Category Archives: WC Emergency Management Agency
Williamson County Emergency Management Names New External Affairs Officer
Williamson County Emergency Management (WCEMA) is excited to announce Jill Burgin as the new External Affairs Officer for the agency.
Burgin, a deep-rooted Williamson County resident, comes to WCEMA from The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County as their Director of Advocacy and Government Relations and has over 15 years of previous communications experience as a journalist. She also served as the Mayor of Brentwood from 2017 to 2019.
“We are extremely grateful to have Jill on our team,” says WCEMA Director Todd Horton, “She has served Williamson County in many capacities, as a journalist, public servant, and advocate over the years. We know that she will do the same in her new role with WCEMA; communicating before, during and after disasters that impact our community.”
Burgin has a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University, English Education. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Memphis in Journalism.
The External Affairs office numbers have not changed. You can contact Jill via phone at (615) 721-3003 or email her at jill.burgin@williamsoncounty-tn.gov
WILLIAMSON COUNTY RESCUE SQUAD BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPOINTS NEW CHIEF
The Williamson County Rescue Squad Board of Directors appointed Robert “Bob” Galoppi Jr. as the Chief of the Williamson County Rescue Squad at a special called board meeting on March 8th.
Bob Galoppi has served in the fire service since 1984. Galoppi began his career in the fire service by serving as a fire cadet at the age of 16 for the Hauppage Fire Department on Long Island in New York. He continued this work as well as attending the Suffolk County Police Academy to begin a career in law enforcement. After serving as a volunteer firefighter and patrol officer, Galoppi moved to middle Tennessee in 1998 and began his work with the Hendersonville Fire Department. While at Hendersonville, Galoppi served as the head of Homeland Security, coordinated the city’s emergency management operations, conducted fire investigations, and supported many other functions of the department, and was then promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief.
In the year 2000, he joined the Williamson County Rescue Squad in order to continue his work as a volunteer firefighter. Although Galoppi was working full-time for Hendersonville Fire, he was passionate about serving the community in which he lived. With the rapid growth happening in Williamson County, he knew the importance of creating a fire codes and prevention program for the county volunteer fire service. He is proud to have established and maintained this program for the past 22 years in Williamson County serving as the Fire Marshal for all volunteer fire departments in the county. Upon his appointment, Galoppi stated “I am humbled to be chosen as the chief of the Williamson County Rescue Squad. It is a privilege to serve not only as a firefighter, but also as chief. Thank you for entrusting me with this role.”
Currently, Galoppi works at Mars Petcare as the Health Safety Environmental Lead in which he is responsible for the development, management and execution of Safety, Environmental & Security within two of Mars sites (Mars Petcare North American HQ and the Global Innovation Center).
Most currently, Galoppi has served as Assistant Chief and Interim Chief (along with Assistant Chief Bill Almon) of the Williamson County Rescue Squad. During this time, he has been working together with Assistant Chief Almon to better the Department in creating improved programs for response, training, prevention, and equipment management/maintenance and working directly with the Board President to ensure continuity of business and public safety and continuing to liaison with other public safety agencies both at the local, state, and federal levels.
President of the WCRS Board, Jamie Carter, stated, “We want to thank both Assistant Chief’s Bill Almon and Bob Galoppi for serving in an interim capacity while the Board went through an extensive interview process. Chief Galoppi will lead us into the future with strategic vision and operational excellence that will serve the citizens in all of our WCRS districts. Coupled with the fantastic leadership that we have in our assistant chiefs, captains and lieutenants, our organization, due to all of our volunteers, is poised for success now and for the future.”
From:
Dinah Wade
Public Information Officer
Williamson County Rescue Squad
Inclement Weather Closing for WCPLS
The Williamson County Public Library System will be closed on Sunday, January 16, 2022, due to the inclement weather and on Monday, January 17, for the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday.
Material due dates will be adjusted. Please do not risk yourself trying to return materials. No late fees will be charged for materials that were due on January 16, 2022. Items on hold may be picked up on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
Visit our eLibrary for online materials and more to enjoy on a cold, wintry day: https://www.wcpltn.org/232/eLibrary-Books-and-More. Check out the ebooks and more in Tennessee READS and Hoopla plus entertain the kids with the activities in TumbleBooks.
If you need assistance with online access, please message us on Facebook or Twitter or send an email to our Reference Account, reference.library@williamsoncounty-tn.gov. We will respond as soon as we can.
The Williamson County Emergency Management Agency has winter preparedness and up-to-date County information on their Facebook page, Twitter account, and at their website, williamsonready.org.
The Middle Tennessee Electric power outage map can be found at: https://www.mtemc.com/ServiceConcerns.
Thank you for your understanding and be safe.
Williamson County Health Department Holiday Closures
Testing and Vaccination operations will be suspended Dec 23rd & 24th and Dec 31st and Jan 3rd for the Holidays.
Normal operations will resume on Tuesday, January 4, 2022:
Williamson County Collecting Damage Reports Following Severe Weather Event
Residents can submit damage reports through Williamson County Emergency Management’s online survey to assist with damage assessments.
The Williamson County Emergency Management Agency (WCEMA) is looking for the public’s assistance to document damages resulting from the storms Saturday morning, December 11th. The information will be used to assist the department in collecting consolidated impact information and for the National Weather Service as they assess the damage.
Residents can report damage through the established online damage survey: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/3b1684f8beaa4015a2647741f5d82506
WCEMA has also recently embedded the form on their storm impacts page at http://www.williamsonready.org/261/Current-Emergency-Information.
This survey can be used year-round during severe weather events. The survey will collect specific information about:
• What is damaged
• Types of damage
• Extent of damage
• Location
• Contact Information
“We want the community to know that they can use this survey whenever Williamson County suffers from a severe weather event,” says WCEMA Director Todd Horton, “This survey helps us better understand the impacts to our community and gives everyone a place to go with the information that they have.”
According to the National Weather Service, this storm produced heavy rain, tornado warnings, and straight line winds. Some of the impacts included downed or damaged trees, power lines, and some structure damages.
For more information about WCEMA and to register for the Williamson County Emergency Alert System, visit http://www.williamsonready.org.
Williamson County Rescue Squad Chief Bowman Retires After 20 Years of Service
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TN – After 20 years of dedicated service as the Chief of the
Williamson County Rescue Squad, Todd Bowman retired on December 7th. Chief Bowman
joined the Rescue Squad in 1991. He was named Rookie of the Year and quickly began to rise
through the ranks of the department.
Bowman was appointed as Chief in 2001. During his tenure as chief, Bowman saw the population of Williamson County grow from 128,000 people to approximately 238,000 people as of 2019 according to the United States Census Bureau. Due to the large increase in population, 4 additional stations were added to the department during Bowman’s term as chief.
At the December Membership Meeting of the Williamson County Rescue Squad, Bowman was
presented with an ax and plaque thanking him for his years of service as chief of the department.
Bowman spoke of several memorable incidents including the save of an individual from a
structure fire, the 2010 flood, and the management of 2 different tornado events.
He expressed his appreciation to the late Chief Eddie House who served as the Assistant Chief during Bowman’s tenure.
Although Bowman is retiring as Chief, he plans to continue his service with the Williamson
County Rescue Squad as a Lifetime Member as well as operate Bowman’s Transmission Shop in
Franklin.
Williamson Fire-Rescue Asks Community to Address Fireplace Safety
Williamson Fire-Rescue volunteer firefighters have responded to three fireplace-related house fires in Williamson County over the last thirty days. There were no injuries from these fires, but each fire caused significant structural damage.
“These fires could have been prevented with proper maintenance of the chimney,” says Williamson County Fire Coordinator Jay Bonson. “When we see an uptick in house fires that have a common cause, we are reminded of how important it is that we continue to communicate fire safety to our community.”
According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America, slow-burning chimney fires are not distinctly visible and can go undetected until a later chimney inspection. However, they can reach high temperatures that cause damage to the chimney structure and nearby combustible parts of the house.
Indications of a chimney fire include:
- Loud cracking, popping and rumbling noises
- Dense smoke
- Hot smell
- Shooting or explosive flames
It is critical to call 9-1-1 immediately if you believe you might have a chimney fire so that first responders can quickly extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to the rest of the home.
“Often, residents try to put out the fire themselves before calling 9-1-1,” Bonson states. “By the time responders arrive, the fire has already spread and caused substantial damage to the home.”
Outdoor and indoor chimneys and fireplaces should be inspected at least once a year and cleaned as necessary, based on frequency of use and the buildup of combustible residues such as creosote.
For more information on chimney fire prevention, visit https://www.csia.org/chimneyfires.html
Wilco First Responders Certified in Crisis Intervention
Wilco First Responders Certified
in Crisis Intervention
Eighteen Williamson County First Responders graduated from the first Williamson County CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training course held this week in Franklin, TN. Officers from Brentwood PD, Franklin PD, Fairview PD, Spring Hill PD, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office and EMS attended a weeklong advanced training to be certified as CIT Officers.
Crisis Intervention Team Programs are community-based programs that bring law enforcement together with mental health professionals, mental health advocates and other partners to improve community responses to mental health crisis. The goal is to improve safety for both parties during interactions between law enforcement and people experiencing a mental health crisis and to increase connections to effective and timely mental health services.
CIT officers certified in Williamson County can be identified by a round pin on their uniforms allowing a person experiencing a mental health crisis to identify officers with advanced training. This is worn in hopes of starting the de-escalation process and help provide some comfort to the person experiencing the crisis.
CIT Certification courses will continue to be offered to Deputies/Officers interested in the advanced training, in an effort to certify as many as possible. The County based training helps to ensure that all officers in Williamson County, regardless of the Agency, receive the same high quality training and provide consistent service to people in Williamson County. The training is provided through the Williamson County CIT Task Force, which is comprised of Officers from Franklin PD, Spring Hill PD, WCSO and Mental Health professionals and advocates who serve Williamson County.
For more information contact: Sharon Puckett, Public Information Administrator, Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, 408 Century Court, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 440-3310 sharon.puckett@williamsoncounty-tn.gov 
Pfizer Vaccine Ages 5-11
FYI, the Williamson County Health Department and other departments in the Mid-Cumberland have not yet received the lower-dose Pfizer vaccine for the new age group. They are expected to Friday, with vaccinations beginning Monday.
Direct everyone to vaccines.gov to find availability.
Williamson County Emergency Management Agency
304 Beasley Dr. Franklin, TN 37064
Free Flu Shot Event Planned Tuesday, November 9 to “FightFluTN”
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Williamson County Health Department will hold a special “FightFluTN” event on Tuesday, November 9th to provide flu shots at no charge to increase the number of people vaccinated against influenza in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health urges all Tennesseans ages six months and older who have not yet received a flu shot to get one as soon as possible.
Below is information on the location in Williamson County offering free flu vaccines on November 9th.
No appointments are needed to get a flu shot during this event. COVID-19 testing will not be available during flu vaccination hours but self-test kits will be disseminated at the site. COVID-19 vaccinations will resume at the Ag Center from 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
Flu shot locations and plans vary by county. Find a map of local #FightFluTN flu shot locations and contact information online at tn.gov/health/cedep/immunization-program/ip/flu-in-tennessee/influenza-immunization.html.
The Tennessee Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a yearly flu vaccine for everyone aged six months and older. Learn more about fighting seasonal flu at cdc.gov/flu/consumer/prevention.htm.
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