Hermiston has a tailor-made emergency plan

By on Monday, August 30th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON – The Hermiston Police Department is seeking accreditation, which will soon be required of all law enforcement agencies in Oregon. One step is having an emergency plan in place that sets out how police and other agencies will respond to various emergencies.

The obvious emergencies include active shooters and extreme weather. Edmiston said there are a couple of things that wouldn’t apply in most big cities, though. One example is fertilizer plants.

“We have one south of town that I think in the last 15 or 20 years, has burned twice that I’m aware of and did cause some evacuations,” he said.

Another concern is freight that travels through Hermiston.

“You never know what’s on a rail car,” he said. “This is one of those times where law enforcement really does let fire take the lead.”