Executive Director: Russell J. Strickland Chief of Staff: Terry Thompson Director: Dave McDonough Director: Kate Hession Director: Robert Thomas

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1 Maryland Emergency Management Agency Camp Fretterd Military Reservation 5401 Rue Saint Lo Drive Reisterstown, Maryland Phone: Fax: Toll Free: 877-MEMA-USA ( ) Executive Director: Russell J. Strickland Chief of Staff: Terry Thompson Director: Dave McDonough Director: Kate Hession Director: Robert Thomas Report to the Maryland State Firemen s Association February 6, MSFA Report Page 1-

2 -MSFA Report Page 2-

3 The Maryland Emergency Management Agency A Message from Executive Director Russ Strickland Happy New Year! This year, MEMA is committed to continuing to review and improve emergency management projects and strategy with an eye towards the future. It is critically important that this process be led by emergency managers from a broad spectrum of disciplines, from different levels of government, and across a wide geographic area. The Governor s Emergency Management Advisory Council (GEMAC), a whole-community advisory council, has recently been reconstituted in order to advise the Governor on all matters that relate to emergency management in Maryland and to pave the way for the future of emergency management in Maryland along with local and State emergency managers. In the coming year, the GEMAC intends to conduct a review of statewide emergency management efforts in the areas of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Talbot County Assistant County Manager and Director of Emergency Services Clay Stamp will Chair and lead the GEMAC. Clay will be joined by the following individuals: - John Allen, Jr., Vice President, Delmarva Power; - Mike Berna, Fire Chief, Maryland Fire Chiefs Association; - Becky Brashear, Assistant General Manager, Maryland State Fair; - John Butler, Fire Chief, Howard County; - Timothy Cameron, Sheriff, St. Mary s County; - Richard DeVore, Jr., Maryland State Firemen s Association; - Jonathan Favorite, Director of Technical Services, Communications Electronics, Inc.; - Ronald Gill, Director of Emergency Management, Prince George s County; - Joseph LaFleur, Manager, GP Strategies Corporation; - Jennifer Martin, Director of Public Health Preparedness, Baltimore City Health Department; - Thomas Moran, Executive Director, All Hazards Consortium; - Stephan Wantz, Commissioner, Carroll County; - David Willenborg, Sr. Engineer, Department of Defense/NAVAIR. -MSFA Report Page 3-

4 MEMA Administrative Update MEMA Staffing Update Organizational Update MEMA is transitioning over the next few weeks back to a three directorate organization with a new focus on our outreach and in forging ahead on new initiatives while maintaining the core competencies of MEMA s mission in place, which include operations, training, planning, exercising, and the Maryland Joint Operations Center. Position Changes Matt Runyon is now a Training and Exercise Administrator New Staff Robert (Bob) Thomas is now Director of Mission Support Nicole Lanigan is now a Training and Exercise Administrator Kylie Late is now a Training and Exercise Administrator Operations and Activation Level Update The Maryland State Response Activation Level (SRAL) increased to a Level 2 in response to the winter storm that affected the entire state from January 21 through January 28. Disaster Declarations Update and Public Assistance Program MEMA has sent a letter to FEMA notifying them that Maryland plans to seek federal assistance due to the historic snowstorm that occurred over the entire State in late January. Local jurisdictions, state agencies, and qualifying non-profit organizations are currently conducting initial damage assessments. Joint preliminary damage assessments are being scheduled these will be conducted around the State with FEMA, MEMA, and local officials. Findings from PDAs will help inform the decision to request a disaster declaration and subsequent funding assistance from the federal government. -MSFA Report Page 4-

5 Adaptive Planning Branch MEMA Programmatic Update MEMA Adaptive Planning has begun a focused effort on updating the Maryland Mission Area Operations Plans with support from the Mission Area Leadership Groups. This includes the Prevention and Protection Taskforce, Emergency Support Function Leadership Group, and Recovery Support Function Leadership Group. The Prevention and Protection Taskforce will also be beginning a cybersecurity planning effort. MEMA planners continue to support local jurisdictions, regional planning efforts, and other stakeholders. This includes regional plans for the national capital region, upper eastern shore, and the Baltimore UASI, as well as supporting Harford and Cecil Counties in their review of radiological emergency preparedness plans. Adaptive Planning is also developing a local emergency managers guide to provide information to emergency managers on their roles and responsibilities and provide resources and references. Active Learning and Exercising Branch The Maryland Learning Management System is available to emergency management, public safety, and related personnel to search and apply for a number of trainings throughout the State. The Active Learning and Exercising Branch coordinates and conducts trainings and exercises for State, local, and other partners. This Branch coordinated the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Plant s functional dress-rehearsal exercise on January 11. AL&E also conducted a tabletop exercise on the National Disaster Medical System on January 12 and brought in FEMA course L143: Situational Awareness and Common Operating Procedure to MEMA. MEMA will be working closely with the Baltimore Regional Incident Management Team to provide ICS position-specific training to members. External Outreach Branch The External Outreach Branch includes external affairs and public communications, community outreach, digital engagement, non-profit/voluntary and private-sector preparedness, and the disaster recovery mission area. During the recent snowstorm, MEMA developed and institutionalized an incidentspecific website for winter storms. During future incidents, the MEMA homepage will transition into a one-stop shop for the public to go to find updated information and preparedness resources specifically related to the storm. MEMA also worked with ClearChannel to have messages go up on their digital billboards around the State (right). -MSFA Report Page 5-

6 The Private Sector Integration Program, which was developed in order to include Maryland businesses in the emergency management system, opened up the Virtual Business Operations Center as a portal between the business community and emergency management. A significant number of the nearly 300 members of PSIP logged into the Center in order to interact with MEMA and find information to help them make operational decisions during the blizzard. SEOC, Regional Liaison Officer, and Resource Management Programs During the recent storm, MEMA facilitated resource requests to provide 4-wheel drive and high-clearance vehicles to support Fire/EMS and police missions for jurisdictions throughout the State. MEMA also distributed a Maryland Emergency Management Assistance Compact (MEMAC) request to support the EMS in Hagerstown when their internal resources had been exhausted. MEMA will be hosting statewide resource management training in the coming months to include an overview of the resource request process, and the MEMAC program. Details will be available on the MEMA Training and Exercise calendar and through emergency managers. Search and Rescue A Maryland Search and Rescue Coordination Workgroup was formed in November Four subcommittees have been formed, they include air-based, land-based, maritime, and urban search and rescue. The Workgroup is reviewing relevant literature, evaluating current processes and typing, and will be developing a white paper and concepts of operations for the sub-areas. Emergency management representatives from North Carolina recently traveled to MEMA to discuss their search and rescue operations and compare best practices. -MSFA Report Page 6-