Emergency Management

Emergency Management is an element within the Fredericksburg Fire Department and is charged with carrying out a comprehensive all-hazard emergency management program for the City of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County. Our program includes pre and post-disaster mitigation of known hazards to reduce their impact; preparedness activities, such as emergency planning, training, and exercises; provisions for effective response to emergencies; and recovery programs for major disasters. Our charter also includes the development and implementation of an Emergency Notification System that will alert City and County residents of pending emergencies and provide public service announcements. We operate under the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to standardize operations and response with other state and federal responders. We use the Incident Command System (ICS) as our incident management scheme.

• Maintain an Advanced Level of Planning Preparedness
• Reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and manmade threats
• Validate response capabilities through Emergency Management Exercises
• Provide ongoing Emergency Management training opportunities
• Increase community awareness and preparedness through outreach programs

• Create and update emergency planning documents
• Conduct a minimum of two discussion-based exercises and one operationally based exercise involving the Emergency Operations Center and first responders
• Conduct Fire Prevention and Awareness training for schools and businesses along with Incident Command System and Emergency Management-related courses
• Actively promote Hazard Mitigation, Animal Issues, Donations Steering Group, and Volunteer programs

• Updated 4 of the 22 annexes of the Emergency Operations Plan resulting in an Advanced Level of Planning Preparedness as certified by the Texas Division of Emergency Management
• Attended 11 regular meetings of both the City and County Hazard Mitigation Committees
• Conducted 4 Countywide eclipse preparedness meetings in preparation for the 2 eclipses that will take place in 2023 and 2024
• Participated on the school safety committee for Doss, Harper, and Fredericksburg School Districts. This consists of multiple meetings with each district to ensure the school is meeting safety standards set forth by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
• Participated in the production of a Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service training video over Winter Storm Uri. The video will be used nationwide in their Senior Officials Workshop for All-Hazard Preparedness.
• Implemented a county-wide accountability system for all 6 fire departments within the county and 1 department in a neighboring county. This system will allow firefighters to be tracked on the scene and ensure firefighter safety.
• Attended the Texas Fire Chief’s Annual conference. Received 20 hours of firefighting continuing education through this event.
• Had multiple weather events that stressed the emergency response system for the City of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County. These events included winter weather events and a straight-line wind event.
• Coordinated with local, state and federal resources on the 2022 fire season. The fire season was very active with multiple large fires. The largest was the Big Sky Fire in the Willow City area that consumed 1,459 acres.

• Complete the update and revision of annexes in the Emergency Operations Plan
• Attend regular Hazard Mitigation meetings
• Reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and manmade threats
• Attend monthly eclipse meetings to plan for the upcoming events
• Conduct Fire Prevention and Awareness training
• Conduct training on Incident Command System (ICS) courses and Emergency Management courses
• Send non-emergency management personnel to training, to better support the Emergency Operations Center
• Install three new generators at radio tower sites and City Hall/Central Fire