Emergency Management Agency

Water Conservation Tips during Drought Conditions (PDF version 36KB)

Instructions for CO Detector Placement
from the First Alert Site (PDF version 25KB)

The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) operates under the day-to-day control of the sheriff and is responsible for developing a county-wide emergency preparedness plan. The Lake County plan addresses major hazards and coordinates disaster response of all county resources including communications, police, fire and rescue units, hospitals, religious and charitable organizations. The emergency plan is exercised regularly by conducting drills that deal with simulated nuclear accidents, flooding, hazardous material spills, and severe weather. During periods of disaster and major emergencies, the Emergency

Management Agency acts as the primary liaison to the Illinois and federal emergency management agencies.

Annually severe weather awareness courses are presented to more than 900 school-age children. More than 260 severe weather spotters are trained by the Emergency Management Agency in conjunction with the National Weather Service.

Assisting the EMA are three groups of volunteers, the Lake County Sheriff’s Explorer Post #2066, the Reserve Deputy Unit, and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services, (RACES). There are more than 100 volunteers who devote their expertise to community service. EMA is starting up a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), whose initial responsibilities will be to support the Mobile Command Suite and the Emergency Operations Center during emergencies or disasters.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office Explorer Post #2066 is a group of young men and women, ages 14 - 20, who have an interest in law enforcement as a career. The post currently has 14 members. The members meet on the second Wednesday of every month at the Lake County Sheriff’s Emergency Management Agency in Libertyville, Illinois.
Law Enforcement Explorer Posts help youth to gain insight into a variety of programs that offer career activities for young men and women who are interested in careers in the field of law enforcement.
Explorers volunteer their time working various summer festivals and the Lake County Fair.
Exploring offers learning in law enforcement related activities that promote the growth and development of adolescent youth.
They are taught by a variety of instructors from the ranks of the Sheriff's Office and other agencies. T
hey receive classroom instruction on a variety of training topics which include, traffic stops, building searches, domestic disturbances, rapid deployment, burglary in progress, Corrections, shoot-don’t-shoot, investigative procedures, range activities, surveillance techniques, and patrol procedures.
After a probationary period Explorers are eligible to participate in patrol ride-alongs, Correctional shadowing, and Marine Unit ride-alongs.

The Reserve Deputy unit is a uniformed organization that provides supplemental services to the Sheriff's Office during special situations requiring man power such as traffic and crowd control, search and rescue, and special traffic details. 

The RACES group is a trained pool of amateur radio operators who operate and maintain their own radio equipment to provide emergency communications wherever and whenever needed. The RACES group participates in the Lake County SKYWARN system, where trained radio operators take up strategic observation posts throughout the county during National Weather Service watches and warnings. If severe weather is cited, a warning is provided throughout the county and is also conveyed back to the National Weather Service. See (http://www.races.org) for more information.

The Emergency Management Agency is staffed by a coordinator, assistant coordinator, administrative assistant and senior secretary.