Hjørring coordinator prepares municipality to keep running through crises

Hjørring Municipality has appointed Bjørn Friimose Egholm to plan how its services will continue during a crisis, DR reports. His role is emergency preparedness coordinator.

“I hope we never need my plans, but if something happens, it is reassuring to have them,” Egholm said, describing preparedness as insurance.

He has drawn up plans to help municipal employees continue working during a crisis and arranged exercises to test them. The exercises cover staff at the municipality, its care centres for older people and its residential facilities.

Egholm has also helped ensure backup power at the town hall and all the municipality’s care centres and residential facilities, with emergency generators installed at each.

He is one of a growing number of municipal emergency preparedness coordinators. According to DK Nyt, nearly half of Denmark’s municipalities now have one. Egholm said it is important to bring in people with the skills to handle preparedness, so other employees are not left out of their depth.