When emergencies strike,
are three plans better than one?

Lexington, Buena Vista, Rockbridge County maintain separate disaster plans for similar threats

By J. Elliott Walker

Rockbridge County, its tourism guide proclaims, is where "nature, history, fun and adventure come together," a place with "more than you'd expect."

Among those unexpected charms: It shares the record for the most presidentially declared disasters in the state since 1969. On 13 occasions hurricanes, floods, snowstorms and other crises have been severe enough to leave the county needing federal attention.

Hurricane Camille struck the county in 1969, killing 23 people and causing nearly $30 million in damage. Fourteen feet of water covered Glasgow's business district; Buena Vista's downtown was eight feet under.

Four more floods wreaked havoc on the county between 1972 and 1992, including the "Election Day Flood" of 1985, stemming from Hurricane Juan. The flood damaged nearly 600 homes in the county, and almost half the homes in Glasgow were flooded. Damage totaled $100 million.

Snowstorms in 1994 and 1996 blanketed the region with more than powder. In 1994, solid sheets of ice caused accidents, knocked out power and resulted in $61 million in damage statewide. In 1996 up to three feet of snow fell on the county. It was so heavy in some places that regular snow plows were stymied, forcing the Virginia Department of Transportation to use crawler tractors to clear areas.

Nature isn't the only source of the area's disaster risks.  The 32 miles of Interstate 81 in Rockbridge County are among the nation's most dangerous, and much of the heavy truck traffic transports hazardous waste.  Old, multi-story dormitories on the campuses of the area's three universities pose a potential nightmare for fire and rescue workers.     

To respond to that litany of risk, the area maintains 17 all-but-autonomous fire and rescue companies, covering 601 square miles. All but one are staffed entirely by volunteers; the fire crew is often separate from the rescue squad. Buena Vista's fire station, for example, is down the street from its rescue squad. The area has no central plan to deal with emergencies. And while there is a 911 system, there is no centralized dispatcher. Buena Vista, Lexington and Rockbridge County all have different emergency management coordinators and plans to deal with crises.

A consultant hired by the county last year recommended hiring paid fire and rescue workers and consolidating emergency services under a single coordinator, but there has been little action so far.

"We're thinking about it," said Robert Foresman, Rockbridge County's coordinator of emergency management, who supports a centralized system.  Meanwhile, in an emergency big enough to require a response from all three jurisdictions each can follow its own protocols. 

Federal law requires each community to have a Local Emergency Planning Committee to address the threat of chemical emergencies, such as a hazardous material spill on busy Interstate 81. Rockbridge County, Lexington and Buena Vista have a joint LEPC for that purpose. Under post-September 11, 2001 homeland security regulations all localities and states must also adopt the National Incident Management System, or NIMS, in order to receive federal funding. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site, "NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable all government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents."

The events of 9-11 prompted the federal government to require standard guidelines nationwide, but NIMS does not mean every locality follows the same procedures for every situation. Because of this, Buena Vista, Lexington and Rockbridge County can each have its own Emergency Operations Plan, which they do.  But when three fire stations respond to the same emergency and each follow its own policies and doesn't know its neighboring university's floor plans, the quality of service suffers.

Lexington Police Chief Steve Crowder says coordination and cooperation between the three localities is fairly seamless.

While many fire and rescue workers reluctantly acknowledge a need for paid workers, few are willing to sacrifice their autonomy for central coordination. Foresman and his counterparts, Buena Vista Police Chief A. J. Panebianco and Lexington Chief Steve Crowder, say the three jurisdictions work well together.  For them, that's enough.

"When it comes to helping the citizens, there is no hesitation," Panebianco said.

"We're friends above and beyond our jobs, so you know we can sit down at a round table and tell each other what we think and scream and holler," Crowder said. "We still come out as friends, and we come to a pretty good conclusion about what we think we want."