Volunteers from law enforcement (officers and administrative employees), fire departments (professional and volunteer), an official from the health department  and even a county commissioner joined in an emergency training class and hands on experience led by Brown County Emergency Management Director Brent Bush on Thursday.

The training was designed so that Brown County will have a pool of experienced and qualified people that will be able to deploy with the emergency management trailer locally or across the state to assist when necessary.

The emergency management trailer is a fully equipped mobile headquarters that can be utilized for many tasks including search and rescue, disaster relief, communications and in remote investigations.

“Since the trailer was bought with Homeland Security funds, it is considered a statewide asset,” stated Bush who explained that Brown County has to be ready to use the trailer for emergencies statewide.

When Hurricane Katrina hit causing damage on the southeast coastal cities, Brown County received a call to assist; however, there were not enough volunteers available to fully staff the unit.  Having a larger pool will ensure that the unit will be used to its potential and wherever it is needed.

The wide range of the volunteers present at the training will give Brown County a qualified, diverse, and experienced staff of volunteers for future deployment needs.

Photos were taken during Thursday’s training.