Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting Summary - October 12, 2026

The Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee met on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 2:00 PM (agenda time) to approve a consent agenda and receive reports on the North Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART) and the Office of Emergency Management's 2026 activities. The committee unanimously approved the consent agenda and heard both reports without additional formal action.

Consent Calendar

• C-1 (26-0359): Consideration of an interlocal agreement to accept and share funds with Forsyth County under the 2026 Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Award. Approved unanimously.
• C-2 (26-0425): Approval of the Public Safety Committee Summary of Minutes from September 14, 2026. Approved unanimously.

Discussion Items

G-1: NCHART Program and Winston-Salem Fire Department Report

• A Winston-Salem Fire Department chief reported on NCHART deployments during Tropical Storm Isaiah. The team originally expected to go to Catawba County, but deployed to the city of Lenore (as stated in the transcript), then relocated to Caldwell County and later Burke County.
• Work included boat rescues from flooded homes, repairing a residential bridge so an elderly resident could leave her home, staffing ambulances for Burke EMS, and relocating school buses out of forecasted floodwaters.
• The team deploys as a state asset under the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management. During activation, team members move from city payroll to state payroll; the state also pays the city to backfill vacancies and replaces damaged equipment, making the arrangement at zero cost to local municipalities.
• Councilmember Scippio praised Winston-Salem's fire and police services and said she looked forward to December 12 recognition of the officers.

G-2: Office of Emergency Management 2026 Update

• August Vernon presented an update on Office of Emergency Management activities since January 2026.
• Preparedness efforts included 8 public education or preparedness presentations, severe weather preparedness week from March 1-7, the statewide tornado drill on March 4, hurricane preparedness week from May 3-9, National Disaster Preparedness Month in September, and upcoming winter weather preparedness activities.
• Training and exercises included incident command, active shooter, animal response, and crisis communications training, plus 9 regional multi-agency exercises coordinated or participated in since January, including public health, critical infrastructure, Piedmont cybersecurity, and security threat drills.
• Incident response statistics since January 1: 64 total incidents, 22 hazardous material incidents, 2 lithium battery incidents, 3 winter weather events, 2 major utility disruptions, 1 widespread network outage, 12 fire incidents, 1 mass shooting, and 2 mass casualty incidents.
• A duty officer is on call 24/7/365. During winter weather, the emergency operations center operated 24/7 for four or five days at the Forsyth County Public Safety Center, 301 North Church Street. During the water main break, the EOC moved to Winston-Salem Fire Department Station 13 for about three days because primary sites lost water.
• Major event coordination included the NASCAR race at Winston-Salem State University and the FIFA German soccer team arrival and public event day at Wake Forest University.
• The Continuity of Operations (COOP) project includes 63 city and county departments divided into three groups. Group A is already working, Group B has just started, and the project is expected to be completed by April 2027.
• Since 2018, before every election, city, county, and state agencies have coordinated on election safety and security, covering almost 160 election-day sites plus early voting.
• Vernon pointed to the Ready for Scythe website (as transcribed) for public preparedness information and warned about misinformation regarding disaster preparedness.
• Councilmember Hall asked about volunteer use. Vernon said OEM works with the Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Way, and state-recognized volunteer organizations active in disasters; volunteers helped distribute thousands of cases of water during the water main break.
• Councilmember Hall also asked how quickly OEM is notified of incidents. Vernon said the 911 center pages the on-call officer, and direct heads-up calls can occur, such as before the Weaver fire.
• Councilmember Hall asked about family emergency preparedness and shelter-in-place planning. Vernon said the website has age-appropriate information and that OEM will provide presentations, phone assistance, virtual sessions, or in-person outreach.
• Councilmember Andree-Bowen praised the water distribution operations, noting a Second Harvest colleague spoke highly of the effort and that he volunteered at Kernersville Elementary and Walkertown High School. Vernon credited Second Harvest's infrastructure and quick mobilization.

Staff Comments

• Staff noted that a stand-alone, independent emergency operations center remains a legislative priority, that most major metropolitan areas have one, and that the city and county are continuing to work with regional, state, and federal partners on that effort.
• Staff said a link to a preparedness checklist from the Ready for Scythe website would be included in the council's weekly update later that week.
• Staff announced that the December public safety agenda will include recognition of Firefighter Martinez on the statewide helicopter rescue team and an annual update from the Civil Service Board. No public safety item is currently scheduled for the November committee of the whole agenda.

Key Outcomes

• The consent agenda was approved unanimously.
• The NCHART report and Office of Emergency Management update were received by the committee; no formal action was required on either item.
• No additional formal votes were taken, and the meeting was adjourned.