, cable television, satellite radio and television services and on wire line providers in all states and U.S. territories.

Individuals who are not aware of the test may perceive it as an actual emergency message so it is important that local media help make the public aware of the test well ahead of the testing period, said Jeff Guthrie, operations manager of the Pima County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

The federal agencies helping to conduct this first-of-its-kind multimedia emergency alert test are the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

This national alert and warning system was set up to enable the President of the United States to address the American public during extreme emergencies.

The Nationwide Test is similar to local EAS tests that have been conducted frequently for many years to test the operation of local emergency alert systems. These local EAS tests typically last less than one minute and do not occur on all media simultaneously.

FEMA, the FCC and other federal partners, along with state, local, tribal and territorial governments and others have been working to coordinate the nationwide test for two years as part of the nation’s ongoing emergency preparedness planning efforts.

To find out how to stay informed during an actual emergency, go to:

www.Ready.gov

And for tips on what to do in the event of an emergency, go to:

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm

Pima County, Ariz. (Sept. 16, 2011) – Lessons learned from the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson will be shared with faith-based groups and others at a U.S. Homeland Security conference, “Faithful Readiness,” Sept. 20-22 at the Holiday Inn Hotel, 4550 S. Palo Verde Road in Tucson.

The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and hosted in Tucson by Pima County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Conference attendees will hear speakers from throughout the nation on cooperation between first-responders and faith-based groups, how communities can partner with faith-based groups in a crisis or disaster, and how to build a “whole community” response to a disaster.

The conference will bring Tucson, tribal, county, state and federal government representatives together with individuals from faith-based groups to help prepare the community to respond to future disasters and mass casualty incidents.

On Tuesday, conference participants will learn how the Pima County Office of Emergency Management and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are set up to function during a disaster under guidelines established by the federal government’s National Incident Command System.

John Wisner, a program manager in Pima County’s OEMHS, will talk about the Emergency Management Incident Command System at an introductory training session for attendees from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Pam Simon, Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s community and faith liaison, will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday morning. Her talk, “A Time to Remember. A Time to Prepare,” is set for 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 21.

Simon was shot on Jan. 8 in the attack by a lone gunman at a constituent event hosted by Giffords in Tucson. Six people were killed in the incident.

Simon’s remarks will be followed by Pima County Sheriff’s Capt. Frank Duarte, who will present a case study of the Jan. 8 event.

Duarte will talk about the importance of multi-disciplinary cooperation during the emergency response to an incident that involved multiple public safety and medical entities.

The role of clergy in a disaster and how they can be trained to be “agents of safety” is the topic of a workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 10:45 a.m.

The conference will also provide information on how to make sure the needs of disabled children and adults and the elderly are met during a crisis, and faith leaders will talk about the principles involved in faith-based crises management, to help individuals be prepared and recover more effectively from a disaster or crisis.

Some of those who helped Hurricane Katrina victims who were evacuated to Tucson recover from that disaster will also take part in the conference.

Among the organizations taking part in the conference are the American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter, Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Tucson Indian Center, Tucson NAACP, Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Tucson, Arizona Chapter of League of United Latino American Citizens, Community Alliance Addressing Disparities, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Arizona Division of Emergency Management/Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region IX.