Purpose:
To lessen the impact of disasters on our Hillsboro community through mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities.
Emergency Management is involved in a wide variety of activities, including:
- Write and coordinate plans for the city's response to various disaster scenarios
- Train city staff and elected officials in a coordinated response to various disaster scenarios
- Participate in county-wide exercises which test our coordinated response to various disaster scenarios
- Equip, train and staff an Emergency Operations Center to manage the city's coordinated response to various disaster scenarios
- Provide disaster preparedness information and training to city staff, businesses, and residents; includes group presentations and information booths at various events.
- Train and equip residents to organize their neighborhoods to respond to a disaster, specifically through our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Map Your Neighborhood programs
- Organize, equip and train amateur radio operators to provide emergency communications during disasters
- Coordinate plans and training with other public- and private-sector emergency managers across the county, region and state
- Participate in public safety planning and response for large events, such as the Oregon International Airshow
- Plan, prepare and train for various disaster scenarios with emergency response agencies throughout the Portland metro region
- Train and respond in compliance with the Department of Homeland Security's National Incident Management System
- Use lessons learned from the above activities to improve emergency management plans and programs
Emergency Management is housed in the Fire Department and reports directly to the Fire Chief. The office is comprised of two staff positions, located at Hillsboro Fire Station #3 (Ronler Acres).
The City of HIllsboro Emergency Management function was first staffed in 1995, as part of an agreement to form the Office of Consolidated Emergency Management for Washington County (OCEM). Other OCEM member agencies include Washington County, Beaverton, Tigard and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. The emergency managers from the five OCEM jurisdictions work together to:
- Improve the level of disaster and emergency preparedness within the boundaries of the participating jurisdictions; and
- Increase coordination among the participating jurisdictions and among the various emergency service functions provided within those jurisdictions.
Each OCEM member agency has its own (jurisdictional) workplan, and all participate in OCEM projects that have county-wide benefit. They also share individual work products, when they can be easily revised to apply to a specific jurisdiction.
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