Stafford Emergency Management Office Receives State Accreditation

STAFFORD, NJ — Stafford Township’s Office of Emergency Management was recognized as the third accredited agency in New Jersey under the New Jersey Emergency Management Accreditation Program, according to the township.

Joe Allen, the accreditation program manager for the New Jersey Emergency Management Accreditation New Jersey Program, said at a recent Township Council meeting that the recognition marked a milestone for the township and for Ocean County.

Allen said the program is “a little under a year old” and described it as a new statewide effort tied to standards required by New Jersey and the federal government, including FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He said the program “exemplifies a lot of what is not only required through the state of New Jersey and at the federal level from organizations like FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but also going above and beyond, representing all of the best practices and contemporary standards in emergency management that people should be striving for above those standards.”

Allen said Fire Official Heidi Michel and her team submitted extensive documentation during the accreditation review.

Allen also said Stafford is the first organization in Ocean County to receive the accreditation and the second municipality in New Jersey to do so.