Emergency Management

Responsibilities and Services

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinates the response to local large-scale emergencies or disasters, coordinates inter-local agreements for resource utilization, communicates with state and federal agencies, and provides education and training. OEM staff also works to prevent and reduce the impact of these hazards to the community. 

The lead federal agency for such activities is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the lead agency at the state level is the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). 

OEM Functions:

  • Capability assessment
  • Emergency Operation Center (EOC)
  • Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) development
  • Functional Annex development
  • Hazard analysis
  • Public education
  • State and federal reporting
  • Training

Emergency Management Four-Phase Model:

  • Mitigation: Actions taken before an event occurs to prevent or lessen the impact the event has to life and property. Examples of mitigation include; building codes, zoning ordinances, grant funding, and training.
  • Preparedness: Activities, actions, procurements, planning, training and inter-jurisdictional cooperation designed to increase response readiness to identified hazards the community faces.
  • Response: The mobilization of resources to meet the needs of the community in response to the nature of the disaster. Mobilization includes local, county, state, and federal resources as necessary. Response is usually associated with the period of time immediately after the event and necessary to ensure life safety issues are handled. Examples include fire and EMS services, search and rescue, debris removal, public works activities, and law enforcement.
  • Recovery: The long-term mobilization of support operations that work toward returning the community to its pre-event condition. This period is usually when social services and volunteer organizations (such as the Citizens Emergency Response Team and the Bedford Amateur Radio Club), tasked with relief effort gear up. The greater the magnitude of the disaster the greater the recovery effort.

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