Departments and Services

Emergency Management

Sinclair Salisbury, Emergency Management Coordinator
Rick Schea, Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator
Doylestown Township
Phone: 215-348-9915
Fax: 215-348-8729
425 Wells Road
Doylestown, PA 18901

Pennsylvania being a “Commonwealth” delegates the responsibility for all emergency services and disasters to the lowest form of government. All boroughs and townships are responsible to handle all emergency response issues until they are overwhelmed, at which point assistance can be requested from the next higher form of government.

An example of a possible emergency would be a chemical spill on Rt.611 where a vapor cloud forces the evacuation of a residential neighborhood, extensive storm damage, or a large fire in an apartment complex, again forcing the relocation of residents.

This means that Doylestown Township is required to be prepared to deal with all emergency situations until the incident becomes so large Township resources are exhausted or specialist assistance is needed. When this point is reached assistance would be requested from the County; if the County becomes overwhelmed State and then Federal assistance would be brought on line.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN

Doylestown Township has an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) in order to be prepared to assist the community for a response to, and recovery from, any emergency situation. The plan consists of four parts; the title page of Part 1 describes the content of each of these parts. Part 1 in its entirety is below. The contents page of Part 2 is included to show the type of information that is readily available for the location of resources from other municipalities and organizations that may be needed during an emergency response to maintain public safety. The table of contents from Part 3 shows the check lists and forms ready for response personnel to use. The contents of the Annex are listed on pages 5 and 6 of Part 1. The contents of Parts 2, 3 and the Annex are not public documents subject to the PA Right to Know law as they contain personal contact information.

Doylestown Township EOP

Part 1 Click here to view A public document

Part 2 Table of Contents Not subject to PA Right to Know

Part 3 Table of Contents Not subject to PA Right to Know

Annex See pages 5 & 6 of Part 1 for list of contents Not subject to PA Right to Know

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR

Doylestown Township has appointed an EMC, Sinclair G. Salisbury, who is responsible for the biannual revision of the Emergency Operations Plan. (The EMC is not a responder to an incident. For example a fire scene will always be under the control of the Incident Commander, the Fire Chief; but the EMC will be available to coordinate the location of extra resources from Part 2 of the EOP should a request come from the Incident Commander).

RESIDENT RESPONSIBILITY IN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

An important concept to realize is that in a widespread emergency where many citizens are affected, emergency services will be overwhelmed and unable to respond to every call for assistance. The Federal recommendation is that every person be prepared to look after themselves and family members for a minimum of 4 days. Are you prepared for extensive power cuts in mid-winter, no food deliveries to the supermarkets, an interruption to the water supply, or having to leave your home in a hurry?

If you feel you may not be ready for such a situation now is the time for you to make some preparations along with putting together a “Go Kit”. You will find guidance to preparation on the following web pages:

Ready PA

www.readypa.org

Bucks County Emergency Management Agency

http://www.buckscounty.org/government/EmergencyServices/EmergencyManagement

Red Cross

www.redcross.org

READY NOTIFY PA COMMUNITY ALERTS

One way you can help yourself and family is to ensure you receive any alerts about potential or imminent emergencies in Doylestown Township. Alerts are broadcast by authorized senders at the Bucks County Emergency Management Agency through the Roam Secure Alert Network (RSAN) to residents who have signed up at READY NOTIFY PA.

We urge ALL RESIDENTS to sign up at the link below. (We do not necessarily recommend you sign up for traffic alerts unless you feel that would be especially useful to you, as this busy area has many traffic incidents, and you may find the repeated traffic alerts a nuisance.)

Ready Notify PA