» What We Do

It is the responsibility of Emergency Management to protect and educate our citizens. This is a task that we take very seriously. It is our job to prepare for, respond to, mitigate, and recover from any disaster or incident that may occur within our jurisdiction. Whether it occurs from a natural disaster, a terrorist act, or from any incident, we are here to help restore the quality of life as close to as it was before the occurrence. 

During the course of the last 15 years, great advances have been made in our warning capabilities here in Garfield County. Due to extensive research in many systems that are available today, there are several systems that we utilize. From the standard storm siren network we also utilize paging through Page Plus, 2-way communications, high speed internet through 3 providers, EMWIN, email, and our newest, VIARADIO, which utilizes the sub-carrier frequencies on 2 FM radio stations to get the warnings out to everyone who has the special receivers.

Garfield County Emergency Management, under the leadership of Certified Director of Emergency Management Mike Honigsberg, has established a state acknowledged spotter network consisting of all emergency services in Garfield County. Our weather center is located at the Enid Fire Department Station 1. All spotters and storm chase personnel have been trained by the National Weather Service and by the Director of GCEM. The Director has been trained by the NWS and the University of Oklahoma. National Weather Service refresher classes are held once each year. Classes held by the NWS are given once a year and training at the local level is provided to emergency services on request. GCEM works hand in hand with all emergency services in an 8 county area.

GCEM stays aware of weather conditions and all major incidents in and around Garfield County. GCEM works very closely with VAFB and has established 2-way communication for faster information exchange. Vance weather also has been given the capability to communicate with GCEM spotter personnel during severe weather events. Many times when warnings are put out by the NWS, Vance weather, or GCEM, they are a direct result of our spotters in the field. We rely heavily on these people and they have proven themselves in the fact of the lives they have saved during tornadic events as recently as April of 1999.

It takes a major coordination effort to have all these systems work together in an efficient manner. We work and strive to do the best job possible so we can inform the public in a calm manner so our citizens can make informed decisions for their own well being and the well being of their families. 

We are proud to serve our county and our military friends. You won't see us very often, but know that when severe weather or any type of incident occurs, we are 370+ emergency service people, both paid and the majority, volunteer, that are up and out there for the safety and well being of all of our citizens.