News : Hansen shares experiences at Benton County Emergency Management

Scott Hansen has worn many hats over the last 25 years. As the Coordinator of Emergency Management (EM) in Benton County, he's earned his pay when it comes to this job. As part of his intro to the local Kiwanis club, he said all of that, tagging on "retiring June 30th." 

He told the group that Dean Vrba will be taking over for him and he expects it to be a seamless transition. Vrba is currently the director at East Central Iowa Transit: Benton County. He oversees safe, dependable transportation to all people within Benton County. Vrba is also a fireman in Cedar-Mt. Auburn Fire Department.

Starting out with a simple topic, burn bans Hansen explained how they work. The process starts when one local fire chief puts a request into EM. Hansen then contacts the fire departments in all of the county to get their thoughts. 100% of the fire chiefs have to agree, or the bad does not go into effect. If they all agree, a request is put into the State Fire Marshall. He said it has never been denied. 

Under a burn ban, it stops all of the ditch burning, CRP burning but not recreational like a fire pit in the backyard. He said that he doesn't like to do that and believes that most people are smart enough to not start a fire on days like that. A Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service is just an advisory that warns people that it is NOT a good day to start a fire outside. Usually, it cites the low humidity, wind and dry conditions.

Even with the warning there were a couple fires set this week that spread quickly on Tuesday when the warning was issued. In these situations, Hansen said that his department does not like to tell people what they can and cannot do, even though he joked that it is a government office, which brought laughter, but his office can. 

He explained that March through May is supposed to be warmer and we will probably get a lot of moisture, which could trigger severe weather. He said in his first five years from 1999-2004 March brought severe weather. Then in the 2010s the severe weather didn't arrive until June. 

He advises everyone to be prepared all of the time for the possibility of severe weather. The website he suggests that you check out is www.weather.gov and we are in the Quad Cities. He said to go to the map, click in our area and it will bring up the home page for our area. Next to the next map that opens, there is a box, inside that is the link for "Hazardous Weather Outlook." This gives you an idea of what to expect during the day, and then it goes into the next seven days of expected weather. 

Above the "Hazardous Weather" link is the "Watches, Warnings and Advisories" link. Hansen explained that a "Watch" simply means, watch and be aware of what's happening around you, there is a likelihood of something happening. 

 A "Warning" indicates that severe weather is happening in the area. Hansen said that when he first started they could only warn by county, Now they take a broader look and map the storm and the activity that it's having and map the direction rather than just what it's doing now. 

He said that the radar used to get information to us is located out of Des Moines and Davenport and we are at the tail end of both these systems. The systems are located 11,000 miles in the air so they sometimes don't see what's happening below them. The county has weather spotters, for this purpose. 

Every community in Benton County except for Mt. Auburn and Norway are connected to the emergency siren system. These two communities are working on getting upgraded sirens. The sirens are activated through the EM office or dispatch. They are also set off if anything greater than 2" hail is landing, "Because," he said with a laugh, "if you're outside, that's gonna hurt!"

Part of EM is planning for chemical emergencies. While EM is part of it, there is a committee required by federal law to have a "Local Emergency Planning Committee" or the LEPC. They cover nine counties and receive federal funds for training for the first responders. 

They are part of the "Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act." This gives you the right to know what chemicals are in the facilities around us. Hansen's office has an inventory and companies must keep that information updated.

The list is updated every year and sent to the local fire departments so that they know what they are dealing with if they need to respond to a place with a hazardous chemical. That information is available at the office located in the same building as the Sheriff's Department.

The LEPC also put together a brochure for sheltering in place in the event of a chemical spill listing all of the things you would need to seal up a room

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He addressed the trains that travel through the area and said that Iowa Northern doesn't transport many hazardous chemicals. He said mostly you'll see an empty ethanol tanker going through. However, he clarified that even and "empty" tanker isn't really empty. 

He said that things are about to change. The Canadian National Railroad is in the process of buying the Iowa Northern as long as they get approval. This will change the rating from hauling mostly grain and those types of commodities through the area to a Class 1. A Class 1 hauls a lot of commodities that Hansen said if there is a derailment and it results in a leak, people will die. He hated to be blunt, but that is the case. 

The Emergency Reponse Book is a guide to what kinds of chemicals are located across the North America. Hansen said he travels with one, just to see what different things he is passing as he travels. He said it's out there, all around us, and we aren't even aware of it and accidents do happen. 

He will be at the health fair this Saturday from 8:00-12:00 p.m. at the high school to share more information. 

One thing he wants everyone to do is to have water on hand. He explained that it could be as simple as a water main break in the neighborhood putting everyone under a boil order, or it could be something much more serious. He recommends a gallon a day per person and to have three days worth stored. 

When asked which event was he most proud of. He couldn't think of one because he said, "I'm just the coordinator, Whenever we've had an incident, the people of Benton County are right there to help. If you want damage pictures, you'd better be out within in 24 hours because it's cleaned up. That's just the way we are."