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2016 Annual Report • Fire Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />34 | Page <br /> <br />IX. Emergency Management <br />Often I am asked about what emergency management is and why are we reading more about it <br />in the news or social media. Emergency Management is a disciple that focuses on preparedness, <br />mitigation, response and recovery. All departments here in the city practice emergency <br />management at different levels. When you take a look at one of the main projects that the city <br />has been focusing on, street improvements and infrastructure; that is both a preparedness as <br />well as mitigation role. Trying to better improve the removal of Stormwater during severe rain <br />events; or installing more durable and longer lasting water mains that will not break during the <br />freeze and thaw times of the year. Investing in infrastructure that meets or exceeds the needs of <br />the residents. <br />Another area of emergency management is the actual managing of on incident or emergency. <br />As I stated earlier, all departments practice emergency management, however when it comes to <br />a larger incident, the emergency management discipline coordinates those departments and <br />brings in additional resources needed for those players to focus on their mission. It allows for <br />the fire department to focus on rescue or fire extinguishment, the police to continue to maintain <br />safe streets, public works to keep the utilities working and roads open and administration to <br />keep day to day operations moving. While they are doing their jobs other areas need to be <br />addressed. What about potential shelters needed? How do we continue to communicate with <br />the residents? What other agencies need to be brought in to get us back to “normal” in a <br />reasonable manner? Public Health? Utilities? Red Cross? <br />In 2016, both Fire Marshal Chris Fuller and I received our Emergency Management <br />certifications that we have been pursing for the past few years. I can say it has taken focus and <br />time to get this accomplished but it felt great when we attended out last class. This by no means <br />suggests that we are finished with our education but rather that we been able to build a solid <br />base to move forward on. <br />Some areas of focus for us in 2016 on the emergency management side were improving site <br />security for our city buildings. Examples were video enhancements, controlled entry and better <br />preplans on city buildings. These were a part of the 2015 mitigation plan that was put together <br />for Hennepin County Emergency Management.