A small team in Annapolis prepares city for 85,000 people in 45 days

Across 45 days between late May and early July, Annapolis is expected to host about 85,000 people on five distinct, celebratory days — more than 50,000 during the recent Commissioning Week alone.

To prepare for the summertime blitz a team of six city employees coordinates with various government agencies to ensure those who come to Annapolis come and go safely.

“If we do our job right, nobody notices anything,” said Nicole Torres, the exercise, training and outreach coordinator for the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management.

Located on the far-right side of the Joseph S. Johnson Police Station, the Office of Emergency Management oversees some of Annapolis’ most popular events, like the Naval Academy graduation, Annapolis Pride parade and the Fourth of July celebration.

Director Kevin Simmons likens his job to that of an orchestra conductor.

“I know the talents, I know the responsibilities and I know the capabilities of everybody listed on this plan,” Simmons said, holding the blueprint for the flight of the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squadron. “It’s my job to bring them together … and manage this show.”

During holidays and festivals, depending on the gravity of the moment, representatives from different departments report to the bottom floor of the police station, where the Emergency Operations Center allows a command staff to centralize the city’s response efforts.

The room is filled with desks designated for specific divisions and leaders, including Mayor Gavin Buckley, the Office of Law and the Transportation Department, among others.

When summoned, a department is expected to perform its emergency support function, which may not exactly match what it normally does but is close enough to take advantage of its resources and knowledge base. During a severe weather event like a tornado, for instance, the Department of Planning and Zoning will assess damage, while the Department of Recreation and Parks is responsible for establishing shelters and other employees will staff the non-emergency call center.

During the Naval Academy’s graduation, officers from the Annapolis police and fire departments, as well as the Maryland Department of Emergency Management were called in. Three screens at the front of the room monitored traffic, nearby weather patterns and the ceremony itself. And while a command unit at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium oversaw the 65 police and fire personnel assigned to the commencement, these officials worked with their remaining staff to direct their everyday responses.

“Everybody knows their role,” Simmons said. “Everybody knows what’s expected. Everybody knows the objectives. Everybody knows the mission. And then we implement.”

First a function of the Annapolis Fire Department, the Office of Emergency Management was made a standalone department in 2019. With a “small but mighty” staff of six, as Torres calls it, they devise dozens of emergency procedures, train city employees and secure millions of dollars in grant funding for nearly every Annapolis agency — over $20 million since 2010, with a $33 million grant application currently under review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In its Emergency Operations Plan, a several-inch thick binder Simmons calls “the response bible,” strategies are outlined for a variety of crises, some more common, like flooding or a severe weather event, and others more disastrous and rare. How can the city complete an evacuation? What happens during a cyber or terrorist attack? How does Annapolis regain order during a period of civil unrest?

All these questions are answered by Simmons and his team, and in every situation, preparation is key, the director said.

Days before a gunman attacked The Capital on June 28, 2018, the office conducted an active shooter drill and reunification training at St. Mary’s High School with the city’s police and fire departments. It was at one of these events that Capital reporter Wendi Winters learned to “Run, Hide or Fight,” and during the attack, she charged the assailant with a trash can. She was later credited with saving the lives of six employees and Simmons said the training had a “profound effect” on the emergency response.

Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Winters were killed in the…