FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LA-TERT Team Deployed from Louisiana to
Baldwin County, Alabama to Assist with
Emergency Communications During Hurricane Sally
NEW ORLEANS, LA (September 16, 2020) – Members of the Louisiana Telecommunications Emergency Response Team (LA-TERT ) were deployed from Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) headquarters in New Orleans to Baldwin County, Alabama to assist Baldwin County 9-1-1 with emergency communications during Hurricane Sally.
To view the press conference of the announcement, click here.
Baldwin County, Alabama, and the surrounding jurisdiction, have been heavily impacted by Hurricane Sally. At Approximately 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, Baldwin Country 9-1-1 leadership made a request to the Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce national leadership requesting assistance. Within 20 minutes of the request being made, teams in Louisiana and Tennessee were sourced for deployment.
This deployment of LA-TERT stands as the first instance in the organization’s history that one of its teams has been called upon to assist with emergency communications during an emergency event.
“This is the moment our team has been waiting for,” states OPCD Executive Director and LA-TERT State Coordinator, Tyrell Morris. During Hurricane Katrina, many public safety agencies came to the aid of our residents. Our team sees this as an opportunity to pay that support and kindness forward. We are all in this together. Whether we are needed at home in Louisiana, across state lines, or all the way across the country, we are here to help.”
The LA-TERT team, which includes four OPCD emergency communications specialists, departed for Baldwin County from OPCD headquarters at approximately 6:00 p.m. Wednesday evening. The scheduled deployment will be for a duration of seven days, from September 16, 2020 until September 23, 2020.
During deployment, the LA-TERT team will fulfill a mission to provide emergency communications support to ensure 9-1-1 system integrity and continuity of operations for Baldwin County 9-1-1. The team will include resources for emergency communications call taking, dispatching, technology and incident management.
The LA-TERT team members deployed include:
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- Gwen Douglas – Orleans Parish Communication District
- Amy Pope – Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office
- Teri Clark – Orleans Parish Communication District
- Brandi Landry – Orleans Parish Communication District
- Amanda Darensbourg – Orleans Parish Communication District
- Jacob Little – Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office
- Nina Pearson – St. Landry Parish Communication District
- Karen Martin – Orleans Parish Communication District
About National Telecommunication Emergency Response Taskforce (www.njti-tert.org)
NJTI, LLC is a partnership between APCO and NENA dedicated to the promotion of Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) programs that satisfy deployable status criteria for telcommunicator mutual aid response during disasters.
The NJTI, along with the NENA Contingency Planning Committee, developed the content for the American National Standard, APCO/NENA ANS 1.105.2-2015 Standard for Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT). The NJTI continues it work to help states develop state program.
Learn about TERT, its history, how to develop a program in your state, deployment stories and much more. For more information, please contact [email protected]
About the Orleans Parish Communication District (www.OPCDLA.gov)
Formed in 1982, the Orleans Parish Communication District is the PSAP for all emergency communications via 9-1-1, and non-emergency communications via 3-1-1, within Orleans Parish. The agency employs over 150 individuals and provides emergency medical dispatch, emergency fire dispatch, and emergency police dispatch for the millions of annual visitors and residents of the City of New Orleans. OPCD is a member of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
The Mission of OPCD is to get the Right People to the Right Place at the Right Time, Better than Anybody Else in the World.
OPCD Contact:
Marcus W. Creel, MS
OPCD Public Engagement Manager
601.319.2024
[email protected]
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