Who We Are and What We Do

Nicholas Thorpe, Director of Emergency Management, Franklin County

During the 2024 International Association of Emergency Manager’s (IAEM) conference, there seemed to be a cloud of uncertainty among the emergency management community. Questions were posed: What is the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, of federal grants and of the emergency management profession as a whole? These were the questions we took home to research and to answer.

It wasn’t long after the conference that more warning signs appeared regarding how much federal, state and local emergency management organizations were under attack. Concerns emerged regarding potential reorganization, loss of funding and reabsorption of these emergency management organizations into other first responder agencies. The IAEM encouraged everyone to call political leaders, appear on the local news and get out into the community to talk about the role emergency management plays in government, as well as its role in helping communities both daily and during major events and incidents.

Since then, I have watched leaders in emergency management work to reengage the profession and band together as advocates for the industry. I’ve read countless articles from emergency managers trying to articulate a pathway forward. I’ve even seen them simply take a page from Charlie Brown and become depressed about the whole situation.

What We Do

In researching what has been said about the emergency management profession, I seek to simply articulate who we are and what we do in a way that is relevant to the broader community. I want to attempt to articulate just how multifaceted emergency management truly is.

1. We are mitigators preventing things from being worse than they could have been

2. We prepare for things that no one thinks could ever happen to them

3. We are responders when the responders need help 4. We are recovery from bad times and the finders of the new normal

5. We are grant writers for resources that will be used by other responders

6. We are partnership builders so that no one gets left behind

7. We are collaborators so that burdens are shared

8. We are problem solvers when no one knows what to do next

“Emergency management is the bridge between everyday emergencies and once-in-a-lifetime events”

9. We are seekers of resources for the things responders need to save lives

10. We are planners that bring clarity to emergencies and disasters

11. We are exercisers so that everyone knows how to respond

12. We are communicators getting the right information to the right people at the right time

13. We are weather analysts expected to know more than local meteorologists

14. We are event planners ensuring your event is fun and safe

15. We are accountants who can spend one dollar to save seven dollars

16. We are bankers getting governments and first responders reimbursed for the costs of disasters

17. We are teachers of methods of best practices for responding

18. We are writers of after-action reports and improvement plans 19. We are managers of volunteers who have passion and abilities to help

20. We are engineers conducting damage assessments of homes and buildings

21. We are caregivers helping to look out for the physical and mental health needs of responders and survivors

22. We are informants passing critical and salient information to policy makers

23. We are advocates for the rebuilding of communities and neighborhoods

24. We are educators of how the community can be prepared for emergencies and disasters

I hope that government leaders, first responders and you as the wider community take a moment to remember that one time (or more) that emergency management came for them; to remember that time we helped you out of a difficult situation or helped you to solve a problem. If we were successful, it’s because of all the work we do on regularly to prepare ourselves to be helpful to you and to the community at a moment’s notice.

The Bridge Between Crisis and Recovery

An emergency management office that isn’t growing as fast as its responder partner agencies, or that is dependent on grants for its existence, is not going to stand the test of time. Without commitment and investment at the state and local levels to allow emergency management to flourish, history will continue to repeat—disaster after disaster—with questions such as why responders weren’t more capable of responding, why the community wasn’t more prepared to survive and why our buildings, streets and electrical systems weren’t enough to stand against those destructive forces.

It is important to be ready for everyday emergencies. However, it does not take much time for an everyday emergency to turn into a disaster. Though these events may not happen often, when they do, they can be devastating and catastrophic. Emergency management is the bridge between everyday emergencies and once-in-a-lifetime events. We actively work to mitigate the impacts, prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters. Emergency Management, a Nation Prepared.

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