Kendall County Office of Emergency Management
Kendall County Hazard Mitigation Plan
Emergency Management
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is a unique agency that serves Kendall County/City of Boerne. Under Federal and State regulations, the Director of the Emergency Management Program is our chief elected officials: our County Judge, Mayor. The County Emergency Management Coordinator who is appointed by the Judge oversees the daily operations of the emergency management program. OEM works closely with all county, city, state and federal agencies. The County Emergency Manager is Jeffery Fincke. The OEM also partners with many other agencies such as the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, the County Fire Departments, the Amateur Radio Club, the National Weather Service, the local hospital, the schools and school districts to make our county as emergency and disaster resistant as possible.
Emergencies and disasters can strike at any time, with no warning, these emergencies and disasters come in many different forms and shapes. The Kendall County Office of Emergency Management supports and protects the citizen of Kendall County by having and continuing to improve our capabilities to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate against the hazards we face.
Emergency Management has four phases to help guide us in our mission to protect the citizens, visitors and responder in Kendall County.
Four Phase Cycle
These phases can take place singular or simultaneously, there is no particular order to the cycle, but the normal cycle pattern is mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
® Mitigation – includes activities that prevent or reduce emergency or disaster impacts and eliminate risk, it is the starting point for emergency management, but can be part of the other three phases.
® Preparedness – focuses plans for effective disaster response. This is a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, exercising, evaluating for effectiveness to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate the effects of emergencies or disasters.
® Response – is the immediate reaction to an emergency or disaster and may occur before a disaster and after it begins. Response includes mobilization of emergency services, first responders, Citizen Emergency Response Team, and possible activation fo the Emergency Operations Center.
® Recovery – continues beyond the emergency or disaster period. Recovery focuses on restoring critical community functions to normal and managing reconstruction. Rebuilding efforts include mitigation practices to reduce the risks in the future.
Disaster Plan
The OEM takes an “all hazards” approach to emergency and disaster management which is reflected in our disaster plan and annexes. This plan is made up of several components that encompass the Basic Plan and 22 annexes. It is the responsibility of the Emergency Management to gather the local experts in these areas to write, review, and when necessary update the plan and annexes.
Training
Training is the root for an effective emergency or disaster response. Our law enforcement officers, EMS personnel, fire fighters are excellent in handling emergencies and crisis situations. However, when disaster strikes on a large scale, extraordinary measures are needed to manage our response, resources, and handle situations that are not with-in the normal day-today functions. Because of the extraordinary circumstances training becomes critical. The Office of Emergency Management works with the county, city agencies to identify and coordinate appropriate training opportunities.
Public Education and Awareness
Another responsibility for OEM is to inform you, the citizens and visitors, and responders of Kendall County and the City of Boerne information you need to know to prepare, shelter and protect yourself, family and friends from an emergency or disaster. We continually strive to bring you the information in a timely manner. This website will provide you with some of this information. Click here for that information.
If you or your organization or business desire we can have representatives from the OEM come to speak on a variety of Emergency Management topics. We can be contacted by calling 830-249-3721 or e-mailed.
Click here to e-mail.
Another option is to complete a request from. Click here for form.
To sign up for different types of notifications in Kendall County and surrounding area click on the link below.
