Emergency Preparedness
October 2005 Franklin County Storm and Flood Disaster.
About Emergency Preparedness
The Franklin Regional Council of Governments is involved in a number of emergency preparedness initiatives serving Franklin County. The FRCOG staffs the Franklin County Local Emergency Planning Committee, a regional all-hazard planning body with membership of a broad spectrum of public safety, health, industry, local government and other community members. Serving the four county Western Massachusetts region, the FRCOG serves as fiduciary agent to the Western Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council, and is conducting regional planning projects for that entity. Working with these and other regional committees such as the Mohawk Area Public Health Coalition and Tri-State Fire Mutual Aid, and with local governments, the FRCOG works to provide integrated planning and technical assistance meeting goals to improve and enhance our communities' ability to prepare, respond and recover from natural and man-made disasters.
Current Projects
Citizen Volunteer Projects Franklin County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) are volunteer programs of the federal Citizen Corps initiative. Franklin County CERT and MRC volunteer teams are working to provide support to local first responders during critical incidents and to assist non-emergency projects that improve the health and safety of the community on a year-round basis.
First Responder/Municipal Training The FRCOG and Franklin County LEPC sponsor or provide training to emergency responders and local community leaders throughout Franklin County to meet local and state training requirements and provide national frameworks of preparedness and response that are prerequisite to receiving certain federal and state grants.
Regional Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan The Regional Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan (HMEP) was developed by the Franklin County Local Emergency Planning Committee's (LEPC) Planning Sub-Committee with support from the Franklin Regional Council of Governments Planning Department and Regional Preparedness Program.
Homeland Security Planning FRCOG Staff work in partnership with the other two regional planning agencies in Western Massachusetts to serve as consultants to the Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council in the development of tools to strengthen the region's response to large-scale natural and man-made disasters.
Regional Radio Communications System Construction of a regional interoperable communications system is underway, linking Police, Fire, EMS, and dispatch communications throughout and beyond the Franklin County region. This significant communications upgrade is being accomplished with homeland security funding by the Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council, with leadership from the Western Mass Law Enforcement Council, Tri-State Fire Mutual Aid, Western Mass EMS, and Shelburne Control dispatch center.
Debris Management Plan Natural disasters are a fact of life in most areas of the Unites States and generate large amounts of solid waste debris, posing immediate public health and safety threats. The Franklin County Debris Management Plan will provide important tools to be used for responding to and recovering from the solid waste management issues related to all types of disasters.
Mohawk Area Public Health Coalition The Mohawk Area Public Health Coalition (MAPHCO) is the regional coalition for public health emergency preparedness.