MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF

Six months ago, I wrote to express my thanks to our first responders, our volunteer and professional Texas firefighters and our many fine state agencies supporting the amazing battle against wildfires that began earlier this year. Few of us realized that the battle would continue, expand and destroy homes and property for many months to come. It is not over yet.

MEET YOUR TDEM REGIONAL COORDINATORS

The Texas Division of Emergency Management is enhancing its support for Texas on a regional level. To that end, seven Regional Coordinators have been hired to oversee the activities of the division’s District Coordinators (formerly TDEM’s Regional Liaison Officers).

ABCs OF INCIDENT MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE TEAMS

FEMA has developed a next generation of rapidly deployable emergency response teams called Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs). The IMATs are full-time, rapid-response teams with dedicated staff able to deploy within two hours and arrive at an incident within 12 hours to support the local incident commander.

AGENCY PARTNERS: DSHS ROLE IN EPIDEMICS

This question and answer article explains the role of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in the event of an epidemic, and how DSHS coordinates with the Texas Division of Emergency Management. This article also discusses lessons learned from the H1N1 influenza epidemic.

TEXAS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BRIEFS, TIPS AND LINKS

Find more information on events and resources for the emergency management community.