Township of Edgmont, PA Emergency Management

It is the intent and purpose of this chapter to establish the roles and responsibilities of an Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC), procedure for the complete and efficient utilization of all Edgmont Township resources to combat disaster resulting from enemy actions or other disasters, and to adopt a formal Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), as amended by resolution from time to time.

This chapter shall not be interpreted in a manner that would adversely affect the work of any federal, state, county, or volunteer agency organized for relief in major emergencies or disasters.

§ 40-3 Establishment of incident management and mass notification systems.

The Township of Edgmont hereby establishes the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the municipal standard for incident management. This system provides a consistent approach for federal, state, and municipal governments to work together more effectively and efficiently to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size or complexity. NIMS will utilize standardized terminology, standardized organizational structures, interoperable communications, consolidated action plans, unified command structures, uniform personnel qualification standards, uniform standards for planning, training, and exercising, comprehensive resource management, and designated incident facilities during emergencies or disasters. The NIMS Incident Command System (ICS) will be utilized by all Edgmont Township emergency and disaster responders for incident management.

The Township of Edgmont hereby establishes the mass notification system currently in place by the Delaware County Emergency Services Department as the municipal standard for conveying community alerts.

The Township administrative office, through the Emergency Management Coordinator and Township Manager, will be the coordinating office for all activity in connection with Emergency Management. The EOP is the instrument through which the Edgmont Township Board of Supervisors may exercise the authority and discharge the responsibilities vested in them during major emergencies or disasters.

§ 40-4 Emergency management coordinator.

The Board of Supervisors shall, as necessary but no less than annually, appoint an EMC in accordance with PA Title 35 and have demonstrated the appropriate qualifications and commitment to attend in-service training. This appointment shall be sent to PEMA for endorsement followed by official appointment from the Governor. Any assistant coordinators, as deemed necessary by the Board of Supervisors, whose roles and responsibilities shall be further outlined in the EOP and have such additional duties as prescribed by the Board of Supervisors, shall follow this same process for appointment. The EMC shall work with the Township Manager to prepare and update, on an annual basis, the EOP of the Township for approval and adoption by the Board of Supervisors. The EMC shall submit to the Township, on an annual basis, a record of all trainings attended, and certifications obtained to date.

§ 40-5 Emergency operations plan.

The EOP shall be adopted and maintained by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. In the preparation of this plan, it is intended that the services, equipment, and facilities and personnel of all available County and Township departments and agencies shall fully be utilized. It shall be the responsibility of all Township departments to maintain their portions of the plan in a current state of readiness. The EOP shall have the effect of law whenever a disaster, as defined in this chapter, has been declared.

The EMC shall prescribe in the emergency plan those positions for which lines of succession are necessary. In each instance, the responsible person will designate and keep on file with the Township a current list of three persons as successors to the position. The list will be in order of succession and will, nearly as possible, designate persons best capable of carrying out all assigned duties and functions.

Each agency director and department head assigned responsibility in the EOP shall be responsible for carrying out all duties and functions assigned therein. Duties will include the organization and training of assigned employees and where needed volunteers. Each agency director and department head shall formulate the Standard Operating Guidelines to implement the plans for his/her service.

Amendments to the EOP shall be submitted to the EMC and Township Manager. The Township Manager will then submit the amendments to the Board of Supervisors with recommendation for its approval. Such amendments shall take effect on the date of approval, unless otherwise specified by the Board of Supervisors.

When a required competency or skill or a disaster function is not available within the existing services of the Township, the EMC is authorized to seek assistance from persons outside of government, including volunteers. The assignment of duties, when of a supervisory nature, shall also include the granting of authority for the persons so assigned to carry out such duties prior to, during and after, the occurrence of a disaster.

§ 40-6 Authority at fires and other emergencies.

The authorized official in charge of the emergency scene involving the protection of life and/or property, is empowered to direct such operations as may be necessary to extinguish or control any suspected or reported fires, gas leaks, or other hazardous conditions or situations or take any other action necessary in the reasonable performance of their duty. The official may prohibit any person, vehicle or object from approaching the scene and may remove or cause to be removed from the scene any person, vehicle or object which may impede or interfere with the operations of the fire department or other official emergency response personnel. The official may remove or cause to be removed any person, vehicle, or object from hazardous areas. All persons ordered to leave a hazardous area shall do so immediately and shall not re-enter the area until officially authorized to do so by the official in charge of the scene.

§ 40-7 Emergency declaration.

The Board of Supervisors shall have the power and authority to issue a declaration that an emergency exists whenever a disaster or civil emergency exists or appears imminent. The declaration may state that an emergency exists in any or all sections of the Township. If a quorum of the Board of Supervisors is not immediately available or are temporarily absent from the Township or otherwise unavailable, the EMC may issue the declaration that an emergency exists. If neither a quorum of the Board of Supervisors, nor the EMC are available, then the following persons shall have the power and authority to issue a declaration that an emergency exists, in the following order of succession: the Township Manager, the Fire Chief, the Roadmaster. A copy of such declaration shall be filed within 24 hours with the Township Manager.

Notwithstanding the above, when consultation with the Board of Supervisors would result in a substantial delay in an effective response in alleviating, preventing, or mitigating an emergency or disaster, the EMC or his/her successor as outlined in § 40-7A, is authorized to take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the loss of life and property in the Township.

The EMC shall be responsible for submitting a full report of all actions taken as a result of the declared emergency. The report shall include accounts of the events and shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors.

§ 40-8 Termination of emergency.

When the Board of Supervisors, as outlined in § 40-7 is satisfied that a disaster or civil emergency no longer exists, it shall terminate the emergency declaration by another declaration affecting the sections of the Township covered by the original declaration, or any part thereof. Said termination of emergency shall be filed with the Township Manager. Any state of emergency which continues for more than five days shall be renewed by the Board of Supervisors.