FY2018 Arlington Fire Department Annual Report FY 2018 | Page 21

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is
responsible for coordinating large-scale City of Arlington
emergency response operations, managing and testing
the outdoor warning system, maintaining the
operational readiness of the Emergency Operations
Center (EOC), monitoring for severe weather events
impacting the City, overseeing Urban Areas Security
Initiative (UASI) funds from the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, conducting training classes for the
citizen volunteer Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT), and coordinating volunteers through the
Arlington Christian Disaster Network (ACDN).
86 CERT members volunteered a total of 2,038
hours in FY18. They trained on a variety of topics
including situational awareness, triage, CPR, disaster
communications and response, search and rescue,
call-out procedures, damage assessments, and
Arlington Emergency Operations Center Procedures.
The Outdoor Warning System is
comprised of 52 sirens and is tested on the
first Wednesday of each month. In FY18,
there were 10 monthly tests conducted, with
one cancellation for inclement weather and
one for the Independence Day holiday, with
a 94.2% activation success rate .
The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) is the voluntary
standards, assessment, and accreditation process for disaster preparedness
programs throughout the world by establishing credible standards applied in a peer-
review accreditation process. EMAP was created by a group of national
organizations to foster continuous improvement in emergency management
capabilities. It provides emergency management programs the opportunity to be recognized for compliance with
industry standards, to demonstrate accountability, and to focus attention on areas and issues where resources are
needed. The City of Arlington Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Management was the second city in Texas to
receive the EMAP accreditation and the sixth city in the world to achieve the accreditation by itself without partnering
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with another agency or jurisdiction to meet the 64 EMAP standards.