Committee Contact: Kevin Kelley, AFD Chief/EMD Director, kkelley@town.arlington.ma.us

To better prepare for any disaster, the Town of Arlington has established a Local Emergency Planning Committee consisting of: a citizen chairman; the Director of Emergency Management; (who also serves as Chief of the Arlington Fire Department) the Deputy Chief of the Arlington Fire Department; the Director of the Arlington Board of Health; the Chairman of the Arlington Select Board; the Editor of the local newspaper; the Director of the Department of Public Works; and a Captain from the Arlington Police Department; Auxiliary Fire/Explorer Post; an Elementary School Principal. The Local Emergency Planning Committee meets on a monthly basis to review emergency plans and discuss plans for all-hazard emergencies.
term is not on page
Working diligently over the past two years to become state certified the LEPC has met the requirements for “start-up” certification last year and  “provisional” certification this year.  The ultimate goal is to receive “full” certification within the next two years..  These certifications entitle local emergency planning committees’ for state funded grants.  A grant to begin Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) was received this year.

New Threats

In recent years, Arlington has been host to many types of disasters including hurricanes, winter blizzards, floods, hazardous material spills, mass casualty incidents as well as terrorism incidents such as the anthrax scare and general terror threats. When disaster strikes whether it be natural or man made, accidental or intentional, the first people to respond are typically the police, fire and emergency medical workers. The new threats of biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism have the emergency personnel within the Town of Arlington training for these new threats.

News

The LEPC just received its Provisional Certification from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.