The Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response maintains an inter-municipal agreement with the City of Poughkeepsie to provide backup services between agencies. The County and the City of Poughkeepsie maintain 911 Communication Centers. If either center’s call receiving capabilities are exceeded or a 911 call cannot be answered there is an automated system in place to have the call answered by either center.
The agreement also establishes a fully functional back up 911 Communications Center. This backup facility is ready to operate if either 911 Communications Center were to experience a critical failure in any part of its operation. This facility is maintained by both municipalities and is ready for operation 24/365.
The Department of Emergency Response maintains and administers the county-wide enhanced 911 system. The system provides emergency dispatch to 37 Fire Agencies, 5 Ambulance agencies and 13 Police agencies within Dutchess County. This integrated system utilizes the latest telecommunications technology. This centralized dispatch operation allows resources to be deployed more quickly for a coordinated and efficient response.
The Emergency Management Division at Emergency Response provides assistance/guidance on prevention and mitigation of natural and man-made disasters. The Emergency Manager is responsible for consulting/reviewing emergency plans of municipal entities, including schools.
The Emergency Management Divisions also maintains an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which is available 24 hours per day to assist and support local municipalities to meet and coordinate responses to an emergency situation.
We are currently developing a Regional Hazard Mitigation plan that involves planning efforts of numerous municipal agencies throughout Dutchess County. Once complete this plan will ensure a coordinated and efficient approach to Natural Hazard Mitigation efforts.
The Department of Emergency Response is designated as the coordination point for the Dutchess County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). This requires the collection and maintenance of all LEPC SARA Title III records and files to requesting agencies and the public.
The Department of Emergency Response provides the coordination of activity and response among various fire and EMS resources in the county. The department’s Coordinator staff assists incident commanders and municipal leaders at significant emergencies. They provide assistance in responding to and recovering from significant disasters. Additionally, we provide a Fire Police Response Team, Hazardous Materials Response Team, Fire Investigation Team, and a Critical Incident Response Team. All of these teams assist local municipalities and agencies, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for a local municipality to maintain these costly resources.
