Chambers, Changes & Conversations - the official podcast of Manatee County Government · Manatee County Government

Ep. 3: Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske

June 4, 2025·28 min·2 clips

Manatee County is the first in the U.S. to test Peregrine's AI for mapping 911 calls during hurricanes.

This episode features Public Safety Director Jodie Fiske discussing hurricane preparedness and technological innovations in Manatee County. Hosts Casey Zempel and Stephanie Garrison lead the conversation with Director Fiske, who oversees emergency management. The discussion centers on lessons from the previous active hurricane season and new tools for the current one. Director Fiske emphasizes June 1st as the official start of the hurricane season, which runs until November 30th. She recommends the National Hurricane Center app as a trusted source for tracking tropical development. The county conducts after-action reports with every emergency support function to identify improvements, leading to ongoing work like canal clearing by Public Works. A major initiative is the county's contract with the data platform Peregrine, used to compile critical information into operational dashboards. Manatee County is the first in the nation to test the Peregrine system in this way, having used it during Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The system integrates damage assessment data from Crisis Track with property appraiser values to quickly quantify damage for state and federal declarations. New for this season is the integration of AI to pull keywords like "flooding" from 911 calls and map them in real-time within the EOC. This AI capability allows emergency managers to pinpoint and prioritize rescue operations, especially when conditions prevent immediate response. The Peregrine system also integrates real-time data from river, stream, and tidal gauges, providing a minute-by-minute picture of rising water during a storm. Director Fiske notes the system helped Manatee County become the first in the state to receive expedited federal reimbursement for response operations. She stresses that all disasters are local and that the county's goal is self-sufficiency to reduce reliance on state and federal resources. The episode reveals that pre-landfall for Hurricane Milton, over 11,000 people and 1,500 pets were in county shelters, a stark increase from the roughly 1,000 people during Helene. Director Fiske clarifies that shelters, often schools, are a "lifeboat, not a pleasure cruise" and should be a last resort. Residents can find their evacuation level and flood zone at mymanatee.org/storm, which also hosts Alert Manatee and Manatee Ready checklists. The county hosts a "Coffee and Questions" event at the EOC to help residents understand operations and ask questions directly. Fiske highlights the vital relationship with local media, who provide hyper-local coverage and maintain constant contact during activations. She also praises the partnership with the school district, which staffs and operates the county's storm shelters. The tone is conversational, educational, and proudly showcases local government innovation. The style is informative and calm, aiming to demystify emergency operations and encourage public preparedness. This episode is ideal for Manatee County residents seeking to understand hurricane risks and the county's advanced preparedness efforts. Listeners with no interest in local government operations or emergency management might find the topic too niche.

As heard by us

A clear, practical look at hurricane readiness and the county systems behind it.

This episode treats Manatee County's hurricane-prep guidance as a plain public-service update, and that works in its favor. Jody Fisk keeps the focus on the basics that matter before hurricane season: the June 1 start date, the November 30 end date, local storm tracking, and the…

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Get Manatee County's hurricane-season playbook before June 1.

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