Response vehicle arrives in Craighead County

Jonesboro — Within the partnership of Craighead County and the City of Jonesboro, along with funding provided by the Federal Department of Homeland Security through the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day presents the keys for the new Weapons of Mass Destruction response vehicle to Jonesboro Fire Chief Marty Hamrick. Also pictured are Captain Tommy Hall, response team commander, and Anthony Coy, Director of Emergency Management for Craighead County.

With Jonesboro Fire Department’s willingness to provide the personnel and expertise for the regional response team, Craighead County becomes eligible for federal funds to equip and train the team. The northeast response area covers seventeen counties in the northeast corner of the state. There are four other response teams strategically located across the state. For this year and last, the grant funds have provided just shy of one million dollars to Craighead County, all of which were one hundred percent reimbursed.

One very important benefit is that when the vehicle and equipment are not in response to an incident with a potential unknown substance in another county, the equipment can be used here in Craighead County to support the Jonesboro Hazardous Materials team and our local responders.