Office of Emergency Management
The City of Tampa Office of Emergency Management (OEM) leads the city in emergency planning, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for major natural and human-caused disasters, as well as large scale citywide events (i.e., Gasparilla, Super Bowl, National Conventions, NCAA Football Playoff, etc.)
Local government is the first line of defense for citizens confronting the impacts of a disaster. OEM provides key coordination and leadership to city departments, stakeholders, residents, businesses, and visitors to respond to and assist with getting back to "normal" in their times of need.
Roles
Public Education
After a disaster, the public will have to be self-sufficient until basic services can be restarted. OEM offers services to those who live, work, or visit the city to help them better prepare to take action while the City is getting back on its feet. This includes holding multiple public outreach meetings and events with our community partners at HOA Meetings, Faith-Based Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other community-wide events throughout the year. If you are interested in having someone from our emergency management team come speak at your event send a message to the Emergency Coordinator.
Organizing City Response
Tampa has an established an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) that hosts more than 75 representatives from an assortment of local government and non-profit organizations to assist in meeting these objectives. The Tampa EOC enables the efficient use of city personnel and other agencies to perform multiple tasks, coordinate emergency management activities, and continue to provide city government functions before, during, and after disasters strike. The EOC supports field response operations by collecting and sharing important information about the disaster and coordinates resource requests among local, state, and federal governments, as well as private organizations.
Plan, Train, Exercise, and Execute
In order to effectively mitigate against, respond to, and recover from disasters and large-scale citywide events, the City of Tampa develops various plans as a blueprint to act. Once plans are developed, OEM works with the community to train individuals on their roles and responsibilities during various types of incidents (i.e., hurricane, active shooter, infrastructure failure, etc.) Annually, that training is put into action through drills and exercises so it becomes "second nature" when it's time to act during a crisis.
Recovery and Assistance
After a disaster has occurred, OEM facilitates getting the city and impacted residents' help. Federal government funding will become available when a federally declared disaster is determined. The city assists the public first by documenting damage to make a case for a federal declaration. Once it has been declared, we help the public access various federal resources to get back to "normal" (i.e., SBA Disaster Assistance, Individual Assistance, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, etc.) In addition, city assets that have been impacted by the disaster may receive federal assistance to fix services and infrastructure that were broken during the disaster. OEM will lead the charge on obtaining and managing that federal assistance to ensure a speedy recovery for the city.
Contact Us
We appreciate your comments and suggestions. If you would like someone from the Office of Emergency Management to speak at your organization regarding emergency preparedness, how to get involved, or another relevant topic please feel free to contact us.
Mail:
Office of Emergency Management
Tampa Fire Rescue
808 E. Zack Street
Tampa, FL. 33602
Phone: (813) 274-7011
By Fax: (813) 274-7144
Online: Send a message to the Emergency Coordinator
