Emergency Management
The North Maine Fire Protection District, Cook County Sheriff, Maine Township Highway Department, Red Cross and Salvation Army are just a few of the emergency response entities that Maine Township OEM will coordinate with in case of a disaster.
Moreover, the Maine Township OEM has a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) in place that addresses the Township’s response to a variety of disaster scenarios. The Township OEM assigns responsibilities to each Township department as well as to private and government agencies that might respond. While the OEM’s primary area of concern is the unincorporated area, it has cooperative agreements in place with several surrounding municipalities and can provide assistance for any area in Illinois.
Listen to Maine Township Emergency and Community Information Radio at 1350 AM.
In the event of a community emergency or disaster, Maine Township OEM will coordinate shelter and evacuation information, damage assessment and recovery information. The North Maine Fire Protection District, Cook County Sheriff Department, Maine Township Highway Department, Maine Township Code Enforcement, Red Cross and Salvation Army are just a few of the emergency response agencies that Maine Township will coordinate with in case of disaster.
In case of a Presidential Emergency or Disaster Declaration, Maine Township OEM will serve as the local contact for the county, state and federal governments as well as federal grants and loans to individuals, local businesses and governments.
Facilities
The Maine Township OEM is located at 1387 Redeker Road in Des Plaines and is equipped to coordinate a response to any emergency confronting Maine Township. These emergencies may include but are not limited to fire, flood, tornado, severe thunderstorms, snowstorms, hazardous material spills, and terrorist attacks.
The OEM communications room contains radios capable of communication on police and fire bands, amateur (Ham) radio, Salvation Army and Red Cross frequencies. Maine Township OEM has its own weather station which measures rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and has a computer-generated predictive capability. The OEM is also hooked-up with satellite images and forecasts from the National Weather Service. The OEM’s phones are separate from the Township system and are connected directly with the phone company.
The OEM’s Emergency Operations Center accommodates up to thirty individuals from local emergency response entities. In the event of an emergency, command level leaders from the OEM, fire department, police, highway department, township, human services, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other entities would work together to implement our emergency response plan. By physically placing decision makers together without the impediment of middle-men, emergency response, management, and evacuation are faster, more efficient, better organized, and safer.
Education Outreach
We provide speakers to community organizations and homeowner’s associations. OEM speakers provide an overview of OEM responsibilities, as well as instruction on making your own emergency survival kit. If your group or club would like to learn more about the OEM, please contact us to schedule a speaker.
Volunteers
Main Township OEM volunteers have supported many local events that include the North Maine Fire Protection District, Park Ridge Fire Department, Taste of Park Ridge, Annual Crop Walk, National Night Out Against Crime, Annual Garage Sale and other local community events. If you are interested in becoming an OEM volunteer, please contact us. No prior experience is required. Emergency management training is provided for free. We need volunteers in administration, response, communications, ground search, rescue, for language translations and severe storm watching.
Flood Insurance
If you live in a flood-prone area, consider purchasing flood insurance to reduce your risk of flood loss. Buying flood insurance to cover the value of a building and its contents will not only provide greater peace of mind, but will speed the recovery if a flood occurs. Go to www.floodsmart.gov to learn more about flood insurance.