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Chester County highlights emergency management services, encourages ReadyChesco signups
Summary
The county's emergency services director outlined emergency management structure, accreditation and resident preparedness steps, urging residents to sign up for ReadyChesco alerts and prepare basic emergency plans.
At the Chester County Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 13, Bill Messerschmitt, director of the Department of Emergency Services, gave a departmental spotlight focused on emergency management operations and resident preparedness.
Messerschmitt told the Chester County Board of Commissioners that the Department of Emergency Services has roughly 275 staff operating across nine program areas, including emergency management, training and exercises, community outreach and school safety. He said the department is EMAP-accredited (Emergency Management Accreditation Program), noting the accreditation requires a rigorous reaccreditation every three years to meet national benchmarks.
Messerschmitt described the county's emergency operation center (EOC), located in the basement of the Government Services Center, as the coordination hub for response and recovery and said the county is revising its emergency operations plan with the expectation of presenting the revision to commissioners in the coming months. He also noted the county plans for technological hazards, including two nuclear power plants that affect Chester County.
For residents, Messerschmitt stressed two preparedness steps: sign up for ReadyChesco, the county's emergency notification system, and make a family preparedness plan. He said residents can sign up at readychesco.org or text readychesco to 888777 to receive county text alerts. He also described the county's collection of information for residents with access or functional needs to help with evacuations or special notification.
Commissioners praised the department's staff and work over recent years, and Messerschmitt highlighted available resources on the county website (chesco.org/des) including information on ReadyChesco, alerts and personal preparedness.
The presentation emphasized readiness activities such as interagency coordination, public alerting, resource management, situational awareness and field support for special events (mobile command post, barriers, drones, cameras). Messerschmitt urged residents to begin preparedness conversations and plan basics (meeting points, evacuation routes, essential documents and supplies).
