The Preparedness Gazette

A publication of the Springfield Township Office of Emergency Management

____________________Vol 1, Issue 1, Summer 2025__________________

• OEM Coordinator: Mr. Anthony Sam, 609-723-2464, oem@springfieldtownshipnj.org

Greetings from your Office of Emergency Management (OEM):

Our township is beginning a new chapter in the evolution of our emergency management program, and we would like to say “hello” to you, our friends and neighbors!  Like many public service agencies, Emergency Management has gone through significant changes in recent years. Emergency Managers at all government levels have had to contend with multiple challenges: shifting priorities, inconsistent funding, and spotty resourcing. Regardless, emergency management must maintain the ability to enable recovery from disasters large and small. The constant planning, analysis and practice conducted by our OEM is something that we all rely on, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Preparedness is Not an Accident:

Keeping our community safe is a continuous and ongoing process.  Springfield Township OEM coordinates the efforts of our community leaders with our Fire, Police, Public Works, schools, and residents, to foster an “all hazards” preparedness culture.  Your OEM team works closely with Burlington County and State OEM to create and maintain a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan to ensure we are ready and able to respond when needed.

Community Engagement:

Engaging with the community is a cornerstone of effective emergency management, yet it remains a challenging task. Building trust, raising awareness, and encouraging preparedness among the public requires ongoing effort and innovative strategies.  Even with effective outreach, many individuals remain unaware of potential hazards or are unprepared to respond effectively when disaster strikes. Overcoming this requires communication that resonates with residents.  It also requires building and maintaining strong relationships with community members.  Your OEM team is dedicated to those goals.

Threats We Face:

Our township is a rural, largely agriculturally based community, but we face many of the same threats and challenges as larger, more diverse communities.  For instance, we have a major military installation, with an active airfield, just next door.  A great deal of daily traffic, to and from the base, transits our township roads, creating threats to motorists, pedestrians, and farmers moving from field to field.  We also have the possibility of aircraft related accidents, hazardous materials exposures, spills, and other hazards that are unique to military installations.  Then there is the weather; regardless of our views on why our weather is changing, it certainly is changing and having a measurable impact on natural disasters nationwide.  As we’ve seen over the past few years, our community is not immune.  In the past 36 months we’ve experienced the following right here in our own backyard:

• Severe storms producing torrential rain/flooding/hail
• Drought conditions
• Damaging wind events with higher windspeeds and longer durations

• Wildfires
• Tornadoes

Given our township’s topography, if a storm becomes severe enough to spawn a tornado, or just excessive straight-line winds, there isn’t much to slow the momentum.  It is conceivable that we could see widespread storm damage that will challenge our ability to respond. 

What can we do?   

Emergency Management begins with a proactive approach.  That begins with each of us as community members.    Each resident should have a personal emergency response plan in place.  Think about the following:

• What would I do if I lost power for 7 days?
• Do I have a water source?
• Do I have food that will resist spoilage?
• Do I have a way to charge my battery-operated devices (cell phones, tablets, etc.) 

Locally, our first responders are constantly training for emergency responses of all types.  However, it is incumbent upon all of us as township residents to be prepared for the unexpected.  As we’ve seen recently, FEMA is not able to respond as robustly to disasters as it once did.  The Federal Government is shifting authority and responsibility for hazard response to the state and local levels.  As community members, we must do what we can proactively to mitigate risks before disaster strikes.  There’s an old saying in emergency management: “hazard prevention generally yields better outcomes than hazard response.”  Stay safe out there!  #preparedness