Mission

Oakland County Emergency Management, through coordination with all county, city, village, township, and private stakeholders, will ensure that Oakland County is prepared to respond to and recover from all natural and human-caused disasters.  We will provide the leadership and support to reduce the impact on life, property, and the environment through an equitable program of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.

Vision

Oakland County Emergency Management in cooperation with our public, private, and volunteer organizations, will maintain and improve our capacity to successfully mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters. We will achieve our goals through effective planning, resource management, and a rigorous training and exercise program.

• Identify and assist in the mitigation of natural and human-caused hazards.
• Maintain Oakland County’s Emergency Operations Plan to build on and complement the existing operational policies and procedures of local emergency response agencies, ensuring plans are inclusive of the whole community.
• Maintain a five-year training program that develops and maintains necessary emergency management skills, including frequent local and federal training and conducting exercises to test county emergency response plans and procedures.
• Gather and disseminate information to the public, media and local government agencies to assist in the preparation, response and recovery from major emergencies and disasters, ensuring that the delivery of all public information is equitable and inclusive.
• Provide direction and coordination to identify and manage resources and activities between local, state and federal government required to assist local authorities during emergency and disaster responses.
• Comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP-EMHSD), and Urban Area Strategic Initiative (UASI) requirements for receipt of program funds.
• Work with volunteer agencies within the community to promote and enhance their response capabilities, ensuring that they are diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Emergency Management Phases

Prevention – includes actions taken to avoid an incident, stopping an incident from occurring and deterrence operations.

Preparedness – includes plans or preparations made to save lives and to help response and rescue operations.

Mitigation – includes any activities, either before or after an emergency, that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or reduce the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies.

Response – includes actions taken to save lives and prevent further property damage in an emergency. Response is putting plans into action.

Recovery – includes actions taken after an emergency to return to a normal or an even safer situation following an emergency.

Oakland County Strengthens Emergency Preparedness in Full-Scale HazMat Response Exercise

• Oakland County’s full-scale HazMat exercise simulated a hazardous materials spill in a railyard, deploying specialized equipment and personnel to assess response capabilities.
• Firefighters and HazMat teams deployed advanced equipment such as HazMat trucks, protective suits, air monitors and plume modeling software to contain and mitigate the incident.
• There was interagency coordination among law enforcement, fire departments and emergency management teams to ensure effective incident command, perimeter security and public safety.

Oakland County, with the support of County Executive Dave Coulter and the Board of Commissioners, led an eight-hour full-scale hazardous materials response exercise on Wednesday, April 9. The simulated emergency replicated the release of ammonia gas after a vehicle intentionally struck a tank car in a suspected terror incident at the CN Pontiac Terminal on Pershing Avenue in Pontiac.

Participating agencies included the Oakland County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department, OakWAY HazMat Team, MABAS 3201 HazMat Team, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, CN Rail, Waterford Regional Fire Department and Waterford Police Department.

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