Keeping Macon prepared for the next emergency

Tucked away behind city hall sits a white concrete building with satellites and antennas sticking out the top. The building has nearly foot-deep concrete walls, as it was originally a Cold War-era fallout shelter. Now it serves as the base for the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency.

What were once dormitories and decontamination rooms have been replaced with offices and meeting rooms. Macon Bibb County’s Emergency Management Agency is one of the few full time professional Emergency Management Agencies in the state. 

Recently, they were at the helm of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Irma, the latter of which had EMA Director Spencer Hawkins stay in the bunker for seven consecutive days.

“That’s why I built the shower in there,” he said. 

During an emergency, Hawkins said the EMA takes on an “all-hazards approach” and the five-person staff is not just thinking about who has been immediately impacted but also lasting effects on commerce or what to do in case of a second emergency.

For instance, Hawkins said in a hurricane, the EMA works with public works to have trucks ready to clear roads, puts Georgia Power crews on standby to restore power and sends advisories to residents about conditions and closures.

The EMA works with about 50 county and private organizations for 18 different Emergency Service Functions or ways to respond to crises: for example ESF-6 which is Mass Care or sheltering.

“Those ESF’s comprise about 150 people,” he said. “I have got to make sure they’re all trained, and none of them work in emergency management … all my plans have to be approved by the state and federal government as well.” 

Reco Stephens, assistant fire chief of the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department, said all of the EMAs partners have monthly meetings with the EMA to discuss emergency response plans. Most recently, the EMA along with its partner organizations reworked the local emergency response plan, or the blanket base plan in case of an emergency.

The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department handles three ESFs: firefighting, search and rescue, and hazmat.

“Their presence has been great,” he said. “They have always been proactive … we’re always preplanning what could happen and may happen.”

When there is no active emergency, the agency spends time preparing for one by revising emergency plans, meeting with other departments and holding community events.

The EMA has been trying to strike a balance between responding to emergencies and personal mental health, Hawkins said, to “make sure we do not burn people out.”

Hawkins said the agency is a “new kid on the block” when it comes to everyday public safety, as many people reach out to the fire or police department before them. They help out the police department by taking non-emergency questions that get directed to 911.

As of late, the agency has been supporting a response to the extreme heat, and plans on holding its annual emergency preparedness fair in September.

“Day to day it’s something different, but we always are focused on those mission areas of preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation,” Hawkins said.