Rockleigh Borough
maintains an approved, up-to-date Emergency Management Operations Plan.
The plan is available for inspection in the Borough Clerk's office at
Borough Hall.
Under
the New Jersey Emergency Management Act (NJS App. 9-40 et. seq.), all
government jurisdictions in New Jersey are required to have an active Emergency
Management Program. In Bergen County this office is under the
Chief of the County Police, who by County Charter is the County Emergency
Management Coordinator, is the lead agency for emergency activities.
As part of the statutory requirements, all jurisdictions are required to
formulate and submit for County and State approval comprehensive emergency
operations plans. Governmental plans are certified for a four (4) year
period and must be revised and resubmitted for approval. In 1992, only 17%
of the municipal plans were approved. Rockleigh's Plan was approved by the
State of New Jersey in
1994, 1998 and 2002.
Rockleigh Emergency Management Organization formulates response plans to
large-scale emergencies such as mass casualty incidents, large scale
fires, losses of utilities, and large traffic disruptions. The plans are
updated based on new information received from exercises or actual
occurrences.
As part of the contract between Rockleigh Borough and the Bergen County
Police Department, B.C.P.D. regularly responds to large scale
incidents in Rockleigh. At these incidents, representatives from Bergen
County OEM either assist municipal OEM coordinators or coordinate response
of emergency equipment for multi-jurisdictional emergencies.
Prevention activities include guidance in hazard mitigation projects, a
county wide committee on identifying mitigation projects and fire
prevention duties for county facilities accomplished through the County
Fire Marshal. The County OEM also provides regular training to emergency
management officials and responders from the police, fire, public works
and emergency medical services. Minimizing the effect of emergencies is
accomplished through planning, coordination, training and proper public
information.
Recovery is an important aspect of emergency management that is addressed
on various levels through this office. The multi-jurisdictional and
multi-disciplined approach to emergency management has paid dividends. As
the numbers of emergency volunteers are declining and other governmental
resources are not limitless, coordination of these resources becomes more
essential during large emergencies.
