Air Disaster in Sioux Falls? We Have an Emergency Plan....Regan Smith, Sioux Falls Emergency Management Director

Public Director Jon Michaels, since 1977, talks with Sioux Falls Emergency Manager, Regaln Smith.

from their website:

Preparedness. Response. Recovery. Mitigation.

Emergency Management prepares, coordinates, and leads community response and recovery to large-scale disasters. They work to improve the City’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from major emergencies.

Division Highlights

Our division works with local public safety and public health agencies to keep our city safe and prepared. Here’s what we do:

• We plan and prepare for all kinds of emergencies, natural and man-made.
• We conduct training exercises and practice drills.
• We provide extra support that enhances the City’s readiness.

We also manage the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). It is a key facility for coordinating efforts during and after a disaster. The EOC includes a team of dedicated professionals and representatives from City public safety agencies. Our efforts have earned us StormReady recognition from the National Weather Service.

The City of Sioux Falls Public Safety Campus is a $55 million investment that spans 42 acres. It is a state-of-the-art hub for law enforcement, fire rescue, and emergency services. At the core of this venture is a dedication to safety, innovation, and the growth of our public safety team.

The campus offers a top-of-the-line training environment with settings for creating lifelike scenarios. Officers and firefighters will gain hands-on experience to prepare for real-world challenges. The campus also provides opportunities for collaboration between different departments and partners.

The investment made in this campus will serve our community now and well into the future.

Campus Details

The City of Sioux Falls Public Safety Campus offers 100,000 square feet of training facilities and structures. The Police Department, Fire Rescue, Emergency Management, and Metro Communications will all use the space. Some features of the campus include:

• 911 emergency communications
• Metro Communications dispatch facility
• Emergency Operations Center
• Chief Matt Burns Range
• Tactical structures creating dynamic training opportunities for police and fire rescue
• Emergency vehicle operations course
• Defensive tactics mat room with use of force training simulator
• EMS simulation lab
• Outdoor and indoor classrooms
• Apparatus storage and personal protective equipment care and maintenance building

From cadets to experienced public safety workers, the campus offers training for all skill levels. The same applies to first responders from across the region who will also use the campus.

Wireless Emergency Alerts

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are short emergency alerts authorities can send to any WEA-enabled mobile device in a locally targeted area. Alerting Authorities who are authorized to send WEAs include state, local, tribal public safety officials, the National Weather Service, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the President of the United States.

• WEAs look like text messages but are designed to get your attention with a unique sound and vibration repeated twice.
• WEAs are not affected by network congestion and will not disrupt texts, calls or in progress data sessions.
• People are not charged for receiving WEAs, and there is no need to subscribe.

WEAs are sent through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning