On Wednesday, May 31, the Forsyth County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) hosted a strategic planning session with departments, officials and partner agencies to review the County’s response to emergency and disaster situations.

“Having the agencies and partners that are involved in the planning, response and recovery from disasters come together often to ensure everyone is prepared in their roles is paramount to successfully navigating any emergency,” said EMA Director Tom Cisco. “Hopefully the events we prepare for never occur in our community, but if they do, we are continuously preparing to best respond.”

Agencies involved in the training included Forsyth County EMA, Fire Department, Sheriff’s Office, E-911, Roads & Bridges, Engineering, Public Facilities and other County departments that have a role to play in emergency preparedness and response. Northside Hospital, Army Corps of Engineers, Sawnee EMC, Georgia Power and other community partners including non-profit organizations also attended the training. The training event was hosted in the Forsyth County Emergency Operations Center, where County emergency operations are headquartered during emergency situations. 

“When an emergency occurs, there are many departments and community agencies that come together to keep the community safe, informed and prepared. And while any emergency response absolutely requires the partners that met today, all Forsyth County residents have a part to play. Making sure that you and your family are prepared for any emergency event is just as important as the planning efforts that occur internally here.”

To learn more about how you can ensure you and your family are prepared for a disaster, visit the EMA preparedness webpage.

Forsyth County EMA is the local lead agency for coordination of emergency and disaster response activities for Forsyth County and the City of Cumming. The agency manages a comprehensive and aggressive mitigation and emergency preparedness, response and recovery program for the citizens of Forsyth County in order to save lives, protect property and reduce the effects of disasters. EMA also coordinates community efforts to plan for a variety of public health situations.