DAS employees briefed
on disaster readiness
-- GSD Office of State Purchasing, January 2003

As part of DAS' commitment to the state's Emergency Operations Plan, DAS employees were given a behind-the-scenes look at disaster readiness.

The GSD Office of State Purchasing and Ohio's Emergency Management Agency held the briefing for DAS employees Jan. 8 at OEMA headquarters in Columbus.

State Purchasing Administrator Steve Hunter and EMA officials relayed lessons from past disasters including the most recent, a tornado that swept through northwest Ohio last November. They explained the various levels of disaster declarations, and covered the specific roles DAS and other state agencies play in disaster recovery efforts.

DAS' role would include making emergency purchases of all types of supplies and services, providing personnel support for distributing messages within the state Emergency Operations Center and the emergency and donations hotlines, providing video conferencing and microwave communications services, and locating a warehouse to store and distribute donations to the affected areas.

The law permits competitive bidding to be waived during a declared emergency so items can be bought at a moment's notice. The shopping list can include items as basic as buckets and mops or something much larger. For example, DAS was asked to purchase 150 travel trailers on short notice just a few years ago to shelter families flooded out of their houses in southwest Ohio.

Present for the training were 43 staff members representing the Computer Services, General Services and Human Resources Divisions as well as the offices of the Chief Legal Counsel, Communications and Employee Services.