Fire chief outlines Fort Myers’ emergency‑management approach, requests board input on 5‑year plan

Fire Chief Trace McMillian, who also serves as the city’s emergency management director, told the Environmental Advisory Board on Sept. 2 that the city is refining a coordinated approach to prepare for, respond to and recover from hurricanes and other disasters. He highlighted a new emergency‑management app that allows residents to report storm damage directly to the city and to the city’s damage‑tracking system, and said departments run seasonal checklists that ramp up five days, 72 hours, 36 hours and 24 hours before an expected event.

“For the record, my name is Trace McMillian. I serve as the fire chief as well as emergency management director for the city of Fort Myers,” McMillian said. He described a lean emergency office—“2.5 people in emergency management,” he said—supplemented by subject‑matter experts from utilities, public works and parks. McMillian said the city maintains about 50–60 standing disaster contracts (the payments are pre‑established but not prepaid) and stages debris sites and contractors in advance to speed response and limit single‑supplier risk.

McMillian emphasized communications as central to effective response, identifying PIO Noelle Casa Grande as the lead for public messaging and the city’s new app, website and social channels as multiple redundant delivery systems for alerts during an event. He said the city will pursue a formal five‑year emergency management strategic plan and invited board members to participate in the planning process and volunteer advisory input.

Next steps: McMillian said staff will begin work on the strategic plan with a third‑party consultant, and asked board members to identify topics they want emphasized. The board discussed the plan and several members asked staff to present concrete opportunities to participate in the drafting process.