On February 15, 2012, Chief Richard Stanley, Emergency Management Director (EMD) for the Town of Wareham, chaired a meeting at the Wareham Multi-Service Center to establish a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).

Among those present was Douglas Forbes Jr., Region II Local Coordinator for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) who facilitated the meeting. Other attendees present were representatives of public safety for the Town of Wareham that included the Wareham Fire Department, Onset Fire Department, Harbormaster, Board of Health, EMS, Municipal Maintenance, Plymouth County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition, and Local Media for WCTV.

Also present were two student interns from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy who are majoring in Emergency Management. Jeremy Letson and Kyle Steek have been working diligently for Chief Stanley collecting data for the town’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), a prerequisite for the LEPC to be certified.

The members of the LEPC voted unanimously to appoint Chief Richard M. Stanley as Chairman, Wareham Firefighter Patrick Haskell, Vice Chairman, and Health Agent Robert Ethier as Secretary Treasurer.

It is crucial that the public receive accurate and timely information and instructions concerning impending and occurring disasters and emergencies. It is also extremely important that programs be in place to train and educate the public on disaster preparedness long before any emergency or disaster occurs. A meeting will be held in the upcoming months to describe the program to the general public.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Chief Stanley stated, “ My goal is to have a model Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan in place that other communities in Massachusetts will look to as being the best of the best. I am confident that with the team I have in place, that goal will soon be a reality.