Tennessee Earns Emergency Management Re-Accreditation

TEMA meets all 64 national standards for disaster preparedness and response

Nashville – The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), a national nonprofit that evaluates disaster response agencies, has fully re-accredited Tennessee’s emergency management program and commended the state for its ability to bring together personnel, resources, and communications in preparing for and responding to disasters of any type.  

“Re-accreditation is a significant milestone for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency,” said TEMA Director Jim Bassham. “This reaffirms Tennessee’s position as one of the leading emergency management programs in the country.”

EMAP is a voluntary accreditation process for emergency management programs that coordinate preparedness and response activities for disasters based on national standards.

“Tennessee has experienced 13 major disasters in the past six years, including two of the worst years for disaster in the state’s history in 2010 and 2011,” Bassham said. “We clearly recognize the importance of undergoing the rigorous EMAP review process to insure state government can respond to safeguard the citizens and property of Tennessee.”

The EMAP process evaluates emergency management programs on compliance with requirements in 16 areas, including: planning; resource management; training; exercises, evaluations, and corrective actions; and communications and warning. A program must meet all 64 individual standards. Accreditation is good for five years and must be maintained through interim reviews annually.

The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) is an independent corporation that evaluates state and local emergency management programs. EMAP is supported by the National Emergency Managers' Association (NEMA) headquartered in Lexington, Ky.

Tennessee was one of the 16 states to have achieved EMAP accreditation in 2007. The state was originally scheduled for reaccreditation in 2012; however an extension was granted due to the volume of disasters in 2010 and 2011. There are now 29 states that have met the EMAP standards. A complete list is available on www.emaponline.org.

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