Testimonials

Anne Arundel County’s Emergency Operations Center Works In The Shadows

September 13, 2023; By Mark Patton 

Captain Jenny Macallair is a Severna Park resident who serves as the communications director with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s Office of Public Information. Macallair also serves with the EOC, usually in the information realm, but she pointed out that several members of her department also staff the emergency center during critical events.

“The EOC allows us to collaborate and train with many of our surrounding agencies ahead of time to reduce and minimize complications during emergency events,” said Macallair, whose experience reads like somebody tailored for her position — communications degree, FBI National Academy graduate and participant of Federal Emergency Management Agency training on critical incident communications. “The ability to bring us together gives each of us the ability to look at best practices in critical events and collaborate on the objectives and needs of all agencies to mitigate an emergency incident with the best outcome for our communities and our residents. Preplanning the primary and secondary agencies prior to the critical event allows for a better understanding and flow of the mission during the event. We all have the same mission to protect and mitigate the risks to life, property and the environment. However, we all play different roles depending on the incident.”