Incoming EM Director Fuller pushes hurricane season preparedness

Reporter: Erika Jackson
Published: Updated:
A boat sits amidst debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP photo)
A boat sits amidst debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. (AP photo)

Hurricane season is less than two weeks away and responders are not taking any chances. Charlotte County Emergency Management trains year round but is focusing on hurricane preparedness this week as the agency transitions into new leadership.

The Charlotte County Emergency Operations Center works non-stop throughout a storm to keep you and your family safe.

Charlotte County native Patrick Fuller will take over the county’s retiring emergency management director next month. The official start date is June 29. He will work alongside the current director, Jerry Mallet, until September when he retires.

His first order of business is opening a new hurricane shelter in a new building at the Harold Avenue Recreation Center slated for use within the next month.

“We need to expand our shelter capacity,” Fuller said, “and we’ve made some strides in that.”

Fuller and the emergency management team also want to develop stronger relationships with non-profit agencies to help people in need after a major storm.

“Sort of a central clearinghouse for people who have unmet needs,” Fuller said.

Fuller and outgoing Director Mallet are training nearly 150 county staff members this week to put all resources into one database and is scheduling mock hurricane activation scenarios for next month.

The plan is paramount as preparations for a big storm starts from the ground up.

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