The Ohio Environmental Agency Spill Report phone number is 1-800-282-9378. This will prompt an Ohio EPA Emergency Response person to start investigating the matter. The local fire department should also be notified as they may be able to help slow or stop the progression of the substance until the responsible party is identified. The responsible party is required by Ohio law to contract with a private environmental clean-up company to correct the situation under the guidance of the Ohio EPA.

Although individual cities may declare their own “snow emergency,” the County Sheriff may, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 311.07, declare a “snow emergency” and temporarily close any township, municipal, county, US interstate, or state roads within his/her jurisdiction for the preservation of public peace. Any person who violates a snow emergency order is subject to prosecution of Ohio Revised Code Section 2917.13. In Wood County, the Sheriff has defined snow emergencies by the following levels: LEVEL I – SNOW ALERT Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads may also be icy. Drive very cautiously. LEVEL II – SNOW ADVISORY Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow and/or icy conditions. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roadways. Contact your employer to see if you should report to work. LEVEL III – SNOW EMERGENCY All Municipal, Township, County, State, and US routes in Wood County are closed to non-emergency personnel. No one should be out during these conditions. Those traveling on the roadways may subject themselves to arrest. All employees should contact their employer to see if they should report to work. Only employees designated by their employer as “essential” may go to work but only if their route is passable. In Wood County, the Sheriff consults with the County Engineer, County Highway Garage, Municipalities, his/her Deputies, and the EMA Director prior to issuing and cancelling snow emergencies.

It is everyone’s personal responsibility to pre-plan where to take shelter when there is threatening weather. Pre-planning must be done well in advance of severe weather threatening your area. Mobile homes provide little protection in high wind events and tornadoes. Mobile home resident pre-plan’s should include relocating to a more sturdy structure prior to severe weather arriving in the area. Make arrangements with family or friends who have a more sturdy structure (preferably with a basement) to stay with them during the storm. If that type of arrangement is not possible, seek shelter in any type of structure that is more sturdy than a mobile home and open to the public such as a retail business, gas station, convenience store, or other type of structure that is open to the public. Although these types of buildings do not provide “ideal” underground protection, they are still more sturdy than a mobile home. When seeking shelter in a larger building such as a retail business, try to locate to a smaller room/area in the building that provides better protection from building collapse. Designated public storm shelters are few and far between anymore due to numerous issues preventing them including liability. This is why it is important to take personal responsibility for yourself and pre-plan your sheltering options.

There are two different “levels” of all-hazards radios that you can purchase. These include economically priced radios and moderately priced radios. The basic difference between the two is that the “moderately priced” radios all you to select what specific notices you would like to receive on your radio. The “economically priced” radio will give all notifications for your area. Either radio should also include “S.A.M.E.” technology. “S.A.M.E.” technology allows you to program the radio for your specific county or any additional neighboring counties that you would like to receive notices for. All-hazards weather radios with “S.A.M.E.” technology can be purchased in most electronics stores including the “big box” stores and some grocery stores.

In Wood County, the Outdoor Warning Sirens are owned and maintained by the local governmental entity in which the sirens are located. The Outdoor Warning Sirens are activated by the Sheriff’s office Communications Center for both actual events and siren testing. The only exception to this is the sirens in the City of Perrysburg which are activated by the City of Perrysburg.

The Outdoor Warning Sirens in Wood County are tested the first Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m. On occasion, the testing date/time may need to be scheduled for another time, but every effort will be made to notify the public via local media outlets and social networking sites.

The sirens that are activated for tornado warnings are called “Outdoor Warning Sirens” and their purpose (and design) are only to provide a notice of an emergency to people who are outside of structures. People inside of structures should not rely on Outdoor Warning Sirens as their primary means of being alerted to an emergency. All-hazards weather radios are your best means of being notified indoors of an emergency especially when it comes to severe weather events.