County pens emergency fuel deal with Husky

LIMA - When the ice storm hit in 2005 and power lines came down across the county, officials struggled to find the fuel to keep trucks and generators running. A deal with Husky's Lima refinery will assure next time that's not a problem.

County and city leaders, with representatives from local hospitals and the state's Emergency Management Agency, met at Husky Lima Refinery Friday to sign the agreement that will allow Husky to provide diesel and gasoline to local emergency crews during emergencies.

Allen County Homeland Security Director Russ Decker said the idea for the plan came up in the wake of the 2005 ice storm that shut down much of the county. Heavy ice snapped power lines and left road crews and hospitals hustling to find fuel.

"We realized there was a high number of gas stations with gas in the ground, but we couldn't get to it. We made it through that, but we wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again," Decker said.

Plant manager Roy Warnick said the plan is good business and good citizenship. When the community is safer, the refinery is safer.

"At a large industrial facility like ours, we spend a lot of money every year on security. We feel to be a good corporate citizen, we have to look at that security in a community sense," Warnock said.

Under the agreement, when an emergency strikes Husky will deliver diesel and gasoline to prearranged drop points around the county. They will be paid for the fuel at the retail rate posted the day before the emergency.

Fuel deals between governments and refineries are not new, Decker said, but most come after something's gone wrong.

"These agreements are not that uncommon post-disaster, but this is one of the first agreements signed before a disaster," Decker said.

Nancy Dragani, executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, said the fuel agreement is just one of many examples of Allen County's success in creating partnerships between private and public entities.

"This community has probably, to my knowledge, been one of the most proactive on all fronts, not just in Ohio, but in the country," Dragani said.