Office of Emergency Management Accomplishments

With a commitment to public safety preparedness and response, the Office of Emergency Management has increased yearly grant funding from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to $2 million.

The Office also continued regionalized training, including an annual Urban Search and Rescue Drill for response to critical emergencies. This drill involves 11 agencies, known as the Metro Urban Search and Rescue Strike Team, comprising firefighters from the counties of Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Union, Middlesex and Morris, as well as Port Authority Police. The Newark Office of Emergency Management also trains citizens as part of the Citizens/Clergy Public Safety Academy and Community Emergency Response Team.

In response to COVID-19, the Office of Emergency Management provided personal protection equipment to Newark’s Police and Fire divisions; oversaw the decontamination of public buildings and vehicles; managed the logistics for all fixed and pop-up testing sites; and provided logistical support for all vaccine sites.

Under the leadership of the Newark Public Safety Director, the Office of Emergency Management assists families affected by fire, flooding, weather and other emergencies. It also activates the Emergency Operations Center to facilitate the coordination of the City’s response and recovery efforts to each declared emergency event.

2019 Accomplishments

Full Time IT Personnel
The Office of Emergency Management Division manages the day to day operations of the EOC and during the events of activation. To date the Division lacks and is greatly in need of a full time IT personnel in order to serve in the capacity of EOC manager on a 24/7 basis.

2018 Accomplishments

Grants

  • Awarded $1,760,000.00 from Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) 2018 Homeland Security State and Local Share grant funding to enhance and sustain emergency preparedness and response capabilities within the City of Newark in order to respond to an all hazards incident or natural disaster.
  • Awarded $1,735,000.00 from Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) 2017 Homeland Security State and Local Share grant funding to maintain and enhance emergency preparedness and response capabilities in the event of an emergency.
  • Secured $7,400.41 from FEMA Public Assistance reimbursements relative to Super Storm Sandy and expenditures incurred as a result of implementing generator protective measures.
  • Secured $3,266.67 from FEMA Disaster Public Assistance in reimbursements relative to Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm Quinn and damages incurred to sidewalks, roads and bridges as a result.
  • Recently co-awarded $12,813.78 from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection/Resilient NJ Regional Resiliency Planning Program. The program is funded to implement a regional Resiliency Action Plan in collaboration with Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, and non-profit partners of the Ironbound Community Corporation and HOPES.

Grants total 2018 = $3,518,480.70

Technology
Office of Emergency Management successfully conducted upgrades to the following technological systems in place within the EOC:

  • Wey Technology (Phase 2) upgrades to the EOC video wall system in the amount of $ 315,746.91 in order to transition from the outdated system of Activu to that of WEY Technology and allow for a seamless connectivity and integration of information sharing of data amongst local and state entities currently.
  • Swiftreach – Annual renewal in the amount $96,000 for two years in order for the continuation of services to the City’s reverse 911/robo-dialing system for emergency messaging and notification delivery.
  • Mutualink- Continuation of the Office of Emergency Management’s communication systems for interoperable communication capabilities state-wide.

Training

  • This division trained and certified over forty (40) community residents in emergency response and preparedness by enrolling them in the C.E.R.T (Community Emergency Response Team) program. This increases local resiliency with regard to emergency response and mitigation.
  • The Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division facilitated Unified Active Shooter Bleed Control training in conjunction with University Hospital instructors to identify, train and equip over eight hundred (800) emergency response personnel (NPD, NFD, OEM) and city employees in CPR/ First Aid and Bleed Control training.

Exercise

  • The Office of Emergency Management were active participants in the annual multi-jurisdictional Newark Airport Full-Scale Exercise conducted on September 8, 2018.
  • The Office of Emergency Management sponsored the Prudential Center Tabletop Exercise October 9, 2018
  • On October 13-14, 2018 The Office of Emergency Management coordinated, facilitated and hosted the FEMA Region II CERT Symposium and Full Scale Exercise which successfully trained over a hundred volunteers from twenty three (23) different municipalities within the state of New Jersey to include (Caldwell, Newark, East Orange, Essex County, Greenbrook, Green Township, Hoboken, Ho-ho-kus, Jersey City, Lawrence Township, Little Falls, Manalapan, Moorestown, Mt. Laurel Township, North Arlington, Parisppany, Passaic County, Rivervale, Sparta, Sussex County, West Essex, West Orange and Woodbridge)

EOC Activation (8)

The Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security fully activated the Emergency Operation Center on eight occasions during 2018. This division facilitated the coordination of the city’s response and recovery efforts to each emergency event declared. The city was impacted by numerous weather events on the following dates calling for the response and staffing of the EOC.

  • January 3-4, 2018- Winter Strom Grayso
  • January 22, 2018- Severe Weathe
  • March 2-3, 2018- Severe Weather
  • March 7-8, 2018- Winter Storm Quinn
  • March 12-13, 2018- Nor-Easter Winter Storm Skylar
  • March 21-22, 2018- Winter Storm Toby
  • April 2, 2018- Severe Weather
  • November 15, 2018- Winter Storm Avery (city-wide gridlock)