FANNIN COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
181 Church Street Blue Ridge, Georgia 30513 706-632-1958 Contact: Robert Graham, Director

Report Period: Jan 28 thru Feb 3, 2013

Total Calls answered by 911 Center (including non-emergency) 2086
The following figures represent emergency calls dispatched
Law Enforcement (cities & county) 342
Rescue 44
Fire 49
EMS 82 Total
• McCaysville Ambulance 23
• Blue Ridge Ambulance 38
• Morganton Ambulance 20
*Above EMS numbers do not include non-emergency calls or transfers to other (out of town) hospitals.

On Wednesday January 30, Fannin County 911 answered 488 calls between the hours of 7AM and midnight, 265 of those were from 11AM to 4PM. Most of the calls were related to the storm that passed through the area which has now been determined by National Weather Service to be either an EF0 or EF1 tornado.

Trees were blown down in multiple locations damaging several houses and cars, and knocking down power lines, phone lines, and poles. The storm left several thousand homes without power or phone service and many homes with roof and other damage.

Law enforcement officials from Fannin County Sheriff’s Office, GSP, Blue Ridge City Police, McCaysville Police, DNR, US Forest Service, and 2 officers from Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, along with Fannin County Fire/EMS personnel, both paid and volunteer, responded to calls for help or assistance and blocked or marked areas on roadways where lines were down.

Fannin County Road Department and Blue Ridge Public Works along with Georgia DOT and 3 crews from Pickens County worked quickly to cut and remove trees and get major roads reopened.
Tri-State EMC, TDS Telecom, and Ellijay Telephone Company were also out immediately going to work to restore services to their customers and remove lines and poles from roadways.
The local Red Cross Chapter was called out and had a shelter ready to open had it been needed. Other state and local agencies also stood ready to help if needed.
Luckily, no one reported any serious injury associated with the storm, and all involved agencies and companies should be commended for the quick response during this emergency.

Fire and Rescue Reports

Friday Morning 02/01/13
Call Dispatch Time: 00:35 Call Enroute Time: 00:37 Call Arrival Time: 00:48 Call Clear Time: 03:28

Fannin County Fire Department was dispatched to Cedar Valley Road for the report of a house fire and everyone was out of the house. First unit on scene advised that the house was fully involved. Used 1-3/4 Attack line to extinguish fire. And protect exposures.

Saturday
The Fannin County Fire and EMS and Sheriff’s Office responded to numerous accidents as the snow started to fall and the roads became treacherous. The 911 center starting receiving calls of wrecks throughout Fannin County, with a total of 32 wrecks between 12:00PM and 8:00PM that were reported and many more that were not reported. There were 2 injuries requiring transport by EMS as a result of the accidents.

Saturday Evening
Had two people lost on the trail, not prepared for snow or the night, and their cell phones had no power. Some other campers took them in for the night, and they advised that they did not need our assistance at that point.

Larry Thomas
Fire / Rescue Chief
EMA Deputy Director
706-632-4711 Office