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Latest Emergency News and Information 
ESF-15 Business/Nonprofit Homeland Security
Fairfax County's Emergency Support Function (ESF) 15
Business/Nonprofit Homeland Security group is a way for members of the
business community and Fairfax County government to meet on a regular
basis and discuss issues affecting homeland security and the Fairfax
County business community.
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 National Response Framework is a guide that details how the
nation conducts all-hazards response – from the smallest incident to the
largest catastrophe. This document establishes a comprehensive, national,
all-hazards approach to domestic incident response. The Framework
identifies the key response principles, as well as the roles and
structures that organize national response. It describes how communities,
states, the federal government and private-sector and nongovernmental
partners apply these principles for a coordinated, effective national
response. In addition, it describes special circumstances where the
federal government exercises a larger role, including incidents where
federal interests are involved and catastrophic incidents where a state
would require significant support. It lays the groundwork for first
responders, decision-makers and supporting entities to provide a unified
national response.
In addition to releasing the NRF base document, the Emergency Support Function Annexes and Support Annexes are available online at the NRF Resource Center (www.fema.gov/nrf). The annexes are a total of 23 individual documents designed to provide concept of operations, procedures and structures for achieving response directives for all partners in fulfilling their roles under the NRF.The National Response Framework presents the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies, from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe. The Framework establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response. For more information, visit the NRF Resource Center.
Health and Safety Podcast
Fairfax County 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. And be sure to sign up for emergency alerts from the Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN), which now
includes a business alerting feature.
Recent events remind us all that home emergency preparedness is a must for everyone and should be carefully planned. Be sure to review the many available individual and family preparedness publications, links and resources. 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).
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