Behind the Ready: Keeping communities informed and equipped

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*Celebrating Emergency Management Month and the dedicated teams keeping San Bernardino County prepared.*

As part of the San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Services’ Behind the Ready campaign, the department is highlighting Terrence Vigilance and Chris McLaughlin, two team members whose work supports preparedness and response in very different but equally important ways.

Behind the Ready: Terrence Vigilance

Terrence Vigilance, Alert and Warning Coordinator/GIS Analyst, helps support the systems and mapping tools used to keep communities informed before, during and after an emergency.

Helping communities receive critical information when it matters most, Terrence Vigilance supports alert and warning efforts and geographic information systems for San Bernardino County Emergency Services.

Terrence Vigilance serves as Emergency Services’ Alert and Warning Coordinator/GIS Analyst, helping to support the systems used to communicate emergency information to communities throughout the county.

For Vigilance, the work is rooted in public service and making sure information reaches the people who need it.

“One thing about my job is the satisfaction that I get from being a public servant and getting information out to people that need it,” said Vigilance.

One of the most rewarding parts of his work is seeing residents respond to emergency messages and knowing that the information reached someone who needed it.

“That makes me feel real good because it’s about saving lives,” Vigilance said. “That’s why we’re there.”

Behind the Ready: Chris McLaughlin

While alerts help connect residents with critical information, emergency preparedness also depends on having the resources and equipment necessary to support response.

Chris McLaughlin, a grant analyst with Emergency Services, manages the Homeland Security Grant Program on behalf of San Bernardino County.

His role brings him together with fire and law enforcement agencies, county departments, cities and emergency managers to help secure federal funding that supports emergency preparedness and response efforts.

The funding helps emergency partners strengthen their capabilities and ensure they have resources available when an emergency occurs.

McLaughlin said the work helps make San Bernardino County “a more secure and safer place” and helps ensure that when emergencies happen, responders have what they need.

For McLaughlin, his favorite part of serving the community comes down to two things: the people he works with and the people he works for.

“Every grant cycle that I manage, every emergency activation, every community outreach that our department does, it improves us,” said McLaughlin. “It improves our communication and our coordination, and it helps us to serve the community better.”

Together, Vigilance and McLaughlin represent two important pieces of emergency management that often happen behind the scenes: connecting people with timely information and connecting emergency partners with the resources they need to respond.

Their work is part of a larger system of planning, coordination and preparedness taking place every day across San Bernardino County, long before an emergency begins and throughout the response when communities need it most.

Visit prepare.sbcounty.gov/behind-the-ready to learn more about emergency preparedness and the work happening Behind the Ready.

Additional County Update News – August 20, 2026