Office of Emergency Management

The Borough of Westwood's Office of Emergency Management's (OEM) mission is to "Implement an Emergency Plan and Direct Response."  Westwood's OEM represents our local participation in our Nation's official emergency management structure:

  • Federal Emergency Management Association
  • New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJSP)
  • Bergen County Office of Emergency Management
  • Westwood Office of Emergency Management (OEM)

The coordination of Borough resources with Borough department heads is accomplished by:

  1.  Agencies (American Red Cross)
  2. County (Haz-Mat, Health and Office of Emergency Management)
  3. Federal (Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency)
  4. Municipal (Neighboring Communities)
  5. State (New Jersey Department of Health, New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and New Jersey State Police)
  • Mitigation - Activities that eliminate or reduce the risk of disaster
    • Building codes
    • Flood plain management
    • Insurance
    • Public education
  • Preparedness
    • Exercise
    • Planning
    • Public information systems and warning
    • Training
  • Recovery - Mitigation measures such as temporary housing and food, restoring non-vital Borough services
    • Short term - operations that seek to restore critical services and meet basic needs
    • Long term - actions that restore community to normal state
  • Response
    • Direction/Control
    • Emergency service to address immediate and short term effects of a emergency/ disaster
    • Evacuation
    • Warning

The following groups make up Westwood's Office of Emergency Management:

  • Board of Education
  • Building
  • Citizen Volunteers
  • City Council
  • Department of Public Works
  • Engineering
  • Fire
  • Health
  • Police
  • Social Service