The Domestic Preparedness and Emergency Management Bureau (DPEMB) ensures The City of Fort Lauderdale is prepared to respond, recover and mitigate any hazardous situations our government, neighborhoods, institutions and businesses may be faced with.  Emergency Management is the preparation for carrying out all emergency functions that help minimize injury, repair damage resulting from disasters caused by fire, flood, storm, or other natural causes, or enemy attack, and to provide support for our neighbors and property in distress.

The City of Fort Lauderdale Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) establishes a complete framework for the City of Fort Lauderdale to plan the actions needed to protect the welfare of the community from the effects of emergencies and disasters.  The plan defines the policies, organizational structure and responsibilities, as well as the operational concepts necessary for the City to accomplish this purpose.  The CEMP is also intended to be useful to the involved organizations during all phases of emergency management: preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.

This CEMP is also intended to fulfill The City of Fort Lauderdale’s responsibilities to its neighbors pursuant to Chapter 252 of the Florida Statutes. These requirements mandate that each county in the State of Florida develop and maintain a CEMP that is consistent with the state-level CEMP and its associated programs. The City of Fort Lauderdale CEMP has been designed to achieve this objective as well.

The plans framework provides direction on when to activate and how to operate the City’s Emergency Operations Center in the event of a disaster.

The Emergency Operations Center or (EOC) serves as the "nerve center" during emergency operations. Working space is provided for all disaster response Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) and representatives from each of the city’s (9) Departments.  The purpose of activating the EOC is to have a centralized location for responses, making recovery decisions, planning and operational activities. Activating the EOC will help manage any incident with clear direction, excellent and effective planning all while minimizing duplication of efforts.

The City of Fort Lauderdale’s (EOC) has three (3) basic levels of activation:

• LEVEL 3: Monitoring & Assessment - Level III is typically a monitoring and assessment phase where a specific threat, unusual event, or situation, is actively monitored by the EOC. A Level III activation is an internal process and involves little, if any, inter-agency direction or coordination. The threat, unusual event, or situation simply warrants observation, verification of appropriate action, and follow-up by staff. The EOC is at level 3 under normal conditions.
• LEVEL 2: Partial Activation - Level II partial activation is typically limited agency activation. Staff and ESF lead agencies with a role in the incident response are activated and required to report to the EOC. All other ESFs are alerted of the event and are on standby. The purpose of Level II activation is to initiate preparations due to a significant threat of a disaster or to coordinate response due to the occurrence of a minor disaster.
• LEVEL 1: Full Activation - All primary and support agencies are notified. The city’s EOC is staffed by Emergency Management  personnel, and all necessary Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) will be conducted, as well as the Policy Group. In a full-scale activation, the EOC is activated on a 24-hour schedule due to an imminent threat or occurrence of a disaster.

The (DPEMB) is also responsible for developing, organizing and facilitating classroom training and disaster preparedness exercises for the City. The DPEMB encourages and promotes our neighbors to be well trained and prepared. For more information on how to assist the DEMPB on making your community safer, stronger and better prepared please contact us at (954) 828-6700.

For information from Broward County's Emergency Management Bureau, please use the link below:
BROWARD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

Contact Information

Jermaine Frazier
Emergency Manager

Domestic Preparedness and Emergency Management Bureau
2200 Executive Airport Way
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Phone: 954-828-6700
Email: FTL.EM@fortlauderdale.gov.