Jan. 4—A recent motor vehicle attack in New Orleans and a truck explosion in Las Vegas have highlighted concerns about event security.
Ashtabula County Sheriff William Niemi said the department works the Ashtabula County Fair, which is significant for the county, but is smaller than events in larger cities.
‘We train on critical incident matters,” he said. “We train for responses to it.”
Niemi said the sheriff’s office tries to be prepared for anything.
The sheriff’s office works with Lake and Geauga counties, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Marshal’s Office and the FBI, Niemi said.
Niemi said many local venues have their own security, which works with the sheriff’s office.
Ashtabula County Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Fitchet said the agency prepares for the worst when working county events.
“You have to plan for everything,” he said.
Fitchet said the county EMA plans to manage resources in the instance of a mass casualty event.
“We get asked to work on numerous events,” he said.
The agency works on crowd control, and develops safety plans for events across the county, including D-Day Conneaut, the county fair and the Geneva Grape Jamboree.
Fitchet said the agency often plans how many ambulances people would need, and what hospitals they would have to go to.
“We go out and coordinate the events with the safety forces,” he said.
Fitchet encouraged people to be aware of their surroundings, whether at a major event or otherwise.
“You have to plan for everything,” he said.
The power and accessibility of cars are what makes motor vehicle attacks possible, Fitchet said.
Fitchet said people should point out possible suspicious behavior.
Geneva Recreation Director Myke Dowd, who organizes Geneva Winterfest, said she gives the Geneva Police Department the maps and time frames for the event.
“I just inform them of everything that’s going on,” she said.
From there, the police plan for safety concerns.
Dowd said safety is different for county events, because they’re much smaller than ones in New Orleans or New York.
Dowd said Winterfest gets around 500 people.
The Conneaut Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors the city’s yearly Christmas parade, and Executive Director Wendy DuBey said the chamber calls Conneaut safety forces to cordon off roads for the event.
“They just take care of all that for us,” she said.
DuBey said the Conneaut Fire and Police departments are great at keeping chamber events safe.