Public Safety

Local Emergency Planning Committee

Kenneth R. Willette, Chair
Donald Kingman, Co-Chair

The Local Emergency Planning Committee is defined by Federal law to create response plans for hazardous materials spills within the Town of Concord. The Committee also accepts Tier II reports from sites that store hazardous substances; four reports were filed in 2006. These reports are public documents and are available for inspection at Fire Headquarters.

In 2006, the Committee met six times. All meetings were posted by the Town Clerk and minutes properly recorded. In 2006, Concord also became a member of the Crossroads Regional Emergency Planning Committee. Comprised of representatives from Concord, Wayland, Weston, Lincoln, and Sudbury, this regional committee will serve as a forum to share emergency plans, training, and resources. In 2006, much time was spent on formulating strategies to raise community awareness about pandemic and emergency shelter needs. A partnership with the Adult and Community Education program was formed, resulting in the American Red Cross Shelter Management program and the first Citizens Emergency Response Training, (cert), program being held, resulting in a team of 35 community shelter volunteers being trained to Red Cross standards and 32 cert trainees graduating in November. Additionally, a Pandemic and Disaster Awareness Community Forum was broadcast live on June 20 over cctv Channel 8. On July 20, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce, Pandemic Planning for Business Forum was held.

The Committee continued to receive updates on the progress in removing radioactive waste materials from the Superfund Site at 2229 Main Street, more commonly known as Starmet. All of the 3,000 plus barrels of radioactive waste and some equipment and industrial fixtures were removed by the end of the year.

Plans for 2007 include continuing our partnership with the Crossroads epc, maintaining our volunteer staff for the community shelter and cert programs, and developing the plan needed to support individuals with special needs during an emergency.

To learn more about the lepc and its role in keeping Concord safe, please contact Fire Chief Ken Willette at 978-318-3450 or via email at kwillette@concordnet.org. For information about our Community Shelter Team, email Dottie Bernard at concordshelter@concordnet.org, and for the cert program, Debbie Bier at concordcert@concordnet.org.

Operation Big Chill at the regional high school was a successful outreach to the community regarding personal, family, and neighborhood emergency preparedness.