ASHLAND, Ky. — Various Ashland Community and Technical College leaders and key players from the Boyd County community, including Boyd County Emergency Management Services, met on Sept. 2 to review important emergency procedures and participate in a joint table-top discussion-based exercise to assess preparedness in the event that the college would experience a crisis situation.

This exercise is led by Centurion Solutions facilitators as part of the KCTCS Campus Resilience Program and gauges current plans, operational coordination, physical protective measures and intelligence and information sharing.

Paul Seasor, ACTC Director of Maintenance, Operations, Safety and Security, stated this meeting is the culmination of a year and a half long project to revise the current ACTC Emergency Operations Plan.

“Our folks are working hard to make sure that college and community leaders are prepared to react in the event of a disaster situation,” Seasor said. “Our key focus today is planning our response to a hazardous material incident near our College Drive Campus.”

The team learned about concepts and principles of the National Incident Management System and utilizing the Incident Command System for the management of emergency events in accordance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive – 5.

Dr. Larry Ferguson, President and CEO of ACTC said the plan provides the opportunity for the Ashland Community and Technical College community to respond to and recover from disasters quickly and efficiently.

Thus, the plan provides a means to minimize the impact of an incident while saving and maximizing the effectiveness of College resources.

“Protecting the safety and security of our college community is a responsibility we can only fulfill by working together,” Ferguson said. “College leadership is committed to joining with you in our efforts to meet that shared responsibility.”