Episode 81: Voices from the Field: National Preparedness Month 2024

Narrator: You're listening to Public Safety First, a podcast to help you learn about the First Responder Network Authority and how you can be part of the future of public safety technology.

And now, your host.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Welcome to the Public Safety First podcast. I'm Bruce Fitzgerald. I lead the emergency management community within the First Responder Network Authority. We have many former emergency managers here at FirstNet Authority, with over 155 years of combined experience among our group. I'm very pleased today to be joined by Trevin Hunter, the assistant director for the Louisville Metro Emergency Services Department in Kentucky. Trevin has more than 15 years of public safety experience, and throughout his career he's been an EMT, a public safety telecommunicator, and an emergency manager. He works with us on the FirstNet Authority as part of our Emergency Management Cohort, providing real world insights on broadband needs for emergency managers. Our EM cohort helps us tailor engagements and materials to meet the needs of emergency managers in the field. I'm pleased to have Trevin join me today to talk about National Preparedness Month and to celebrate emergency managers. Trevin, welcome to the podcast.

Trevin Hunter: Thanks, Bruce. It's great to be here.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at Louisville Metro Emergency Services.

Trevin Hunter: Well, I think the first thing we have to address is, is how you're saying Louisville. We got to get that pronunciation right so everybody knows that you're talking about the right city.

So yeah, like you mentioned, I'm at Louisville Metro Emergency Services where I serve as an assistant director. Primarily my responsibility is for technology in our regional radio system. To give some background on what Louisville Metro Emergency Services is, it's sort of a parent agency that covers 9-1-1, 3-1-1 — which is our non-emergency call center for the city. It encompasses Louisville Metro emergency medical services [EMS], the Office of Special Events, and it also encompasses emergency management. So, we get to do a little bit of everything at emergency services. And I think that's why it's a great place to be.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Sounds like you're pretty busy in Louisville. Did I get it?

Trevin Hunter: There you go. You're almost there. It has been busy recently. So, our 9-1-1 PSAP [Public Service Answering Points], we take about 1.3 million calls a year. That's emergency and non-emergency. We've recently implemented a new computer aided dispatch program in the 9-1-1 center, and we are constantly making updates to our regional radio system.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Excellent. Let's talk about you and your career. How did you get into public safety and why did you get involved with emergency management?

Trevin Hunter: So, you know, as a kid, I was always interested in public safety from watching reruns of all those shows. So, you know, I knew that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be able to help people and make a difference in my community. Being able to make a difference is an excellent feeling. So, right out of high school, I started at a volunteer fire department in southern Indiana. Did that for a few years while also working as a dispatcher for a private ambulance company. Rose through the ranks there a little bit. Transitioned to a smaller municipality dispatch center. Did that for four years. And then in early 2017, I joined Louisville Metro as a dispatcher initially. After going through the academy there and the field training, I was promoted to a position we call Computer Aided Dispatch [CAD] Analyst. And that's the people that take care of the technology behind 9-1-1, from the CAD system to the 911 phone system to the staffing, the emergency operations center, helping with everything that goes on in there that's technology related. So, I did that for 3 or 4 years and in October of 2022, I was asked to take the role of assistant director overseeing the CAD analysts radio system. And here we are today.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Nice. Definitely sounds like it was a calling for you. Some people say you got the bug.

Trevin Hunter: That's right, that's right. And nobody in my family has ever worked in public safety. So, I find that to be unusual.

Bruce Fitzgerald: That's even better. As you look back at your career so far, what's your proudest moment or your greatest accomplishment?

Trevin Hunter: You know, when I think about my career, I like to think that I'm able to bridge two things that I enjoy and bring them together. And that's public safety and technology. You know, it's not very often that being in your early 30s you've attained your dream job. So, being where I'm at, doing what I get to do, it feels great. It feels right. And to me, that's my personal proudest moment is just being able to be where I am today.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Let's talk about a difficult challenge that you might have had. Talk about an experience where you had to use that technology, maybe during an emergency or a disaster.

Trevin Hunter: I think there's countless opportunities to display. Being the major metropolitan within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we are asked to deploy around the state to assist with major incidents. So, one that comes to my mind immediately is the Mayfield, Kentucky, tornadoes that took place, I believe it was December of 2021. We were able to respond and serve as part of the incident management team. And getting out there, it's in the middle of western Kentucky. No cell service because of the devastating effects of the tornado. So, in figuring out how to establish a common operating picture where the area command could see what's going on at the tornado. I think that was just an eye-opening event to actually using the tools we have that stand by at the ready when they're needed.

Bruce Fitzgerald: For sure. I think about that a lot with emergency management being, you know, often based in an EOC [emergency operations center], in a building somewhere that's not directly at the incident scene, but it's so important to have that situational awareness and you're constantly trying to get information from the field. And so, how do you do that when, you know, as you say, the communications are completely out from a tornado or hurricane, something like that. So, it's definitely a challenge.

Trevin Hunter: It is. And there's lots of great partners. And having those relationships developed ahead of time, I think, allows you to put those into play much quicker than if you're trying to develop those relationships on the day of the incident.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Yeah. That's huge. So, September is National Preparedness Month. Could you talk to us about the importance of preparedness in emergency management and how highlighting it during the month of September can help educate your community on this phase of emergency management.

Trevin Hunter: Yeah, I think preparedness is vital. In early July in Louisville, we had a tornado touchdown that did not have any warning from the National Weather Service. It was a very brief storm that came out and did damage to about a four-block area in northwestern Jefferson County. So, there was no tornado warning for that. It was not radar indicated. It just came right down. And I think it's important that you work with your community to help them to prepare. That way, they're able to be resilient during an incident like that.

Some people may say, well, how do you help them prepare? And one thing that comes to my mind is taking advantage of social media and determining how you're going to share inclusive preparedness messaging that works for all the different populations in your community. So, use September to be a test on how you would be able to communicate with those vulnerable populations during an actual emergency. So, if that's, you know, having special messaging for different languages, to visually impaired, to hearing impaired. I think you've got to take all of that into account so that your messaging is able to be utilized by everyone.

Bruce Fitzgerald: It's a great idea. You're almost doing two things at once. You're actually exercising your capabilities. Plus, you're getting the word out.

Trevin Hunter: Exactly.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Yep. No, that's great. How do we recognize the work that emergency managers themselves do? Do you have any messages for your staff, or your peers, your partners in emergency management?

Trevin Hunter: You know, the emergency management world, it's a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts. So, I think it's important for them to get the recognition that they deserve, because it's a lot of behind the scenes that people don't see, they don't realize. And it's important for the emergency management world to be out there on display. So, take advantage of it. You know, go talk to your agencies that you work with and let them know what capabilities you have and what you can do for them and what they can do for you. Make sure you're involved in those pre-planning discussions with the police department and the fire department and EMS, 9-1-1 and that everybody's coming to the table to understand what each other can do.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Yeah, I think you said it well earlier, you never want to be meeting these folks for the first time in the middle of the emergency.

Trevin Hunter: 100%.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Trevin, is there anything else that you wanted to share with us today or with the audience is listening for our podcast today?

Trevin Hunter: You know, I think it's important that everyone takes time to participate in the emergency management world. You know, participate in these various emergency management associations. Go to the training, go to the exercises, and get involved. Just put yourself out there. There's always an opportunity to learn and take something new away from it.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Absolutely. And those opportunities I think are everywhere. They're regional. They're national. I think there's always something going on.

Trevin Hunter: Exactly. It is what you make it. So, make the best of it.

Bruce Fitzgerald: Perfect, perfect. Trevin, thank you so much for joining us today and for helping celebrate emergency managers and helping us recognize National Preparedness Month. We're grateful for the work that you're doing and for your partnership. And I'm sure that people in Louisville are very grateful for the work that you're doing as well.

Trevin Hunter: Well, thanks for having me on, Bruce. I really enjoyed it.

Narrator: Thanks for listening today. We're excited to have you join our podcast community. Make sure to subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, and YouTube. You can learn more about the First Responder Network Authority at FirstNet.gov and learn about FirstNet products and services at FirstNet.com.