Domestic Preparedness and Emergency Management Bureau

The Domestic Preparedness and Emergency Management Bureau (DPEMB) ensures that the City of Fort Lauderdale is prepared to respond to, mitigate the potential impact of and recover from terrorist attacks, mass casualty incidents, natural disasters and other major emergencies.

The Bureau’s primary role is to develop and implement comprehensive disaster response, recovery, mitigation, risk reduction, preparedness and prevention activities within the City according to Florida statutes and in cooperation with the Broward County Emergency Management Agency.

The City of Fort Lauderdale’s DPEMB developed out of a nationwide effort to improve disaster response capabilities for weapons of mass destruction (WMD), terrorist, man-made or natural disaster incidents.

As one of the 120 most populous cities in the United States, Fort Lauderdale has been designated as a recipient of two federally supported domestic preparedness programs to improve the City’s overall emergency management program.

The Nunn-Luger-Domenici Domestic Preparedness (NLD DP) Program is funded through a grant provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and was created in response to congressional direction in 1997. The City initiated the NLD DP in the fall of 2001. Through this program, the City has provided training, planning and exercises in crisis management and consequence management in preparation for a response to terrorist incidents involving WMD. Both consequence and crisis management are two types of incident response management recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) is a program administered by the U.S. Public Health Service under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The City executed a contract in May of 2002 to support domestic preparedness efforts focusing on health and human consequence management as they pertain to a mass casualty incident. This program prepares organizations for a national response to medical emergencies arising from the terrorist use of a WMD. The planning, training and exercises assist local jurisdictions by coordinating and improving existing public safety, public health and health services.

In addition to the above responsibilities, the bureau is also responsible for developing, organizing and facilitating classroom training and disaster preparedness exercises for the City. The DPEMB is also available to the public for presentations on emergency preparedness. For more information, please contact the DPEMB.