|
Sign up to receive emergency alerts from Fairfax County with CEAN - the Community Emergency Alert Network - and receive important emergency alerts, notifications and updates during a major crisis or emergency. Messages can be delivered to your e-mail account, cell phone, text pager, satellite phone and wireless PDA. The CEAN is your personal connection to real-time updates, instructions on where to go, protective actions that need to be taken and other important information. ESF 15 Business/Nonprofit Updates 2008
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Fairfax County also is involved in Pandemic Flu planning and has developed a special pan flu Web page. Important Telephone Numbers
|
Latest Emergency News and Information
Emergency Support Function 15: External Affairs
Providing residents of Fairfax County with timely and potentially
lifesaving information during major incidents is a high priority. The
Fairfax County Office of Public Affairs is the Emergency Support Function
15 (External Affairs) Lead Agency to coordinate information for county
agencies during emergency events or incidents requiring a coordinated
Fairfax County response. ESF 15 integrates public affairs, media
relations, legislative affairs, community relations and the private
sector under the coordinating auspices of external affairs.
Fairfax County Emergency Support Function 15 ensures that sufficient communications/public information resources are available during an incident requiring a coordinated response to provide accurate, coordinated and timely information to affected audiences, including the news media, county residents, the county Board of Supervisors and other elected officials, county employees and the private sector.
In accordance with the National Response Framework and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5, and during an incident requiring a coordinated response, it is the goal of ESF 15 to maintain public trust by proactively disseminating consistent, timely, and accurate public information and instructions through coordination among county agencies, regional jurisdictions, state, and federal communicators. This concept is best characterized as “Maximum disclosure with minimum delay.”
National Response Framework
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the
National Response Framework (NRF), successor to the National Response
Plan. The NRF, which focuses on response and short-term recovery,
articulates the doctrine, principles and architecture by which our nation
prepares for and responds to all-hazard disasters across all levels of
government and all sectors of communities. The NRF is responsive to
repeated federal, state, local and private sector requests for a
streamlined document that is less bureaucratic and more user-friendly.
The NRF also focuses on preparedness and encourages a higher level of
readiness across all jurisdictions. In addition to releasing the NRF base
document, the Emergency Support Function Annexes and Support Annexes will
be released and posted online at the NRF Resource Center.
Health and Safety Podcast
Fairfax County now has emergency information available via the
Health and Safety podcast, featuring emergency preparedness information
and news updates from Fire & Rescue, Police, Emergency Management and
the Health Department. Listen to health and safety related information
via your computer or any audio device capable of playing podcasts, as
well as the News to Use podcast and the Board of Supervisors Highlights
podcast. (Podcast Web page)
Emergency Resources
One of the most important roles of Fairfax County Government is
ensuring the safety of our community. Visit our emergency information page for more emergency
preparedness information for residents, and the business and nonprofit
community.
Recent events remind us all that home emergency preparedness is a must for everyone and should be carefully planned. So, be sure to read the regional pubication "Your Guide to Emergency Preparedness," which offers information and resources to help you plan for most emergency situations. You might also want to read the FEMA publication "Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness" (also available in Spanish) and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management guide " Disaster Preparedness: Get Ready" (PDF - 6 MB).