room. There is a door that actually heats up, even thedoor handle. The smoke will only descend to waistlevel, allowing participants to crawl out of the “burn-ing” house, through the bedroom and out the win-dow. All of the scenarios have been designed to teachresidents what to do in case of different types ofemergencies.

Our mobile education unit can travel to your school,business, fire department, church, civic organizationand any type of educational event. To schedule apresentation about CSEPP or other natural disasterssuch as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, floods,winter storms or fire safety, call the number below.

Cleburne CountyEmergency Management Agency

(256) 463 -7130 ext 236

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At 9:05 on March 1, the tone alert radio in theCleburne County Elementary School’s office set offan alert. The alert was of an incident at theAnniston Army Depot affecting Zone A-12, whichincludes the entire city limits of Heflin. CSEPPEvacuation procedures for the school needed tobegin. Under the watchful eye of FEMA evaluatorCandace Burrell, the school CSEPP plan was put tothe test.

The Cleburne County School Board and the EMAhave developed CSEPP school plans in prepara-tion for a possible accident involving chemicalweapons stored at the Anniston Army Depot..Cleburne County Elementary, Cleburne County

High School, and Pleasant Grove Elementary arelocated in areas of the county that could be at riskshould an accident occur. Students at the Ranburneand Fruithurst campuses would not be in danger.

School officials would be notified immediately of thethreat. Students in the danger zone would be bussedto safety at the Ranburne Campus. Local school buseshave been equipped by EMA with radios so driverscan stay in constant contact with emergency person-nel and school officials should problems occur.

As part of the planning process, Cleburne County fac-ulty and students take part in yearly evacuation drills.This year’s drill was part of the ACE 06 exercise. AsPrincipal Barbara Johnson issued the evacuation codeacross the school loud speaker, the students alongwith their teachers responded to the notification.Within minutes, traffic access points were manned,school buses were loaded, and the facility was thor-oughly checked and locked down, as the children sim-ulated the planned evacuation to Ranburne.According to Kevin Brooks, Cleburne CountyTransportation Director, “Everything ran smoothly,just as planned.”

At the end of the drill, evaluator Candace Burrell said,“The school principal, teachers and students werevery knowledgeable on CSEPP procedures. I want tocommend EMA and the school system for their coop-eration and preparedness. It’s very important to keepthe community educated, informed and involved,and your programs do an excellent job of that.”

School Drill Sets CSEPP Safety Plan in Motion

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living room with a working fireplace, and a bed-room with a “hot door” and an escape ladder.

The new unit will be used to teach a variety of les-sons. By including a sheltering in place kit, the staffcan teach the basics of CSEPP safety while teach-ing the history of the Anniston Army depot. Asevere thunder storm or tornado warning can besimulated in the control room and felt throughoutthe trailer. As the instructor is giving proper safetyinstructions, the storm begins in the distance andquickly gains momentum. Emergency alert sirensbegin sounding, the tone alert radio begins broad-casting weather safety instructions, and the televi-sion comes alive, showing that a tornado has beenspotted in the Cleburne County area.

In addition, the unit can be filled with artificialsmoke, setting off the smoke detectors in each

Rolling Out the Mobile Education Unit (continued from back)

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The Cleburne County Sheriff’sDepartment played many rolesduring ACE 06. The scenarios, asdesigned by Cleburne EMA,called for law enforcementassistance in various locationsthroughout the county. Thisassistance was synchronized bythe law enforcement coordina-tor out of the emergency opera-tions center (EOC).

When an incident occurs thatcould directly endanger countyresidents, Cleburne CountyEmergency ManagementAgency (EMA) activates theemergency operations center(EOC) to coordinate repsonseactivities. When the EOC is acti-vated, it becomes fully mannedwith representatives fromresponding agencies such aslaw, fire, emergency medicaland other representatives.

During an incident, these indi-viduals are responsible for mak-ing decisions that affect theirareas of expertise. For example,should the EOC receive a callfrom a resident requiring assis-tance from law enforcement,the coordinator would answerthe call and dispatch the needed

personnel to the scene.

As part of the ACE 06 field play,the law enforcement coordina-tor, the Sheriff’s Chief Deputy,dealt directly with other officersfrom the County Sheriff’sDepartment, Ranburne’s andHeflin’s Police Departments.From providing a police pres-ence at the school, to manning

traffic control points, to answeringsimulated questions concerninglaw enforcement involvement inthe exercise, the coordinator wasput to the test. Police assistancewas requested at each of the fiveongoing scenarios. This year’scoordinator, Tim Gossage, workedvery hard to ensure these requestswere met.

“A special thanks to CleburneCounty Sheriff’s Department, whocoordinated law enforcementactivities and field play that con-sisted of placing over 25 personnel at various locations inthe county, “ said Steve Swafford,EMA Director.

“The expertise of Sheriff Jacks andhis staff,” continued Swafford,“helped make the exercise an over-all success. Sheriff Jacks and ChiefDeputy Gossage are extremely easyto work with and serve the peopleof Cleburne County with theutmost dedication.”

Cooperation and harmony, the strength and support of all institutions

Cleburne EMA Puts Law Enforcement to the Test

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Exercises (continued from cover)The various scenarios included simulated reponses by dispatch per-sonnel, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, the Department ofHuman Resources, law enforcement and emergency managementstaff. Carl Ballenger, the lead FEMA evaluator said, “The level of coop-eration between EMA and all response agencies was outstanding.”

The county EMA office has worked diligently during previous years tobuild a cooperative partnership with our first responders, and thisrelationship continues to grow. Annual exercises like ACE 06 providethe opportunity for cooperation and training.

According to Steve Swafford, EMA Director, “This was the largest scaleexercise ever conducted in Cleburne County with the greatest amountof participation from responding agencies. I was very proud of every-one involved. ”

“Sheriff Jacks and Chief DeputyGossage are extremely easy towork with and serve the people

of Cleburne County with theutmost dedication.”

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CountyLINES

From the onset of the CSEPP program, yearly exercises haveplayed an important role inpreparing Cleburne County for achemical emergency. As part ofthe Anniston CSEPP Community,the responding agencies inCleburne County have excelledduring times of testing, with thisyear’s exercise setting a newbenchmark for preparedness.

Cleburne County’s AlabamaCommunity Exercise (ACE 06)was entitled “Ordo Ab Chao,”which is Latin for “order fromchaos.” This is symbolic of thepast seventeen years of CSEPPpreparedness in Alabama.

ACE 06 consisted of several sce-narios designed by the EMA staffto test the readiness of countyresponders should an incidentoccur at the Anniston Army

Abernathy Fire department playedan important part in ACE 06. Thecounty CSEPP plan calls for theimmediate closure of the westboundlane of Interstate 20 should an inci-dent occur at the Anniston ArmyDepot. Evaluator Randy Cooperreferred to the department as “a fullytrained, very impressive unit that isready to function.”

Alabama Community Exercise (ACE 06) brings “order from chaos”

Exercises Test Readiness of Emergency Responders

Law EnforcementPut to the Test ..2

Rolling Out theMobile Unit .......4

Info on Fall’s 5K & Fun Run....4

School Drill SetsPlan in Motion ..3

CountyLines is published in coordinationwith the Cleburne County Commission.

Robi Mobley, Editor MAY 2006 Volume V, Issue 1

Depot. The exercise was evaluat-ed by personnel from the FederalEmergency Management Agency(FEMA), with a written reportexpected in the near future.

Our community exhibited animpressive array of field playshowing the level of prepared-ness of Cleburne County respon-ders to be exceptional. The scenarios included activation ofthe county emergency operationscenter by EMA staff, a simulatedevacuation of the CleburneCounty Elementary School, theset-up of a mass evacuee shelter in the Ranburne area, a simulatedclosure of Interstate 20, a hazardous environment rescue ofa cardiac patient from an impact-ed zone, and a demonstration ofSearch & Rescue’s ability to prop-erly decontaminate citizensexposed to chemical agents.

Due to the emergency functionsbeing tested during the exercise,inter-agency communicationand cooperation were crucial tomaking ACE 06 a success.

(See EXERCISES on page 2)

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Abernathy Aces Annual Exercises

Ordo Ab Chao means“order from chaos.”

This is symbolic of thepast seventeen years ofCSEPP preparedness

in Alabama.

Cleburne County CommissionRoom 207, 120 Vickery StreetHeflin, AL 36264

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

P A I DMetro Mail

36201

***ECR-WSS***

To the Cleburne County Resident at:

New Mobile Education Unit to Roll Your Way SoonCleburne County’s newmobile education unit hasarrived and is ready for use. It will be utilized toteach local residents aboutthe chemical stockpileemergency preparednessprogram, severe weatherawareness, how and whento dial 9-1-1, and fire safetytechniques. The new unit isequipped with features thatwill spark the interest ofeven the youngest partici-pant. EMA’s mobile educa-tion unit is designed toresemble a traditionalhouse setting. It has a complete kitchen withfunctioning appliances, a

(See ROLLING OUT on page 3)

Cleburne Classic 5 K & Fun Run

Race for PreparednessSeptember 16, 2006

Cleburne County EMA is sponsoringa road race on September 16.

Watch for more information on how you can be a part of it!

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1010071 Cleburne 5/1/06 9:15 AM Page 4