Hire Off-Duty Police in the Aftermath of a Natural Disaster

Is your business prepared to recover and return to normal operations in the aftermath of a natural or manmade disaster?  Do you have a plan in place to safeguard sensitive, hazardous or expensive materials? What about securing your personnel and critical infrastructure while operations are being returned to a normal state?  If you don’t have a contingency plan in place, then maybe you should start thinking about a provider who can offer you real-time solutions resulting from real world experience.

On October 10, 2018 Hurricane Michael slammed into the panhandle of Florida packing sustained winds of 155 miles per hour. Michael was a Category 4 hurricane and the fourth strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the contiguous United States. The storm claimed 72 human lives and caused damage estimated at 25.1 billion dollars. The storm not only impacted the Florida panhandle, but also Southeast Alabama and a large portion of Southern Georgia. A vast amount of infrastructure was destroyed by Hurricane Michael, infrastructure that was necessary to conduct business and provide services to the citizens living in the affected areas.

Not all businesses were prepared to cope with the rebuilding and restoration process. Eight companies were prepared, and they all had one thing in common, they were all clients of FirstGuard LLC.

FirstGuard is a premier provider of off-duty law enforcement services throughout the United States. When our clients need the extra security that an off-duty police officer can provide, their first call is to FirstGuard. Off-duty law enforcement officers are the gold standard when you need an enhanced level of security. Off-duty LEO’s are required to complete advanced training yearly in the areas of Use of Force, Firearms, Constitutional Law and many other high liability topics. They also deal with difficult and often dangerous situations on a daily basis, not just control access to a gate at a fixed site. Traditional security guards do a great job at what they do, but sometimes a higher level of security and protection are needed.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, FirstGuard deployed 461 off-duty police officers to Southeast Alabama and the panhandle of Florida to assist in recovery and restoration efforts. FirstGuard deployed officers from Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida to ensure that our client’s personnel and property were secure for a period of 58 days after the storm struck. These officers worked a total of 41,000 hours providing security, performing traffic control functions, and restricting access to areas where sensitive materials and equipment were being stored. FirstGuard personnel not only served our clients, but also assisted victims of the storm as much as possible by directing them to resources that were available through public and private disaster assistance organizations, and by helping in any other way possible.

It will be several years before areas that were affected by Hurricane Michael return to what was normal, and hopefully the area will never be impacted in this manner again. FirstGuard would like to express our appreciation to the LEO’s who were able to come and work for our clients during this difficult time, and we would also like to deliver a big thank you to the Police Chiefs and Sheriffs who allowed their personnel to assist.

In addition to disaster recovery assistance, FirstGuard LLC also provides a myriad of services on a daily basis throughout the United States including; pipeline construction security, money transports, infrastructure protection and traffic control in highway construction zones. We are a one stop solution for off-duty law enforcement services. FirstGuard will coordinate, schedule, pay and insure the police officers that are required to perform the services you need. Whatever your needs are, call FirstGuard and we’ll customize a plan for you.

Andy R. Hughes

Business Development Manager

FirstGuard LLC

andy@firstguardofficers.com

firstguardofficers.com

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