Major Incidents

OEM responds to major incidents around the City on a 24/7 basis. OEM typically responds to incidents that are complex, widespread, or prolonged; impact a large number of citizens or businesses; require outside resources; or involve a large number of agencies.

Typical incidents in which OEM responds include:

• Hazardous materials incidents
• Utility outages
• Transportation incidents
• Large fires
• Flooding
• Evacuations
• Incidents at sensitive locations

On the scene of an incident, OEM provides resource support to the incident commander, coordinates multi-agency issues, serves as a liaison to agencies not present, and issues notifications to City officials and other partner organizations.

OEM looks outside the immediate scope of the scene to identify ways in which the incident may impact other areas and implement solutions to prevent additional problems. The OEM responder works to ensure that, once threats to life and health have been mitigated, coordinated actions are taken to reduce long-term disruption to citizens and businesses.