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Burien emergency manager outlines COOP, EOC readiness and neighborhood resilience plans
Summary
Emergency Management Coordinator Chris Smith reviewed nine months of work including a continuity-of-operations plan, EOC preparations at Fire Station 28, adoption of King County CodeRED for internal alerts, WebEOC integration, CERT training, and a 'Resilient Neighborhoods of Burien' train-the-trainer plan and prep fair in September.
Chris Smith, Burien’s emergency management coordinator, presented the department’s priorities and accomplishments since he started in April 2025, including work on a continuity-of-operations (COOP) plan, establishment of an Emergency Management Coordination Committee, and EOC readiness at Fire Station 28.
Smith said the city has updated its hazard-mitigation plan and submitted it to the state for review, adopted King County’s CodeRED system for internal alerts, and integrated WebEOC to centralize incident tracking. He outlined training and outreach plans for 2026: regular preparedness workshops, translated outreach materials, CERT expansion and qualification for program managers, a proposed preparedness fair in September (Preparedness Month), and a "Resilient Neighborhoods of Burien" train-the-trainer program to build local volunteer capacity.
Council members asked about activation levels and operational triggers; Smith described three activation states for the EOC (monitoring, partial, full) and said typical weather responses stay at a monitoring level with county coordination for sheltering needs. Smith also said that full operational changes (for example, altering police or county contracts) have longer legal and financial lead times.
Quote: "Burien Emergency Management safeguards community by coordinating, planning, training, and partnerships to ensure resilience against all hazards," Smith said on the department’s mission and outreach priorities.
What happens next: Staff will continue developing the COOP and strategic five-year planning components, prepare translated outreach materials and workshops, and return to council with updates and specific program rollouts.
