Emergency Preparedness

New Haven Area Special Hazards Team (NHASH)

New Haven Area Special Hazards Team (NHASH)

In the summer of 2001, several area fire chiefs met in the New Haven Fire Department Chief’s office and opened discussions on creating a special hazards team to address issues of hazardous materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). These discussions took on new urgency after 9/11 and it became clear that a special hazards team was a necessity. Over the next several months the group looked at the best way to organize the team. The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) voted in 2002 to authorize the fire chiefs from the 15 municipalities that make up the SCRCOG, to move forward with the concept and develop a plan.

Early in 2006, the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) adopted a new map dividing the State into 5 regions. DEMHS also indicated that it wished to recognize 5 regional hazardous materials teams, including NHASH in Region 2. In January of 2006, the SCRCOG Board was advised of this change. The NHASH Board of directors voted in February 2006 to update their By-Laws and include all the communities located in DEMHS Region 2 as part of NHASH if they choose to participate.

A more detailed history of the development of NHASH is available below.

New Haven Area Special Hazards Team History

NHASH Contact Information:

New Haven Area Special Hazards Team
Chief William Seward, III, Chairperson
DESPP Region 2 ESF-10 Chair
e-mail: [email protected]

Emergency Management Planning

All Connecticut towns are required to develop alocal all-hazard emergency operating plan (EOP) that outline, in a broad sense, how they will mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from a major incident or disaster. The basic EOP is also complemented by several annexes that go into greater detail regarding various support functions. The 15 municipalities that comprise the South Central Region fall within DEMHS Region 2. As of 2011, the former Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security has been combined into the new Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) as the Division of Emergency Mangement and Homeland Security (DEMHS). The DEMHS regions are unchanged as a result of the department combination.

Updated information and useful links can be found at the DEMHS Webpage.

National Council on Aging: Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults