A Message from the DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

DuPage County is the second most populous county in Illinois with almost one million residents and vital educational, industrial, commercial, and governmental sectors. We are fortunate to have excellent fire, law enforcement, emergency medical, and public works services throughout the entire 333 square miles of this county. This public safety system does an excellent job dealing with emergencies in both municipal and unincorporated areas within DuPage County. However, there are large-scale emergencies that can impact one or more communities within the county; stressing their first responders beyond normal capabilities.

It is the mission of DuPage County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (OHSEM) to help prepare residents, businesses, and government entities within our county to respond to and recover from these large-scale emergencies or disasters. We are convinced that this “disaster resilience” starts at the local level and includes every person, business, and organization in the county. Through county-wide emergency planning, training, and community outreach efforts, OHSEM works with all sectors of our county to promote disaster preparedness and resilience. However, programs alone cannot ensure disaster resilience. It is everyone’s responsibility to make preparedness a priority. Whether this means developing a family emergency plan and disaster kit or making sure that your company has a business continuity plan; we must all do our part.

We invite you visit the website www.protectdupage.org to learn what you can do to prepare your family or business for an emergency or disaster. By each of us taking personal responsibility for our emergency preparedness, DuPage County as a whole will be a more disaster resilient place to live, work, and raise a family.