How New Hanover County officials are constantly improving safety procedures

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — After a shooting at a Virginia Beach government building killed 12 people Friday, how are our own government officials staying safe?

Officials with the New Hanover County Government Center say they have spent years working on a detailed plan for all types of emergencies, adding to it constantly. They say preparing for a safety emergency is an around the clock effort.

The government center had a scare of its own back in August when an alert went out about an active shooter.

Director of Emergency Management and 911 Steven Still says they keep on making improvements to their procedures.

“Two or three months ago we brought an employee in really to look at New Hanover County facilities in a safety and risk management perspective,” Still said. “To number one, help shepherd that plan to make sure it stays current and updated.”

Second, Still says, to focus on communication between staff, and training for these situations.

During the August false alarm, their emergency alert system was triggered.

“What we have done is just taken the ‘This is a drill’ message off and if an activation was to occur, the full message is going to be echoed over the loudspeakers here at the government center that this is an actual event,” Still said.

Now, Still says the alert system is only activated by their 911 center.

As for law enforcement response, there isn’t a police department or sheriff’s office next door, but Lieutenant Jerry Brewer, with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, says the false alarm showed how quickly they react.

“When that went off, we had a really, really good response,” Brewer said. “What was really good to see, any time you have something like that if it was in real time, which that was, you have a multi-agency response.”

As for what might come next, Still is not sure.

“That’s a reality,” Still said. “We have to start looking at whether it’s metal detectors or security, or just surveillance in those areas. That’s something that we do have to consider. It’s just unfortunate.”

Still says he is confident with the training and safety procedures the county has in place.

He says their plans apply to every county building in the community, not just the government center.