Committee: Emergency Management

Contact: Scott Gerber, Chair - [email protected]

2022 Mission: The mission of the Emergency Management Committee is to provide a liaison between the association, the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and County and local emergency managers, in order to encourage and assist association members to be involved in their local emergency planning process, and to provide feedback to the association on pertinent emergency management issues and information.

2022 Report: The Emergency Management Committee meets regularly throughout the year and addresses issues as directed by the Board of Directors. During the past 12 months we have met mostly virtually. While we were not able to meet in person for many of our meetings, we were able to utilize virtual meetings to allow more effective participation for committee members located across the state. The committee continues to be active with issues that affect all departments in Minnesota. We know that Minnesota continues to have its share of disasters and in 2022 this continued to be the case.

Some of the specific areas the Committee worked on in 2022 include:
• We have continued our work with the FAST Team and helped to deploy fire officers across the state to various situations.
• We continued to interact with the COVID-19 Task Force to assist with emergency management areas.
• Statewide Mutual Aid Plan and Planning
» We have updated the Intrastate Mutual Aid plan and presented it to the MSFCA Board for approval. The updated plan has been approved and is on the MSFCA website for use.
» The Plan was used in 2022 assistance with non- line of duty deaths, line of duty deaths, and response to unique fire/emergency scenes.
» Ongoing awareness training and information to the MSFCA Board, Regional Directors, and fire departments continues relating to the Statewide Mutual Aid Plan and various logistic areas. Ongoing plan education and plan maintenance are key components as we progress forward. The goal is to create a system and process that is understood and utilized in times of need, by individuals throughout the State. The system and process identifies and guides people on the following matters:

1. Mutual aid use in day-to-day response
2. Mutual aid use in regional response
3. Mutual aid use in Statewide Disaster scenarios 4. Mutual aid used outside of Minnesota (EMAC)

Field Operations Guide (FOG) for the Statewide Mutual Aid Plan was updated in 2019 and has been distributed. If you do not have updated an FOG and would like them for your department, please reach out to a committee member or a State Fire Marshal Division Fire Safety Specialist.

• Ongoing Participation in various State and LocalCommittees and Task Forces

• Continued development and encouragement of Fire Chiefs involvement in the emergency management process.

• Development and utilization of technology in the emergency management arena.

The committee is also involved with social media while attempting to keep our key activities/accomplishments posted on Facebook.

Our relationship with the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) and its representation on our committee has enabled our committee to stay in the forefront in reference to homeland security.

Stuart Glaser, Stillwater Fire, has been actively serving as the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers (AMEM) liaison this past year in order to keep effective and efficient communications.

The Emergency Management Committee consists of members that serve as representatives of numerous fire service and emergency management organizations throughout the state of Minnesota. Additional organizations represented include: HSEM, DNR, State Fire Marshal, MSP airport, and AMEM/MEMA. This cross section of talent on the committee enhances the wide variety of experiences and skills. I would like to thank all the EM Committee members for their hard work this past year and we will stand ready to face challenges in the future.

Our committee would like to acknowledge the passing of Jim Flanders and recognize that Jim had a big impact on the Emergency Management Committee and the Minnesota fire service. Jim - you are missed as a colleague, friend, and mentor! All of us would like to thank you for your service!

Finally, I would like to remind our membership that committee information is posted on the MSFCA website. Our committee attempts to provide our members with timely information referencing emergency management issues throughout the state of Minnesota. If any of the MSFCA members are interested in serving on the Emergency Management Committee, please contact Scott Gerber at 952-949-8336.

2022 Emergency Management Committee Members

Chair: Scott Gerber, Fire Chief, Eden Prairie Fire Dept. [email protected]

Jacob Beauregard, HSEM

Rodger Coppa, Fire Chief, Plymouth Fire Dept.

John Ehret, State Fire Marshal’s Office

Jim Flanders, Asst. Chief, Minnetonka Fire Dept.

Stuart Glaser, Fire Chief, Stillwater Fire Dept.

Greg Hayes, MESB

David Jensen, State Fire Marshal’s Office

Bob Koenig, Fire Chief, MAC Fire Dept.

Brenda Kremer, MAC Fire Dept.

Ryan Muchow, Fire Chief, Fergus Falls Fire Dept.

Tim Oland, DNR

Greg Peterson, Fire Chief, White Bear Lake Fire Dept.

Kristi Rollwagen, Emergency Management Chief, MAC Emergency Management

Ulie Seal, Fire Chief, Bloomington Fire Dept.

Chad Stangeland, Division Chief, Moorhead Fire Dept.

Emergency Management Committee File Library