Emergency management is the dynamic process of preparing for, mitigating, responding to and recovering from a hazardous emergency or disaster situation. Our job in this department is to be prepared for any disaster that could affect Gibson County.
What we do
We work closely with local county officials such as the County Mayor, County Fire Chief, County EMS Director and County Sheriff. We also work with all 10 cities within Gibson County, including their mayors, police chiefs and fire chiefs. We also work with Humboldt Rescue Squad and Gibson County 911 (Central Control). We work with TEMA (Tennessee Emergency Management Agency) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). We also work with our local HAM radio club to share information during and after a disaster.
The department employs two people. Justin Little was recently appointed as EMA Director. Our previous director, Rickey Graves, is well known in the county and across the state with 24 years of service. Rickey retired in 2025 and continues to serve the department, especially during EOC activations, also serving as our Chaplain. Tiffany Needham, recently hired, serves as our Operations Manager. Together, this team works to support the county, region and state in all capacities of Emergency Management.
Our offices are located in the second floor of the courthouse and our EOC (Emergency Operations Center) is located in the basement of the Emergency Services Complex on Manufacturers Row.
Our wide array of duties include:
- Monitoring the weather and informing the public of impending hazards through various outlets such as social media and storm sirens (we test these sirens weekly on Saturdays at noon and sound the sirens when any area of the county is under a tornado warning). We stay in close contact with the National Weather Service to assist them with storm reports and relaying real-time weather conditions in the county utilizing several of our own cameras located in Trenton, Humboldt and Kenton and cameras in adjacent areas. We perform surveys of damages received from storms and assist our citizens and public infrastructure in acquiring help after a disaster.
- Responding to any hazardous materials disasters that occur within the county.
- Facilitating our Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). Our LEPC works with emergency services and with businesses and organizations around the county that use hazardous materials to implement emergency response plans to ensure public safety in the event of a chemical emergency. We also take part in our regional LEPC that facilitates a conference each year.
- Deploying our communications trailer throughout the county or region in case a command post is needed during or after an emergency. The comms trailer is also deployed for events that involve large crowds of people, like the Gibson County Fair and the Strawberry Festival. It is equipped with radio and dispatch equipment needed for central dispatch. It also has cameras and computer systems on board to assist with the handling of any emergency scene that we are dispatched to.
- Utilizing volunteers to help in our work. HAM radio operators and storm spotters help us to keep tabs on the weather as it is happening in our county. We plan to offer a storm spotting class from the National Weather Service in the fall for all interested citizens!
- Taking part in our regional Emergency Management Agency known as West TEMA and also our Homeland Security District. Through these organization we cooperate with other Emergency Managers to plan, respond to and mitigate disasters that could threaten west Tennessee.
Follow Us
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