About Us

Kevin Lowery began his career in public service in 2002, volunteering as a fire fighter while an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.  He next served in local law enforcement and later joined the United States Coast Guard. He most recently served as the Assistant Operations Officer on the Coast Guard’s only oceanographic research vessel.  

Kevin holds a Master of Administrative Science as well as a Master of Emergency Management.  In his hometown, Mr. Lowery volunteered with the Cranbury Township Fire Department, Board of Recreation, and as the Chairman of he township’s Municipal Alliance Committee on Drug Abuse and Alcoholism. He spends his free time exploring public lands, reading, and with his family, including his two children, Skye and Orion, and his dog, Patches.

The Northshore Emergency Management Coalition (NEMCo) is a partnership among the cities of Kenmore and Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline Fire Department to maximize each of the participating agencies emergency preparedness efforts and resources to serve our community. NEMCo’s focus is to engage the “whole community” to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from all types of emergencies and disasters through education and volunteer coordination. NEMCo provides a number of emergency preparedness training opportunities throughout the year for those interested in volunteering or for those who just want to be better prepared at home.

Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) are governed by Part 97 of the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They have an FCC license to operate as an amateur radio operator (hams), and may be activated in emergency situations to provide radio communications. NEMCo RACES meetings, which are open to the community, discuss community events, technical issues, recent developments, training, deployments, and other items of interest to the group.

Field Operations Team (formerly called CERT Teams) uses volunteers who have completed the typically six-week CERT course to earn their CERT certification. CERT training is designed to educate and prepare community members about disaster preparedness and train them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light urban search and rescue, team organization, disaster medical operations, and other related safety areas. NEMCo periodically has exercises and activities that will help with skill maintenance and development, to become better acquainted with emergency response roles, and to network with other emergency preparedness volunteers. Members are not authorized to respond on behalf of any agency but may be called upon to supplement and assist professional emergency responders during and after natural or man-made disasters. Typical activities include damage assessment, minor fire suppression, sandbag operations, urban search and rescue, disaster first aid, supply distribution, and being a resource to your neighbors.

Community Volunteers are volunteers who have not taken the courses required to be a fully-credential volunteer and make up the remaining NEMCo membership. They may attend our general volunteer meetings and may also volunteer to assist at community activities such as fun runs, participate in safety workshops, and contribute to discussions about emergency preparedness. These volunteers may also serve as role players in simulated emergencies, acting out a variety of physical injuries to provide a sense of realism for first responder training.