Who We Are and What We Do
Established under Chapter 5502 of the Ohio Revised Code, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency is the central point of coordination within the state for response and recovery to disasters. The primary focus of the agency when not in a response or recovery mode is to ensure that the state, and the 11 million citizens residing in it, are prepared to respond to an emergency or disaster and to lead mitigation efforts against the effects of future disasters.
Effective emergency management systems are a tiered effort. When an emergency exceeds the capacity of local government, they request the assistance of the state through the Ohio EMA. If an emergency response exceeds the capacity of the Ohio EMA, aid is requested from the president through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To ensure preparedness and the capability to respond at all levels, it is critical that Ohio EMA's 101 person staff interface regularly with their local and federal counterparts.
During an emergency response or recovery effort, all sections and branches are focused on the event. The Ohio EMA, as the governor's emergency management organization, may activate the Ohio Emergency Operations Center to better coordinate the state's response.
Chapter 5502 of the ORC designates the Executive Director of the Ohio EMA as the state coordinator during emergency response and stipulates that he:
"Shall coordinate all activities of all agencies for emergency management within the state, shall maintain liaison with similar agencies of other states and of the federal government, shall cooperate with those agencies subject to the approval of the governor, and shall develop a statewide emergency operations plan that shall meet any applicable federal requirements for such plans."
Ohio EMA's current staffing roster includes nine field liaison positions, each responsible for liaison with and assistance to approximately nine county emergency management agencies. The state is separated geographically into the following sections: northwest, west north central, west central, southwest, central, northeast, north central, east central, southeast and south central. Each field liaison representative is responsible for one section.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency has six planner positions that specialize in all hazards preparedness, which includes an anti-terrorism program and earthquake safety awareness, and a state-level planner who focuses on the U.S. Department of Energy activities.
The agency also has trainers who specialize in all-hazards training, exercise design, survivable crisis management, and radiological training. These individuals support all 88 county emergency management programs.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency consists of an executive branch, a technical support division, a grants division and an operations division, and is composed of 11 branches.