About

The Chatham County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) operates at one of three levels of readiness in order to carry out its mission.

CEMA is constantly monitoring the County for threats, unusual events, or situations. A CEMA Duty Officer (DO) is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is advised of any such events by dispatch, the National Weather Service, concerned citizens, or other agencies. The Duty Officer also has the responsibility to monitor and follow-up on any threat, unusual event, or situation that has the potential to impact Chatham County such as media reports, weather advisories, etc.  It is important to note that although CEMA is constantly monitoring the progression of events within the County, the EOC is not considered activated.  During day-to-day operations where no specific situation is occurring, the EOC is not activated.

Activation of the EOC will be determined by CEMA's Director and Assistant Director.  The expected, actual or perceived severity of the incident is paramount in determining the level of activation.

In the event the EOC is activated, the AD will make notifications to CEMA Staff and the GEMA Area V Field Coordinator.  The Director will make notifications to County Commissioners as required, the County Manager and appropriate County Department Heads.

In the event activation of the EOC is ordered, the in service DO will have primary responsibility to initiate appropriate notifications to the EOC Level 2 or Level 1 Activation Team(s) and additional EOC Support Staff as needed.  Once notifications are initiated, the in service DO is responsible for preparing the EOC for activation and assumes responsibility as initial Operations Officer until directed otherwise.

During activations, all other CEMA staff will support the in-service DO until a formal EOC structure is in place or until directed otherwise.

Click below for information on each Activation Level:

Level 3 EOC Activation

Level 2 EOC Activation

Level 1 EOC Activation

EOC ACTIVATION CONTACTS (CALL OUT)

Call out of EOC Staff Representatives will be coordinated by the in-service DO using additional CEMA Staff as required. Identified EOC Positions and Emergency Support Functions will be activated and advised of the time to report to the EOC.  EOC Staff Representatives will receive an automated phone call.