Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update for 2025
Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania Counties and the municipal governments within these counties are working together to update the South Mountains Hazard Mitigation Plan. The South Mountains area is vulnerable to a wide range of natural and human-caused disasters that threaten the life and safety of residents and have the potential to damage or destroy property, disrupt the local economy, and impact the overall quality of life of individuals who live, work and vacation in the region.
The purpose of this plan is to assess our community’s natural hazard risks and determine how to lessen our vulnerability in disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, requires local governments to update the plan every five years to be eligible to receive federal funds to mitigate or clean up following a disaster. The current plan expires in 2025.
Public input is an essential part of this plan. All interested residents are invited to participate in a survey to help the local governments develop the most effective and beneficial plan possible. A link is provided below or interested individuals may complete the survey form attached and mail it to Emergency Management Director Kevin Shook at 155 Public Safety Way, Brevard, NC 28712.
Click here to fill out on-line form
Click here to download form to fill out and mail in
Emergency Services is composed of Communications, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Marshal and Emergency Management.
Plans, prepares, responds and mitigates for disasters and emergencies.
Transylvania County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan
Transylvania County Emergency Alerts Signup
ABOUT TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY'S NEW 911 SYSTEM
The professionals who take Transylvania County’s 911 calls have a new life saving tool at their disposal, thanks to a recently installed call handling system. The new system became operational on January 17th after more than two dozen county telecommunicators and administrators underwent a year of training and certification.
“We are proud to offer this new capability to the citizens of Transylvania County,” said county manager Jaime Laughter. “We truly believe it will give our incredibly dedicated telecommunicators the tools they need to make a life-saving difference when time is of the essence.”
The new system serves as an enhancement to the county’s existing Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and, according to communications director Kevin Shook, provides several critical improvements.
“The new system and the training we’ve all undergone allows us to provide Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), for the first time,” said Shook. “This means our telecommunicators, who are all now EMD certified, can provide basic life support instructions over the phone. For example, if a parent who has an unresponsive child calls, we can provide lifesaving instructions immediately, even before emergency responders arrive. In short, we’ve empowered our telecommunicators to become a critical extension of our emergency response."
The system will also be used for law enforcement and fire/rescue calls, allowing for seamless, standardized communication between telecommunicators and all disciplines of emergency responders (Fire, Law and Medical). As a result, all responders will arrive on scene more prepared and with a clear, consistent picture of the emergency ahead of time.
PowerPhone, a leading provider of emergency communications technology, installed the system, which included consulting and training.
“The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has established standards for emergency services communications,” said Shook. “Our new PowerPhone system qualifies us for NFPA 1221, which is the standard for how 911 centers should operate nationwide.”
There are currently three EMD system providers that are approved in North Carolina. PowerPhone, one of three, was chosen by Transylvania County based on cost, software ease of use by staff, and the system’s common sense workflow.
“After having worked and trained with PowerPhone over the last year, I’m confident we’ve chosen the system that will provide the best benefit to our taxpayers,” said Shook. “If we can assist in saving one life, this system was worth every dollar."