Former Fire Chief Lynn A. Miller, Emergency Management Coordinator, Winchester, VA

DomPrep’s John F. Morton met with Former Fire Chief Lynn A. Miller, Emergency Management Coordinator, Winchester (Virginia) Emergency Management.

A Shenandoah Valley emergency management coordinator details how his four-state region is implementing a regional preparedness model 100 miles west of Washington, DC.

DomPrep has divided the 33 minute interview into six segments.

Listen to Audio Segment One Background to Quad-State Preparedness

The genesis of a DHS-supported, cross-border preparedness model for a suburban/rural region that is adjacent to a major metropolitan area. The intent to facilitate (within 72 hours after the onset of a disaster) county-to-county, city-to-city response in advance of state-to-state activation of Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMACs).

Duration: 5 Minutes 08 Seconds

Listen to Audio Segment Two How Quad State Relates to DHS Regionalization

Support from governors and county/city elected officials is key, as well as buy-in by other agencies—from law enforcement, to public health, to public works.

Duration: 4 Minutes 07 Seconds

Listen to Audio Segment Three Training and Exercises

The role of operational-level task forces, mock exercises, meetings and summits (e.g., Quad State’s recent summit on pandemic flu preparedness) to build personal relationships for cross-border collaboration.

Duration: 3 Minutes 03 Seconds

Listen to Audio Segment Four Sharing and Outreach

Buy-in by the elected officials. The importance of communications interoperability and agreement on equipment standards.

Duration: 9 Minutes 39 Seconds

Listen to Audio Segment Five Procurements and Incident Command

Quad State’s impact on regional grant applications and cross-training with NIMS.

Duration: 3 Minutes

Listen to Audio Segment Six Quad State’s Relevance Nationally

Addressing sheltering in the event of a mass evacuation westward from Washington. The key role of city/county emergency management coordinators with fire and rescue backgrounds in developing the regional initiative.

Duration: 7 Minutes 56 Seconds

Former Fire Chief Lynn Miller, presently serves on the Executive Board of the Virginia Emergency Management Association and is responsible for the coordination of Emergency Management for the City of Winchester. He is working with the Quad State Emergency Management Taskforce to create a cooperative initiative to enhance the deliver of emergency response and management within the jurisdictions bordering the I-81 corridor from Chambersburg, Pa. to Harrisonburg, Va. This initiative began as a project of the John O. Marsh Institute for Government and Public Policy of Shenandoah University and is continuing as a project of the individual jurisdictions.

Lynn is a private sector transplant where he worked as a Designman/Draftsman and Prototype Technician before moving to the Public Sector. His private and public sector careers followed parallel paths for several years as he began his public sector career as a volunteer firefighter in December 1962 with Winchester Fire & Rescue. He served the Winchester Department as a volunteer for 9 years in addition to volunteering in Fairfax County from 1967 to 1970.

Lynn was employed by the City of Winchester in July 1971 as a firefighter and was promoted to Operational Captain in 1976. He was appointed to the position of Fire & Rescue Chief in 1980 and continued his career with Winchester until his retirement in October of 2005. Shortly after retirement he was deployed to the Louisiana Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita working on the recovery efforts in Cameron Parrish after which he returned to the City of Winchester as the City’s Emergency Management Coordinator.