local emergency planning

Area Emergency Planning

The Local Emergency Planning Committee developed the five-town district of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Halifax and Vernon to help ensure that people in the district will be as safe as possible in the event of any hazard.

Local

Each of the five towns has an Emergency Management Director who initiates the town-wide alert and notifies the Emergency Alert System radio stations. The key people who respond to local disasters or hazards are the Emergency Operations Staff, or first-responders, who include the fire department and emergency medical personnel in the five towns, as well as State Police, if needed.

State

Supporting the state’s local first-responders with major disasters is the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), which assists in all-hazards events, and Vermont Emergency Management (VEM), which assists in all-hazards and in radiological events. Vermont Emergency Management is a division of the Vermont Department of Public Safety.

National

On the national level is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which works with the states to help plan for disasters, develop mitigation programs, and meet needs when major disasters occur. In 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.