Meet DEPT

The Damascus Emergency Preparedness Team (DEPT) was organized by local community volunteers in concert with Federal, state, regional and county emergency management professionals to provide a more highly coordinated response mechanism to deal with today's heightened emergency and security needs at the local level.

Our area of operations is that covered by the Damascus Fire Department District #13: bounded on the north and east by the Montgomery County line, on the south by Watkins Road, and on the west by Barnes and Skylark Roads (see map).

Many, if not most, of the tools and resources required for this undertaking already exist. What DEPT provides is a means of utilizing these resources in a more efficient and responsive manner so as to ensure that they complement one another in such a way as to enhance public safety in these times of national uncertainty and potentially threatened security.

The purpose of this site, therefore, is to acquaint the visitor with an overview of the Team's work and to provide periodic updates as to its progress. Using the drop-down menus (above), viewers may explore the various elements of the Damascus Emergency Preparedness program and learn how they are being brought together. For example, by reading the weekly meeting minutes one may follow the progress that has been made over the months — and now, years — as the program evolves.

For more information, please contact DEPT president Paul Laing at plaing56@verizon.net