Do you know what to do before, during, and after an emergency to protect your business and your employees? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, over 40 percent of all companies that experience a disaster never reopen, and over 25 percent of the remaining companies close within two years.

The following pages contain information and resources to help Baltimore-based businesses of all types and sizes to be as prepared as possible for the next emergency.

Corporate Emergency Access System (CEAS)

The Corporate Emergency Access System (CEAS) is a program designed to reduce the impact of economic injury to a municipality and its businesses following a major emergency or catastrophic event. CEAS permits businesses to rapidly access their facilities following an emergency through a pre-event credentialing program, which authenticates critical business employees for access to restricted areas following a disaster or serious emergency using a secure identification card recognized by the Baltimore Police Department.

The goal of the program is to rapidly facilitate business recovery activities in an impacted area by providing quick access to affected work sites. CEAS will permit companies to quickly assess damage, maintain core IT systems, meet regulatory obligations and secure or remove vital records and data.

CEAS was launched by the Mayor’s Office of Emergency management on November 18, 2009 by Deputy Mayor Christopher Thomascutty, Police Commissioner, Frederick Bealefeld, Fire Chief, James Clack, Director of Emergency Management, Robert Maloney and President of the Downtown Partnership Kirby Fowler. 

In February of 2010, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake activated the CEAS in response to the City’s level 3 snow emergency. By doing so, CEAS cardholders were permitted to travel during the declared travel restrictions.

To learn more about CEAS visit www.ceas.com.

Join efforts with FEMA to make customer and employee safety everyone's business!