Arlington First in North Texas to Earn Emergency Management Program Reaccreditation This Year

By Office of Communication

Posted on August 20, 2019, August 20, 2019

The City of Arlington, which has developed a robust disaster preparedness and response system to create a safer community for our residents and visitors, has once again been recognized by the national Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP).

The Arlington Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Management is one of nine emergency management programs across the nation - and the first one in North Central Texas - to earn EMAP accreditation or reaccreditation this year. Accreditation is a means of demonstrating, through program assessment, documentation and onsite assessment by an independent peer review team, that a program meets national standards. Arlington first achieved its status in 2014.

“Congratulations to those programs that have maintained their accredited status as well as those who have joined the elite leaders in emergency management having earned accreditation through the Emergency Management Accreditation Program. Through their commitment and leadership, they have proven to their communities and stakeholders that their Programs are sustainable and that they continue to focus on their communities’ best interests,” stated Nick Crossley, Director of Hamilton County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and the EMAP Commission Chair.

EMAP is the only accreditation process for Emergency Management programs such as Arlington’s. Working collaboratively since 1997, Emergency Management professionals from national, state, local and higher education continue to provide quality standards and a process for determining compliance. Each accreditation is valid for five years.

Often times, municipalities partner with their respective counties to achieve the accreditation through EMAP, but Arlington was the sixth city in the nation to receive this accreditation on its own when it was initially accredited.