One committee is seeking a grant in its ever-continuing goal to keep Sampson County safe from dangers both known and not-so-known.

The Sampson County Board of Commissioners recently authorized an application in the amount of $8,645 for the 2009 Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Grant, made by the Local Emergency Planning Committee.

Sampson County’s Local Emergency Planning Committee, as other committees do, works to understand chemical hazards in the community, develops emergency plans in case of an accidental release and looks for ways to prevent a variety of accidents.

According to LEPC chairman J.W. Simmons, the local group attempts to identify hazards, but at the same time uses information and speculates as to what might become hazardous. Identifying available resources and funding to meet those needs is the next step.

The LEPC met last month to discuss the grant provisions as they have in years past and recommended purchasing Orator Plus Software and equipment required to make the software functional for emergency planning at a cost of $8,050. Also requested were funds, $595 in total, to conduct a tabletop exercise to train emergency personnel on the proper use of the equipment.

According to officials, the Orator Plus would be a valuable tool in helping the county’s first responders identify, plan and prepare for incidents to which they may respond.

Originally designed for use in courtroom litigation, Orator Plus offers interactive multimedia presentations encompassing a range of other uses. Presentation can be made, interweaving real-time media throughout.

“What this grant does is basically enhance our ability to not only test, but observe, our response times to emergency disaster situations with the county resources we have,” said Simmons.

The Orator Plus would also give much needed insight to first responders — firefighters, rescue personnel and others — on how to prepare for any incident and to get the situation quickly under control, so first responders can return to normal operations.

Simmons said the equipment would allow local departments to “ramp that tabletop exercise up in technology,” providing an “immediate interaction” through the multimedia.

“It is visually in front of you, which enhances the ability to know where to deploy or assign various personnel for better extraction and response,” Simmons said.

“The Sampson County LEPC is aware that in the event of a hazardous material disaster, multiple partners, such as EMS, fire, local hospital, the county health department, law enforcement and local businesses could all be involved in the situation,” the LEPC’s statement of work for the grant reads. “Therefore, the more prepared these community partners are to handle a disaster, the better the chances are for a less disastrous outcome.”

The LEPC recommended, and the county commissioners subsequently authorized, an application in the amount of $8,645. That figure is well over the $4,029 budgeted by the committee, according to Ray Honrine, emergency management director for Sampson County.

The HMEP grant does not require a match, but the county would be responsible for paying related expenses as approved up front. If approved, additional funding in the amount of $4,616 will be needed to pay the unbudgeted balance in the interim until the full reimbursement cost can be sought from the state, Honrine stated.

The grant will help continue to fulfill the goals of the Sampson County LEPC, Simmons said.

“The committee is there primarily so the public has information as it pertains to hazards and dangers that may exist in our communities,” he noted. “The committee itself is about identifying those, not only for emergency responders, but for the community at large.”

Any emergency situation, or what might present itself as a potential hazard, is addressed by the committee, which is made up of local emergency personnel and those working in the public sector and within local city and county departments.

“One of the key goals is inclusivity,” said Simmons, who noted each person brings a “significant amount” of knowledge in their respective fields to the table. “They each represent a key element in Sampson County and any problematic issues that might come up. We look at those things and look at them in a very factual way, anything that might negatively impact our neighborhoods and how we can affect that.”

When any hazardous issue strikes, he noted, lack of action could prove far more meaningful.

Issues addressed at the committee’s meeting in October — it meets on a quarterly basis — covered topics ranging from air quality, smoke detectors, H1N1 response and vaccines and a possible expansion of Community Emergency Response Teams.

“One of our roles is to continue to identify these things and have some accountability,” Simmons said.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.