The Emergency Management Program

Nassau County's Emergency Management Program is a dedicated division of the Sheriff's Office.  EM team members are well-trained professionals, experienced in Emergency Management best practices, the National Incident Management System (NIMS), as well as their individual EM Program specialties and the and Incident Command System (ICS) roles they fill on the Incident Management Team (IMT) during local disasters.  

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EM team members take community preparedness and resilience seriously, offering free training in a variety of topics to give residents the knowledge and skills they need to protect their families and property and to "be the help until professional help arrives."  The team works daily to share information with partners and the public and to maintain comprehensive situational awareness, all while coordinating the planning, equipping, training, and practice among partner agencies required to ensure everyone is prepared to respond together effectively to all types of emergencies.

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During an emergency, the EOC Activation Level changes.  Priorities for the EM team are:  accurate situational awareness, clear crisis communication among stakeholders, timely alerts/warnings for the public, monitoring Community Lifelines, and facilitating Emergency Support Functions.  The EOC IMT gathers information and documents intelligence, provides planning support, and manages incident resources, while the responders in the field perform incident operations:  mass care (public shelter, food, water, animal control), hazard impact assessments, life-safety missions (search and rescue), and stabilization of Community Lifelines.

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Once the damage has been assessed and basic Lifelines are stabilized, the Incident Response can transition into Community Recovery, and the local government can implement its long-term plans to restore infrastructure and systems, taking action to mitigate future damage from similar incidents.