Release Number: HQ-10-040

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deputy Administrators Rich Serino and Tim Manning delivered remarks this week at the Big City Emergency Managers conference in Washington, discussing the importance of region-wide coordination in preparedness and emergency response.

"In my 35 years in emergency services in Boston, I saw time and again that the first response is almost always at the local level, and so preparedness for cities and large metropolitan areas is critical to keeping people safe," said Serino.

"The nation’s biggest cities face unique challenges in emergency management," added Manning. "No matter how much we prepare at the federal, state or local level, the public must do its part to prepare for an emergency. Today's conference provided an opportunity to discuss ways FEMA and major cities can work together to engage the public part of the national emergency response team."

The Big City Emergency Managers conference included representatives from Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Harris County, TX, Houston, Jersey City/Newark, Los Angeles, Miami Dade County, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego County, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.

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FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.