The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office—Emergency Services Division is the Emergency Management Agency within the County that plans, coordinates, and supports those activities that help our community reduce its vulnerability to disaster. This is accomplished through the following:  

• Mitigation—The effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. This is achieved through risk analysis, which results in information that provides a foundation for mitigation activities that reduce risk and protect financial investments. Our mitigation goals can be found in the county's Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is updated every five (5) years.
  
• Preparedness - A continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action to ensure effective coordination during incident response.
  
• Response - The immediate reaction and mobilization of resources to a disaster.
• Recovery - Includes activities that help to restore a community and critical infrastructure and bring a community to the post-disaster “new normal.”

Working Together 

The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office Emergency Services Division coordinates with numerous partners before, during, and after disasters. By developing working relationships with other county agencies, municipal governments, state governments, nonprofit and volunteer organizations, business associations, private sector entities, and citizens on a daily basis, we strengthen our lines of communication, which allows for a quicker response and fosters a more resilient community.

Pueblo County Operations Plan

The Emergency Services Division plans continuously so the impact of a disaster will be minimal in our community. The Pueblo County Emergency Operations Plan, first written by the Civil Defense Agency in 1984, was completely revised and updated by the Office of Emergency Management in 1995 and is updated every three years, as needed. Included are details explaining how various agencies will collectively respond to a disaster in Pueblo County. For more information on the Pueblo County Emergency Operations Plan, please contact the Emergency Management Coordinator, Joshua Johnson.

Disaster Supplies Kit

During a large-scale disaster, it might be difficult for the Office or other first response agencies to help an impacted area immediately. That is why individuals need to prepare themselves and their families. Read more about preparing and dealing with a disaster on the Disaster Preparedness page, where you'll find our Disaster Supplies Kit (PDF), commonly known as the 72-Hour Kit, and safety tips and information on specific hazards. The Emergency Services Division also produces and distributes the Rural Living Brochure (PDF). It is a guide to help those new to rural living know what to expect and how to prepare, and offers phone numbers to resources available to them.

History

Initially started as the Civil Defense Agency on April 19, 1951, the name was later changed to the Office of Emergency Management as a department under the Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners.

Then, in 2008, the Board moved the department underneath the Sheriff, making it one of (then) three Bureaus at the Office. The Emergency Services Bureau lasted until the end of the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program in 2022 at which time, the incoming Sheriff decided that we no longer needed three bureaus and moved the Emergency Services (Division) underneath the Law Enforcement Bureau. 

Although the agency's name has changed a few times throughout its history, the mission has always remained the same, which is to provide all-hazards emergency management services to the citizens and guests of Pueblo County.