Volusia County earns national emergency management accreditation

Volusia County has been granted full accreditation by the national Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). It is one of only five accredited counties in the state and 49 accredited programs in the nation. 

EMAP awarded the accreditation based on Volusia County’s ability to bring together personnel, resources and communications from a variety of agencies and organizations for disaster preparations and response. The accreditation team evaluated 18 areas including planning, resource management, training, exercises, evaluations and corrective actions, and communications and warnings. 

Senior Emergency Management Planner Larry LaHue led the county’s accreditation process, demonstrating compliance with 64 standards and filling 29 notebooks with documentation.

"This accreditation represents a significant achievement for Volusia County,” said Emergency Management Director Jim Judge. “I am very proud of our staff and our community partners who were able to achieve this national standard by working together.”

The county’s Emergency Management Division is headquartered at the Emergency Operations and Sheriff’s Communications Center on Tiger Bay Road, Daytona Beach. The high-tech facility serves as the central coordination center for emergency response, providing working space for county officials, all disaster-response functions, and representatives from the county’s 16 municipalities.

EMAP, an independent nonprofit organization, is a standard-based voluntary assessment and peer review accreditation process for government programs responsible for coordinating prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities for natural and human-caused disasters.