Office of Emergency Management

The goal of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is to lessen the effects of disaster on the lives and property within the Borough of New Providence through leadership, coordination and support in the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Emergency management is the process of preparing for, mitigating, responding to and recovering from an emergency. Emergency management is a dynamic process. Planning, though critical, is not the only component. Training, conducting drills, testing equipment and coordinating activities with the community are other important functions.

Emergency Management is divided into four phases.

Mitigation

Mitigation activities are those that eliminate or reduce the probability of a disaster occurrence. Also included are those long-term activities that lessen the undesirable effects of unavoidable hazards. Some examples include the establishment of building codes, flood plan management, insurance, elevating buildings, and public education programs.

Preparedness

Preparedness activities serve to develop the response capabilities needed in the event of an emergency. Planning, exercising, training and developing public information programs and warning systems are among the activities conducted under this phase.

Response

Response activities include direction and control, warning, evacuation and emergency services and are designed to address immediate and short-term effects of the onset of an emergency or disaster. They help to reduce casualties and damage and to speed recovery.

Recovery

Recovery includes both short-term and long-term activities. Short-term operations seek to restore critical services to the community and provide for the basic needs of the public. Long-term recovery focuses on restoring the community to its normal or improved state of affairs. The recovery period is also an opportune time to institute mitigation measures, particularly those related to the recent emergency. Examples of recovery actions would be temporary housing and food, restoration of non-vital government services, and reconstruction of damaged areas.

The Office of Emergency Management is responsible, by Federal and State Law, for the coordination of all the Emergency Services in the Borough of New Providence. This includes Police, Fire, Rescue Squad, Public Works, Health Department and any additional agencies contributing to any large scale emergency incident or disaster.

Citizens can Register for Smart 911 to receive emergency communications or contact the OEM with questions or concerns. Additional information can be found at the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.

Remember that the borough website is also mobile and can be accessed from any smart phone by typing the www.newprov.org in the browser. There is no app to download.

Emergency incidents can strike anytime, anywhere and in many forms, such as a hurricane, snow storm, earthquake, flood, fire, hazardous material incident; an act of nature or an act of terrorism. Do you have an emergency plan?