Emergencies can happen anytime and anywhere. The City of Elmhurst formed the Elmhurst Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA) to prepare the city and its residents to cope with any emergency/disaster that may arise. One of the main goals of the ESDA is to maintain the City in a state of readiness should a major emergency/disaster occur. This is accomplished through the use of an Emergency Operating Plan (EOP) which outlines the responsibility of each city department in any type of emergency/disaster and how they will operate jointly with other city departments to combat the situation. The plan is reviewed quarterly and updated every two years. The ESDA also maintains in a ready state, the City Emergency Operating Center (EOC) in the lower level of Fire Station 1 at 404 N. York St. The EOC is a place where representatives from all city departments can gather to work jointly to combat any major emergency/disaster. The EOC features a communications center that is used at times to back up the 9-1-1 center, with state-of-the-art weather tracking equipment and weather computer programs and a vast array of communication equipment and amateur radio equipment. The EOC is used by volunteer personnel to track any severe weather that threatens the Elmhurst area. The ESDA provides many other services to the community which includes emergency/disaster planning for schools and businesses. ESDA personnel are available to address civic groups and associations on such things as severe weather preparedness and family disaster planning. The ESDA group is made up of volunteer personnel that provide assistance to the city. This group provides weather tracking services to the community from the EOC using the various government and amateur radio frequencies, specialized computer radar/weather programs and providing trained weather spotters in the field.
Information on various ways to prepare and protect yourself from an emergency or disaster:
