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The American Red Cross says if a fire starts in your home, you may have as little as two minutes to escape. A working smoke alarm provides early warning, but knowing what to do next matters just as much. That is worth thinking about during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 4-10. Home fires happen every day. According to the Red Cross, there is a home fire somewhere in the United States about every minute and a half. On average, someone is injured in a home fire every hour and someone dies about every three hours. The good news: there are simple steps you can take now.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Authority (TEMA) is wrapping up National Preparedness Month by releasing the ReadyTN Preparedness Hero Reading List, a collection of 20 children’s books to help families talk about emergencies, safety, severe weather, disaster preparedness and helping one another when something unexpected happens.

The first tomato was growing out of the riverbank. That’s the part I still think about. Not the rain that afternoon, though I remember that too. Not the ride into the woods on the side-by-side. Not even the piles of debris that were still feet high in places. It was the tomato.

While much progress has been made, recovery continues—and so does the resilience of the people of Tennessee.

Local emergency management agencies support statewide effort to program NOAA Weather Radios on Tuesday, September 23, 2025.

Growing up in Sumner County, Chris Johnson had his sights set far beyond Tennessee.

Urban Search & Rescue Teams return home after mission in Hill Country.

The State of Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday weekend will take place Friday, July 25 through Sunday, July 27.

Ten members of the Tennessee Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TN TERT) deployed to Buncombe County, North Carolina following the passing of one of the county’s dispatchers.

During a disaster, you may only have minutes to act. Having a plan and supplies ready means you’re not scrambling when every second counts. Pets provide love, companionship, and emotional support, so return the favor by making sure they’re ready, too.

On the morning of Saturday, May 10, 2025, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Greenback, Tennessee, about 30 miles south of Knoxville. The tremor was felt across multiple states, including Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, reaching as far as Atlanta.

Our current team development efforts are focused on strengthening specialized capabilities across the state. These include Land Search Teams, All-Hazards Incident Management Teams, Emergency Management Support Teams, Urban Search & Rescue Teams, Swiftwater Rescue Teams, and Technical Rescue Teams.  A significant part of all efforts is creating a truly collaborative, statewide, all-hazards environment that ensures we have the right resources in place to support Tennesseans when they need  it.

TEMA proudly recognizes Logistics Administrator Jordan Howard for serving as a judge and panelist at Eastern Kentucky University’s Homeland Security Research Showcase. A graduate of EKU, Jordan returned to her alma mater to support student researchers and share her professional experience.

A simulated 7.5 magnitude earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone shook statewide training for a week in May as personnel from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency joined the Tennessee Military Department and more than 30 other partnering agencies for Vigilant Guard 2025. The disaster response exercise gave participants the opportunity to activate and employ their response plans to strengthen coordination, communication, and response capabilities across the state.