NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Nashville’s Winter Storm Response Commission, appointed by the mayor, released an interim report looking into January’s deadly ice storm finding emergency management operations need to be assessed.

The report also detailed Nashville Electric Service failures after hundreds of thousands were without power for days.

Former New York City deputy emergency manager Kelly McKinney tells FOX17 News the Metro Office of Emergency Management (OEM) didn’t do a bad job during the ice storm, but things can improve.

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For starters, McKinney thinks all OEM’s should be a standalone agency, not embedded within the fire department like Nashville.

Its mission includes law enforcement and everything else, support to the population. It needs to be able to reach those individuals and those families that are trapped in their homes when the power goes out. Those people were there for weeks in January, and they need to be connected to the electric company,” he tells FOX17 News’ Johnny Maffei in an exclusive interview.

More recommendations are due from the commission this fall.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell and multiple Metro Council members told Maffei they are considering looking at assessing emergency operations across the city.

See what the Mayor said here.