Primary Agency: Marion County Emergency Management Agency Support Agencies: Marion County 911 Communications, Marion County Sheriff s Office I. GENERAL A. Purpose To provide a system capable of receiving information relative to an impending or actual disaster, either natural or man-made, and disseminating this information to designated County and municipal officials and the residents of Marion County. B. Authority 1. Marion County Ordinance No. 77-2-8A, February 8, 1977. 2. South Carolina Legislative Act No. 199, 1979. 3. South Carolina Legislative Act No. 223, 1967 as amended. 4. Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended by Public Law 100-707 (The Stafford Act). C. Organization The Marion County Warning Service is organized with the Director of Emergency Management being designated as the Warning Service Coordinator. The Marion County Warning Point is located in the Marion County 911 Communication Center located in the Law Enforcement Center 2715 East Highway 76, Mullins, SC 29574. II. SITUATION In every type of emergency/disaster, the warning system would follow the same procedure. The initial warning would enter the system from the County Warning Point and would be disseminated over every means available to alert government officials, departments, agencies, and residents of an impending disaster. III. MISSION To provide a well-structured organization capable of receiving, documenting, analyzing, and disseminating warning information to the population and to alert key government officials in the shortest period of time. C-1
IV. EXECUTION A. Concept of Operations Warning information will be received at the County Warning Point via: 1. State Warning Point (SCEMD or SLED Teletype and NAWAS). 2. State Alternate Warning Point (SLED Teletype, Telephone, and NAWAS). 3. Other State government agencies having access to County government. 4. Local government agencies. 5. Non-governmental agencies having access to County government. 6. General public. B. Municipal Agencies Each municipal agency having assigned Emergency Management responsibilities will have, in addition to this plan, a warning responsibility to alert the population of pending disasters by any means available, including door-todoor contact. C. County Warning Point The County Warning Point is the County s primary point for receipt and dissemination of attack warning, natural disaster warnings, and other emergency information. The County Warning Point operates on a 24-hour basis. D. RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Preparedness/Mitigation a. Develops procedures to notify warning service personnel for implementation of this plan. b. Briefs 911 Communications Dispatchers of the requirements of this plan. c. Identifies, trains, and assigns personnel to operate alerting and warning equipment. d. Determines critical and sensitive facilities and identifies additional requirements needed to adequately warn these facilities. (Schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) C-2
e. Develops and maintains agreements and working relationships with government and non-government agencies. f. Periodically tests and reviews annex procedures to ensure personnel are knowledgeable to assigned responsibilities. g. Ensures this annex is periodically reviewed and updated. h. Maintain liaison with all departments having warning capabilities. i. Coordinate crisis relocation implementation pertaining to warning through the County PIO, to include non-english speaking residents. 2. Response a. Alerts 911 Communications Dispatchers to begin notifying departments/agencies and key personnel on the emergency notification list, and provide all information and possible directions. b. Alert Warning Service personnel to report for duty. c. Maintain liaison with all departments having warning capabilities. d. Maintain liaison with the PIO. e. Maintain liaison with the County Warning Point. 3. Recovery Continues to provide Warning Service as required until the situation returns to normal. E. Coordination Instructions This annex is effective for planning upon receipt and for execution upon order. V. ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTICS A. Administration The Warning Service Coordinator will submit a narrative report covering the following: 1. Time warning notice was received (list each notice separately). C-3
2. Name of person receiving warning. 3. How warning was received. 4. Time County Warning Point was notified. 5. Time warning was completed. 6. Any difficulties encountered. B. Logistics Warning Service supplies, equipment, and resources will be those normally used by the responding agencies. Additional supplies, equipment, and resources will be requested through the Marion County EOC. VI. DIRECTION AND CONTROL Warning Service activities and operations will be controlled from the Marion County EOC located at 1305 North Main Street, Marion, South Carolina. VII. PLAN DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE The Warning Service Coordinator is assigned responsibility under this plan for developing and maintaining this annex. This annex will be reviewed annually, and updated as necessary. VIII. NIMS INTEGRATION All personnel will be trained on the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Furthermore, all personnel will integrate NIMS principles into all planning and response operations. IX. APPENDICIES 1. Alert List 2. Warning Service SOP C-4
APPENDIX 1 TO ANNEX C: WARNING ALERT LIST The Warning Alert List is maintained in the Marion County Emergency Operations Center. C-5
APPENDIX 2 TO ANNEX C: WARNING SERVICE SOP The Warning Service SOP is maintained in the Marion County Emergency Operations Center. C-6