Pursuant to the authority granted under Section 3.6 of the Hooksett
Town Charter, and the Emergency Management Ordinance 00.30 establishes
an Office of Emergency Management that will insure the complete
and efficient utilization of all Hooksett facilities to combat
disaster (natural or man-made) enemy attack or other disasters.
The Office of Emergency Management of the Hooksett Fire-Rescue
Department is the coordinating agency for all activity in connection
with emergency planning, and is the instrument through which the
community officials exercise the authority, and discharge the
responsibility vested in them in RSA, Chapter 107-C, State of
New Hampshire, Emergency Management Act, as amended.
"Emergency Management" means the preparation for and
carrying out of all emergency functions including, but not limited
to, emergency response and training functions, to prevent, minimize,
and repair injury or damage resulting from the occurrence or threat
of wide spread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property
resulting from any natural or man-made cause, including but not
limited to: fire, flood, earthquake, ice-storms, windstorm, wave
action, technological incidents, oil or chemical spill, or water
contamination requiring emergency action to avert danger or damage,
epidemic, air contamination, blight, drought, infestation, explosion,
or riot.
The Director of the Office of Emergency Management shall be responsible
to the Town Administrator in regard to all phases of the Emergency
Management activity. He/she shall be responsible for the planning,
coordination and operation of the Emergency Management activities
in the Town and shall maintain liaison with the state and federal
authorities and the authorities of other nearby political subdivisions
as to insure the most effective operations of the Emergency Management
Plan.
The Director of the Office of Emergency Management is further
responsible for the development and coordination of plans for
the use of all facilities, equipment, manpower, and other resources
of the town for the purpose of minimizing or preventing damage
to persons and property, and protecting and restoring to usefulness
governmental services and public utilities necessary for the public
health, safety and welfare, negotiating and designating suitable
buildings as public shelters.
The last ten years has seen the general movement away from independent
public safety agency operations during a crisis and towards combined
operations. The complexities of modern incidents, and very painful
lessons, such as the ice storms of recent years, the Emergency
Operations Center helps provide relief to commanders on the incident
scene by assuming some functions with which the incident commander
and the operations officer would otherwise be burdened (for example,
the commander manages the hazardous materials incident itself,
while the emergency operation center grapples with emergency public
information, news inquiries, evacuations, and sheltering).
This improvement in public safety management, with its inherent
benefits of shared resources and improved services has occurred
at an opportune time in our national history. Because of tax burdens,
and real budget cuts, governments are more receptive to combining
some public safety functions thereby realizing precious savings
afforded by bold and often resisted, streamlining of local government.
Locations
Emergency Operation Center (EOC)
15 Legends Drive in the Safety Center
Primary Shelter
Memorial School on Memorial Drive
Secondary Shelter
Underhill School on Sherwood Drive
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