First responders discuss emergency management collaboration

METRO DETROIT — One year ago, on June 17, 2025, a tornado rumbled through Fraser.

There were no reported injuries, but the 70 mph winds blew shingles off several roofs, broke trees in half and whirled a backyard trampoline.

According to the National Weather Service report dated June 18 of last year, the tornado started at 1:02 p.m. and reportedly lasted eight minutes. 

“It did some damage in a pocket neighborhood,” Fraser Director of Public Safety Samantha Kretzschmar said. “We were out there, had our DPW Department out there and Detroit Edison trying to make sure the power lines were safe, to keep people away and start doing a lot of the cleanup right away.”

Members from the Macomb County Department of Emergency Management arrived on-site to see how they could help. The department is responsible for emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation of all large-scale emergencies or disasters with the goal of saving lives, reducing casualties and minimizing property damage. Personnel plan, train, respond, allocate resources and oversee grant management.  

On May 21, Brandon Lewis, director of Macomb County Emergency Management and Communications, gathered with first responders from county agencies, the Roseville and Eastpointe fire departments and the Fraser Department of Public Safety at the Recreational Authority of Roseville & Eastpointe building in Roseville. Members from the departments meet on a regular basis to discuss mutual aid. 

Roseville, Eastpointe, Fraser and St. Clair Shores all are part of the South East Regional Emergency Services Authority. SERESA is a 911 municipal consolidated dispatch that services all four departments. St. Clair Shores was invited to the May 21 event, but firefighters were unable to make it because they had other training that day. SERESA Executive Director of the Tony Leese was present for the meeting. 

“We’re getting together today to talk about how do we work together in a large emergency. Who do we call? Who do we talk to? What resources are available? How do we collaborate and make this smooth so the citizens of our communities are getting the best, most effective emergency response?” Lewis said.

“Fire departments, police departments, they respond to individual incidents when they get 911 calls,” Lewis said. “As events get larger, they’ll ask for mutual aid from their neighbors. As events continue to get larger, they need to bring more resources and more agencies in. Eventually, a large incident may come to the point where all those agencies are collaborating. Information is being put out so we’re all working on the same page.”

Lewis’ presentation included information regarding the development of emergency operation plans, coordinating local multiagency response to emergencies, appointing rescue teams, considering a state of emergency, alerting the public of incidents, and the need for equipment, supplies and personnel. 

“This training is geared for a larger incident, either a mass casualty incident or a natural disaster that causes turmoil above and beyond the normal everyday circumstance,” Kretzschmar said. “We do a lot of interactive introductions and relationship-building so that when an emergency happens, this isn’t the first time that you talk to the emergency manager. It’s not the first time that you’re reaching out to another community. The relationships are already there. The resources then come in.”

Another reason for the workshop was to train future leaders within the departments and agencies.

“We have leadership changes. People promote, people move on,” Lewis said. “We regularly meet. We regularly talk. This is part of the process of reinforcing our processes of what we do during an emergency.”

“This is a big part of learning the steps of how do we work with our partners and collaborate with our partners. Anything learned here today will be brought back and shared with the department,” Eastpointe Fire Chief Jason Clark said. “We’re all joined together through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System. If we have a fire or a severe weather event, we’re all helping each other out. There are many resources, and it’s a collaboration between the county.”