The Paulding County Emergency Management Agency recently took delivery of two, LED Illuminating Light Towers, mounted on a trailer with a 6 KW generator. These two units were purchased with Homeland Security Funds that the Paulding County EMA applied for in 2018. Defiance and Putnam County EMAs received similar light towers as well, with the Homeland Security Grant. These light towers will be used in an event of night time operations at an emergency incident, not only in Paulding County but elsewhere throughout Northwest Ohio.
Less than 10 days after receiving them, on Monday night September 9th, a fire broke out at the Metal X Scrap Metal Facility in Delta, Ohio. Fire departments from Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan responded to the fire. After contacting the Fulton County EMA director, Paulding County responded with the two light towers to Delta Ohio. With the help of Ron of the Paulding County Engineer’s office, both units arrived on scene and were deployed to two of the three dump sites, where tankers from all over the region were hauling water to fight the massive fire. Lighting at a fire scene is critical at night and with the use of the two light towers, firefighters were able to operate safely in dumping countless loads of water throughout Monday night and into the night time hours Tuesday night.
The two light towers are the first of four projects the Paulding County EMA has been working on in the past two years with the Department of Homeland Security and the Ohio EMA. The other items that have been approved for purchase is additional MARCS portable radios for law enforcement, an Ultra Terrain Vehicle and Trailer, and a Mass Casualty Response Trailer. All of these projects are being funded by the Department of Homeland Security. These funds are distributed to each of the 50 states and the Ohio EMA distributes the monies regionally in Ohio.
