The Director and the Deputy Director are appointed annually by the Chief Executive. They are an agent for, and report directly to, the Chief Executive.

The Agency is linked to the state through Area III of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and takes direction from the Area III Sector Director. The Shrewsbury Local Emergency Planning Committee is fully certified by MEMA.

The director is responsible for preparing and updating the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). Utilizing the plan, the Exercise Design Committee is responsible for developing and executing various training exercises for natural and man made disasters such as hurricanes, blizzards and hazardous materials incidents. We are responsible for the operation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and for training the EOC staff.

The EOC is staffed by the Department Heads of all Public Safety Departments and other critical managers as needed to manage the disaster. There are four operating areas of the EOC: Executive; Operations; Communications and Damage Assessment.

The Primary EOC is the Selectmen’s Meeting Room at the Town Hall. The alternate EOC is Fire Headquarters on Church Rd.

Additionally, SEMA is responsible for the activation and operation of any Emergency Shelter required at the time of a local disaster. The operation of the shelter will be taken over by the American Red Cross as soon as possible after its activation. . The primary shelter is the middle school on Sherwood Ave. and the alternate shelter is the new high school on Holden St.

There are four phases of Emergency Management:

• Preparation
• Mitigation
• Response
• Recovery

We are involved in all of these areas. The Director serves as a member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The Agency also coordinates the availability of the Radiation Detection Instruments and the training of personnel in the use of these devices. The assets are held by the Fire Department in each fire station and at the agency’s office.