Public Safety

Concord Emergency Management Agency

Fire Chief Kenneth Willette, Director
Martin J. Powers, Deputy Director

The Concord Emergency Management Agency,(cema), has served Concord since the days of the Cold War. During 2006, cema worked with Concord Police, Public Works, and the Town Manager to monitor Crosby's Dam, located off Cambridge Turnpike, which had been weakened by earlier rain storms. In November, a community shelter exercise was held where over 40 volunteers provided support to 60 "evacuees" who were displaced by an imaginary serious winter storm. This tested our ability to maintain the lower gym at cchs as a community shelter, with a focus on the registration, discharge, and feeding of evacuees. Simultaneously, public safety and public works officials, with support from the Concord Amateur Radio Emergency Team, exercised our ability to open the Emergency Operations Center, located in the 3rd floor training room of the Walden Street Public Safety Facility, and manage the impact of this supposed storm and the potential needs of the shelter. Both exercises were excellent learning experiences and reinforced the need to conduct these drills on an annual basis.

cema hosted specialized training in Assessing the Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction incident for Concord and neighboring towns' first responder personnel. In compliance with the Town Manager's Administrative Policy on Incident Management, cema coordinated several training sessions in the National Incident Management System for members of the Police, Fire, Highway, Public Safety Communications, Municipal Light, and Planning Departments. cema is supported by several amateur radio associations. ares and races are national programs and caret is 100% homegrown, a true Concord program. These volunteers stand ready to provide an emergency communications network should our public safety system fail. A new initiative is expanding into the neighborhoods with the Concord Citizens Emergency Radio Network, (ccern), which utilizes very affordable portable radios. Concord is fortunate to have so many dedicated volunteers ready to respond on a moment's notice!

In 2007, additional training will be conducted for supervisory level personnel with Incident Command duties. Funding for this training was provided by the Northeast Regional Homeland Security Council. Other goals for the coming year include updating our Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan; working with Emerson Hospital and the Board of Health and School Department on establishing an off site Influenza Specialty Care Unit; and supporting the lepc's efforts in establishing a Citizens Emergency Response Training program.

For more information about cema or any of the programs mentioned, please contact Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Kenneth R. Willette, at 978-318-3450 or kwillette@concordnet.org.