Frequently Asked Questions

Get a kit. Make a plan. Be informed. Everyone should prepare an emergency plan for themselves for both home and office. This plan should include who you will contact out of the area should an emergency occur, family emergency numbers, school contacts, an emergency meeting place for the family, and local contacts. Other pertinent information might include medical information, such as chronic conditions, medications that you use regularly and physician/pharmacy phone numbers. Make sure you discuss your plans with your loved ones and co-workers and give them copies of your plan. Information is available on the READY Frederick County website www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/READY to assist you in formulating your plan. To further assist you, links are also available to the READY.gov federal website and the American Red Cross - Frederick County Chapter. During an emergency, the County’s web site and local TV/radio stations will provide emergency information. You also want to be prepared to “shelter in place” for 3 days. (For example, a big snow storm.) To shelter comfortably, you will want to have the basics: 1 gallon of water per person per day, food and manual can opener, a week’s supply of prescription medication, battery powered radio with extra batteries, extra batteries for hearing aids or other assistance devices, flashlight with extra batteries, a list of contacts with family members, friends, doctors, and first aid supplies. Any items you normally use that you would need for 3 days should an emergency occur should also be included. If you have a pet, you will need 3 days supply of food and water for each pet. Should you have to evacuate, these supplies should go with you. More extensive lists and information can be found on websites dealing with preparedness, such as www.ready.gov. It is also a very good idea to have a “go bag” ready in case you have to evacuate either your home or work place. This small bag could include those personal items you would need if you had to leave without any notice as well as copies of financial records, pet’s veterinarian records, extra keys for house and car, cash, spare glasses or other special needs items, such as medications, batteries for assistance devices and copies of family documents.

Individuals should have an emergency response plan for both the home and office. Businesses should have a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). Information is available on the County's website www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/READY to get you started with your plan. Be sure to include any neighbors or relatives who may require assistance in an emergency, in the plan.

It is everyone’s responsibility to be prepared for any emergency. Initially, emergency services will be consumed with responding to the disaster. It is up to each of us to prepare. Planning in advance will help you, your family and friends manage an emergency in a calm and effective way, which will help keep you safe.

Make sure you have prepared your emergency plan and a “go bag” at work, so if you have to shelter in place or evacuate, you will have your necessary supplies. Ask your supervisor for the company’s emergency plan and make sure you understand fully what their plans and policies are. You may also want to plan and practice an evacuation if the company does not routinely offer drills. If you need assistance, make sure you coordinate with your supervisor and plan with co-workers in advance so they can provide assistance.

You should be prepared to shelter in place for 3 days using the guidelines to make a kit at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/READY. In addition, make sure you have an emergency plan in advance that involves a friend, neighbor, or family member who can assist you, in the event you are unable to manage alone.

In response to certain emergency situations, especially chemical incidents, first responders may ask residents to "shelter in place". This is a precaution aimed to keep you safe while remaining indoors. "Shelter in place" means select a small, interior room with as few windows as possible, and take refuge there. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC) should be shut down to create a neutral air pressure environment, which will help prevent any contaminated air from entering the facility. Should this occur, information will be provided by local authorities on television and radio stations on how to protect you and your family. Shelter in place can also apply to adverse weather conditions such as snow storms and hurricanes.

In Frederick County there are several ways to get information in an emergency. You may sign up for free text and email alerts at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/enews. In addition, local TV and radio stations will broadcast emergency alerts. Many municipalities also have use of cable channel 99 to broadcast information. Other options include the County’s web site at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov and television channel cable 19. If you have hearing loss, you may also want to consider purchasing a close captioned battery operated TV in case of power outage.

The Division of Emergency Management regularly conducts practical exercises within the County and in conjunction with other public and private partners to refine our emergency management skills, and to test and evaluate our capability levels for dealing with possible emergency situations. These exercises imagine incident-based scenarios that are most likely to occur and the County’s proposed response to the situation, based on available resources. The learning experiences gained from these exercises allow emergency managers to act as facilitators to emergency responders by providing support, expertise, and avenues to obtain resources that may be required to manage a particular incident. Being aware and staying informed is key to reducing threats to life or property during a disaster. The Division of Emergency Management’s role is to support public safety agencies, continuity of government operations, and to provide reliable and timely information to the public during an emergency. The Emergency Operations Plan provides guidance across County departments, agencies and response organizations by describing an overall emergency response system.

Frederick County offers emergency preparedness information and materials to explain what any individual can do for his or herself in an emergency, such as making sure you have your supplies where you can easily and quickly access them. The County offers emergency notifications through a variety of different methods such as text, television, website and radio. During an emergency, the County’s resources may be scarce. That is why we encourage all residents to plan in advance, with neighbors, friends and family so if you should need assistance, you have people you can call on.

The Governor declares a State of Emergency during significant weather events and natural disasters. The emergency declaration is a tool used by the government officials who are managing the emergency. It allows State agencies to quickly respond to needs of citizens, reassign personnel, and deploy vehicles and equipment to respond to the incident. A State of Emergency allows the government to act more quickly than it can during non-emergency times. At times, travel restrictions are part of a State of Emergency. This is typically done to allow snowplows to clear the roads. At other times government offices may be closed. A State of Emergency permits government officials to recommend specific actions that citizens should take to insure the safety of their families and homes during the emergency. Each emergency is different, and different factors will impact the decisions made by State officials in response to the incident.

The Maryland State Police (MSP) declares snow emergencies with input from MD State Highway Administration and local public safety agencies. Once a snow emergency is declared, the law requires certain precautions. They include: Prohibited parking on roads and streets designated as snow emergency routes and the use of snow tires/chains (most cars now use all weather tires, so changing to "snow" tires is unnecessary). Once an emergency is in effect, all requirements are in effect until lifted. A Snow Emergency Plan is put into effect by county. Certain exceptions can occur while a snow emergency plan is in effect. A specific route(s) can be lifted and the remainders of the roads in the county still remain under the Snow Emergency Plan. For the most up to date information, it is advised to call the local MSP barrack for the county. In Frederick County, contact the Maryland State Police B Barrack at 301-600-4151.

The National Weather Service is the only agency that issues official weather advisories including watches and warnings. Watch A watch is used when conditions are favorable for dangerous weather to occur. The weather is not currently occurring. Warning A warning means dangerous weather is happening in a certain region or is extremely likely to happen soon. Weather watches typically come many hours before warnings. For example, a winter storm watch is usually declared for an area from 12 to 36 hours prior to a storm, while a warning indicates that a storm has been observed nearby and is about to hit the area. Advisory Another type of weather alert is an advisory. An advisory is similar to a warning except that the weather conditions are not as severe.

In the extremely unlikely event a County evacuation order is issued, communication to the public is of the utmost importance. An evacuation order would specify the perimeter of the area to be evacuated as well as directing residents to available shelters. Residents of areas not in the defined area might be directed to stay where they are (shelter in place). Although dealing with any disaster in the County will be paramount, the continuity of operations of the County Government must be maintained. Our emergency support functions, which include all County agencies, have established contingency plans to maintain operations to the entire County, even those who may not be affected by disaster.

Yes. Frederick County has identified numerous facilities to serve as shelters. These locations are not published in advance as many factors will determine which shelter(s) would be opened. Some of these factors include the size and severity of the emergency, the location of the emergency and the number of people requiring shelter. All pre-designated shelters are ADA accessible. When the determination is made as to which shelter(s) to open, the community will be informed via traditional media, the County’s website, County Cable Channel 19, Notify Me, and the County’s Public Information Line 301-600-3000. Frederick County generally does not open warming or cooling centers unless extreme circumstances warrant them, such as the 2010 February Blizzard. If you are in need of a location to warm up/cool down, public libraries and other public buildings are an excellent resource.

Fortunately an incident in Frederick County that would require evacuation is very unlikely. However, you should still make sure you have a plan in place that will enable you to evacuate. It will be very difficult for the County to provide transportation in a large scale evacuation. During an emergency, the County’s resources may be scarce. Individuals are encouraged to make advanced arrangements in the event of an emergency where an evacuation is required.

We recommend you select one location fairly close, in case you must leave your home, and another location slightly farther, in case you must leave you neighborhood. For example, one location could be a neighbor who lives a block away and the second could be a shopping center outside your neighborhood. The purpose of identifying these locations is so in an actual emergency, you , the children and their parents will all know where you will go.