FY2013 Arlington Fire Department Annual Report FY 2013 | Page 30

Newsletter Title

Page 30

FY2013 Successful for the Office of Emergency
Management
FY2013 involved many varied issues that were addressed by OEM.
The EOC was activated for the Union Pacific (UP) Rail Replacement
project that saw major intersections in Arlington closed for several
days as UP replaced the aging railroad rails and ties with new ones.
This involved the collaboration of COA Public Works, PD, FD and the
Office of Communications for the week the EOC was activated.
In the summer of 2012, Southern Methodist University’s (SMU)
Director of Emergency Management (EM) and Continuity in the
Office of Police and Risk Management contacted Irish Hancock,
Emergency Management Administrator (EMA), with questions
concerning coordinating a large special event for the dedication of
the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Over the course of FY2013
and up to the actual dedication of the library in April 2013, Irish and
Kwa heri Harris, Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC), consulted with SMU monthly and on an as
needed basis to help their EM department plan and prepare for the biggest event in the school’s
history. Most suggestions from Irish and Kwa heri were accepted and put into reality leading up to the actual
dedication day. This consultation culminated with Irish and Kwa heri being asked to assist in the SMU EOC
on the day of the dedication in their Planning Section.
For the 2013 West Nile Virus (WNV) season, AFD’s OEM took a proactive
approach to controlling this public health emergency when compared to
FY2012. OEM assembled the West Nile Virus Response Team with
representatives from several City departments. OEM coordinated with the
City’s Environmental Health group for larviciding, assisted in the selection of
the City’s vector control contractor, the posting of WNV information on the
City’s website as well as social media sources, the coordination of information
sharing with the surrounding EM departments bordering Arlington and OEM
created the weekly WNV update sent to City Management. When the City of Arlington was informed of a
positive sample from the lab, OEM coordinated with the vector control contractor to conduct targeted ground
spraying in the area where the positive sample was located. In 2012, Arlington had 66 citizens infected with
WNV; for 2013 there were only two.
The highlight for FY2013 involved a story on the Weather
Channel, with interviews of Assistant Chief Carroll, EMA
Hancock and EMC Harris. The piece was about success
stories involving outdoor warning siren systems. Arlington
was featured due to the EF-2 tornado that struck the city in
2012. OEM had sounded the sirens for 23 minutes, which
is not common. Due to confirmed reports of tornadoes on
the ground, OEM made the decision to continue to sound
the sirens for longer than normal to ensure Arlington
citizens were aware there was an immediate threat to their
safety.

DUTY

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HONOR

Working Together to Make Arlington Better.

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COMPASSION
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EXCELLENCE