Hamilton County Emergency Communications responded to a Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) request for TERT teams to deploy to disaster areas in Alabama. On Wednesday evening Hamilton County Emergency Communications deployed a six-person TERT team to Baldwin County, Al. to assist Public Safety Communication Centers in that county.
“TERT is a vital program that highlights the drive to help that is at the core of each public safety communications professional. When Public Safety Emergency Communications Centers need help, we help each other as any family would,” said Jeff Carney, director of Operations and National Joint TERT Initiative Committee Board member
The team will work in and support the area’s Emergency Communications Centers until such time they can return to normal operations.
Hurricane Sally dumped a large amount of rainfall on the Gulf Coast over the last days, resulting in major flooding. Many areas are currently inaccessible, leaving the citizens as well as Public Safety personnel in desperate need of assistance.
Hamilton County Unified Emergency Communications has over thirty Public Safety Telecommunicators trained and equipped to support requests for mutual aid assistance as members of TERT. TERT teams aid other Public Safety Communications Centers in times of disaster when their resources are limited and/or stressed.