Emergency Response
Welcome to the Office of Emergency Response
The Office of Emergency Response (OER) is Rhode Island's first line of defense in protecting public health, safety, and welfare in an environmental emergency. Similar to police officers and firefighters, DEM's emergency responders are prepared to handle a variety of incidents. Our responders are tasked with answering to and remediating incidents posing imminent dangers, which may range from a spill of a few gallons to a petroleum tanker rollover, an abandoned drum to bioterror weaponry. Despite the implementation of effective preventative measures, hundreds of spills and releases possess the potential to threaten the environment everyday. Our highly trained first responders are on-call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and respond to over 700 calls each year. The office is additionally responsible for the registration and oversight of over 700 Above Ground Storage Tanks (AST) located throughout the state of Rhode Island.
Chemical Management and Climate Resilience Map
The RI Chemical Management and Climate Resilience Map is a tool developed to display chemical, environmental and emergency management data.
Layers included on the map:
- Toxic Release Inventory Facilities
- EPCRA Tier II Facilities
- RCRA Facilities
- Community Wellhead Areas
- Sole Source Aquifers
- Groundwater Reservoirs
- Hurricane Evacuation Zones
- Flood Maps
- 2020 Aerial Photo of Rhode Island
