Vienna Fire Chief Steve Scholl, Vienna Police Chief Mike Pifer and Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp appeared before the Wood County Commission Monday with a copy of the city’s emergency plan. As many agencies provide assistance to one another, Vienna officials wanted to be sure the county had an updated copy of their emergency plan. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — Whether in Parkersburg or Vienna, a large-scale emergency can affect the entire community, Vienna city officials told the Wood County Commission on Monday.

Officials from the City of Vienna appeared before the commission to present them with a copy of the city’s emergency plan to help better coordinate efforts among local agencies, if the need would arise.

Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp, Vienna Fire Chief Steve Scholl and Vienna Police Chief Mike Pifer appeared before the commission to discuss the plan and emergency preparedness in the area.

Rapp said the city was revisiting its plan after a number of train derailments have hit nearby areas outside the Mid-Ohio Valley as this area has a number of rail lines in numerous locations and communities.

“We thought it would be a good time to revisit our plan,” Rapp said. “We wanted to be sure we were prepared.”

Vienna city officials and first-responders have had numerous meetings over the last few months to make sure all of their information was up-to-date. The plan was recently approved by Vienna City Council.

“We have reviewed our plan from top to bottom … and based on the information we have gathered we believe we have eliminated every source that was outdated and replaced it with correct information,” Rapp said. “If something were to go bad, we believe we can get the resources we would need quickly.”

Officials said a plan has been approved to add a third lane to Rosemar Road which will help with traffic flow in the area. Rapp said there have been mock disaster drills where plans are in place for a large-scale evacuation utilizing many roadways.

Pifer said it was important to be prepared in an emergency. Their plan outlines what their roles are and what they expect from others.

They wanted the county to have this information to better coordinate efforts in the future, if the need arises.

“The most important thing to update was the contact information,” Pifer said.

Rapp credited the way local towns and communities come together to face large-scale problems as one of the biggest benefits of planning for emergencies.

As in the IEI fire in 2017, multiple fire agencies from around the area came together to fight the fire, a disaster that a single department would not have been able to handle on its own. It took the combined effort of many local departments, Commission President Blair Couch said.

“That is why all those mutual aid agreements are out there,” he said.

Scholl said the area was “blessed” with the cooperation between the first-responders.

“There is not any one organization that can handle everything thrown at them,” he said. “We all work together.

“We want everyone on the same page.”

The county signed off on the plan. The Vienna city officials said they will send back a copy to the county to have on hand, if needed.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com