Firefighters will staff their stations and amateur radio operators will man their mikes if the millennium dawns with silence or, in other words, a communications breakdown.

Thursday, December 23, 1999

Firefighters will staff their stations and amateur radio operators will man their mikes if the millennium dawns with silence or, in other words, a communications breakdown.

Lawrence County emergency managers are not predicting a crisis on New Year’s Eve, but they do want to prepare for the worst to protect the public, 911 and Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency director Don Mootz said.

"The major utility companies have assured us that they are ready for Y2K and that they have plans in place to deal with any problems," Mootz said. "The county’s EMA, 911 and emergency response organizations will maintain a state of readiness, too."

Fire stations and 911 communications are protected by back-up power systems, so every fire department in the county will be available that night to open up the fire stations if phones go down and residents need an ambulance or have to get in touch with any other emergency agency, he said.

And, EMA officials have met with Amateur Radio Emergency Service/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service Monday night, to iron out plans for the volunteer groups to cover township areas without a fire station, such as in Symmes and Mason townships.

The EMA’s plan means that if Lawrence County residents lose phone service because of the so-called millennium computer bug, they can find help at their nearest radio-equipped firehouse, or a designated building if their township doesn’t have a fire station, he said.

For example, if you wake up and need an ambulance but the phone is dead, you can go to the nearest fire station or other building, where someone will have a radio ready to call one for you, Mootz said.

Also, the EMA will likely use a similar scenario to the Y2K plan to deal with communications during future disasters, such as floods and major snowstorms, Mootz said.

Meanwhile, in the event of a New Year’s Eve emergency, the EMA staff will activate the Emergency Operations Center in Ironton if necessary and ask fire departments and radio personnel to open the emergency contact locations where county residents can seek help, he said.

When seeking help, go to your nearest fire department or other facility, Mootz added.

Specific emergency locations for Dec. 31/Jan. 1 are:

– AID TOWNSHIP: Aid VFD, 13548 Ohio 141, Aid.

– DECATUR TOWNSHIP: Decatur VFD, 15697 Ohio 93.

– ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP: Elizabeth VFD Station No. 1, 127 Township Road 113, Pedro, and Elizabeth VFD Station No. 2, intersection of Ohio 650 and County Road 26, Pine Grove.

– FAYETTE TOWNSHIP: Burlington-Fayette VFD, 7681 County Road 1, and Fayette No. 2 VFD, 51 Township Road 93.

– HAMILTON TOWNSHIP: Hamilton VFD Station No. 1, 1671 County Road 1A, and Hamilton VFD Station No. 2, Hanging Rock Village Hall.

– LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP: Lawrence VFD Station No. 1, 7485 Ohio 141, Kitts Hill, and Lawrence VFD Station No. 2, 5216 County Road 6, Andis.

– MASON TOWNSHIP: Wilgus Grange Hall (opened by ARES/RACES), 16974 Ohio 141, Wilgus.

– PERRY TOWNSHIP: Perry VFD Station No. 1, 4633 Ohio 243, Deering; Perry VFD Station No. 2, 649 County Road 1, Sheridan; and South Point VFD, 104 Linden Ave., South Point.

– ROME TOWNSHIP: Rome VFD Station No. 1, 9666 Ohio 7, Rome, and Rome VFD Station No. 2, 15981 Ohio 7, Millersport.

– SYMMES TOWNSHIP: Waterloo Grange Hall (opened by ARES/RACES), 23343 Ohio 141, Waterloo.

– UNION TOWNSHIP: Chesapeake VFD, 400 Winters Road, Chesapeake, and Proctorville VFD, 410 State St., Proctorville.

– UPPER TOWNSHIP: Upper VFD, 3619 County Road 181, Hecla; and Coal Grove VFD, 513 Carlton-Davidson Lane, Coal Grove; and Ironton Fire Department, 526 S. Fourth St., Ironton.

– WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP: Washington VFD, 327 County Road 7B, Blackfork.

– WINDSOR TOWNSHIP: Windsor VFD, 8064 County Road 2, Dobbstown.