Our Mission Statement
"Is to protect lives and property when major emergencies threaten public safety in North Smithfield."
The North Smithfield Emergency Agency works toward the coordination of an effective townwide response to two types of disasters: natural and man-made. Natural disasters are major storms, i.e. snow, ice, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, severe weather extremes (high heat or cold) and earthquakes. Man-made disasters can be technological disasters including hazardous material incidents, nuclear, biological or radiological, cyber terrorism. As the local Homeland Security agency, we will plan for dealing with and responding to terrorism threats either foreign or homegrown.
Department Capabilities
We partner primarily with other town departments to assist in any way we can. Examples include helping the police with traffic control and the school department with parking and traffic at the high school graduation. Some major events include Pumpkinfest, Artisan Fair and Clean and Green Day.
The EMA has 20 active volunteer members. Nearly all are Red Cross certified in CPR and basic First Aid as well as traffic control. Some members are now licensed amateur radio operators thanks to Ham trainer and Communications Officer William Lincourt. Our members have also received Community Emergency Response Team training, a course offered through NSEMA by Deputy Director Jay Levenson including a class on Cyber Security by Lt. Michael Monteiro. Many have completed other training such as the use of gas masks, radio operation, search and rescue, crowd control, shelter management, skywarn severe weather observation and reporting. Homeland Security training includes terrorist incident response, radiological, biological and chemical detection.