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Emergency Preparedness
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department's Emergency Preparedness Division has the distinction of being the first fully accredited local emergency management program in the nation. Emergency Preparedness develops contingency plans for potential and immediate disasters and citywide emergencies. Over the past several years, the division played major roles in the city's response to hurricane threats, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, Super Bowl XXXIX planning and even the Y2K computer threat at the turn of the century. The division's role in emergency planning gained prominence as the threat of terrorism in the United States increased after Sept. 11, 2001. The division regularly conducts training exercises to prepare for any terrorist attack. In addition to planning for potential emergencies or disasters, Emergency Preparedness leads the effort to mitigate their effects, respond effectively during an emergency and move quickly to begin recovery efforts. The division serves residents in this way through mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. During a state of emergency, the division coordinates such things as opening shelters to providing transportation for special needs patients to ordering, tracking and distributing necessary supplies. The division also handles special needs registration and special transportation needs registration prior to emergencies. Recently, the division began accepting registration for pet-friendly shelters. Under the direction of the Emergency Preparedness Division, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trains individuals to be prepared for a natural or man-made disaster in their community or neighborhood. JaxCERT is one of the partners of the national program Citizen Corps. The division has 13 employees and is under the direction of Chief Lorin L. Mock. "Code Red" Emergency Notification System Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (6.154 MB) E Team - The EOC software system *ALERT: Weather Radios Recalled by Oregon Scientific Due to Failure to Receive National Weather Service Alerts. Emergency Preparedness Division |
The Duval County Emergency Operations Center has implemented a telephone emergency notification system that will call residents in the event of a potential or pending emergency. The system will automatically contact Duval County residents only with published, residential phone numbers. Individuals who would like to receive notification messages on their unlisted, cellular or business phones should go to the