New Hampshire's Homeland Security and Emergency Management

New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) is the state agency responsible for coordinating the planning for, responding to and recovery from major natural and manmade disaster. HSEM is part of the New Hampshire Department of Safety and is the state-level equivalent of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The origin of HSEM dates back to 1950 as the NH Civil Defense Agency. It became the Governor's Office of Emergency Management in 1987 and joined the Department of Safety in 2002. Through legislation in 2006, the state's homeland security functions and emergency management functions were combined to form the Division as it is today. Emergencies occur every day and the vast majority of them are handled at the local level by police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. HSEM only becomes involved in major disasters where state resources are needed or where the size of duration of the disaster requires a coordinated state response. HSEM is [headquartered](https://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/hsem/contactus.html) at the Incident Planning and Operations Center on the grounds of the State Fire Academy, and houses the State Emergency Operations Center. The agency has about [75 employees](https://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/hsem/contactusstaffem.html).