City fire chief outlines training, partnerships in update to Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

Fire Chief Bailey told the Public Safety Committee on Feb. 18 that the city's updated Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, or CEMP, will emphasize staff training, renewed external partnerships and a revived Community Emergency Response Team as it moves to the full council for approval.

The plan "is a living document," Fire Chief Bailey said, and staff are proposing a year of exercises and classroom training so new and existing personnel understand roles and how the emergency operations center would function.

The CEMP matters because it sets how the city organizes response during floods, fires, hazardous incidents and other emergencies, and the committee voted to move the update to the regular city council agenda under public safety for a full presentation.

Bailey described a four-part training schedule for 2025: an early spring orientation to the emergency operations center for department heads and supervisors; departmental role-and-responsibility reviews; a third-quarter tabletop flood exercise with directors; and a year-end citywide exercise to open and operate…