SPONSOR:   

Sen. McDowell & Sen. DeLuca & Rep. Brady & Rep. Williams

 

Sens. Henry, Marshall, Ennis, Connor, Copeland & Reps. Spence, Keeley, Mitchell, Johnson, Plant

 

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

144th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 

SENATE BILL NO. 272

 

 

AN ACT TO RENAME THE DELAWARE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS CENTER IN SMYRNA IN HONOR OF THE LATE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND FORMER CHIEF OF THE WILMINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT, JOHN P. MULHERN, JR.

 

 

WHEREAS, John P. “Sean” Mulhern, Jr. served as Director of Emergency Management Agency from 1993-2001, serving under Governors Thomas R. Carper and Ruth Ann Minner; and

                WHEREAS, Sean Mulhern previously served as Chief of the Wilmington Fire Department for 8 years from 1985 to 1993, and served as a member of the City of Wilmington Fire Department for 22 years; and

                WHEREAS, Chief Mulhern passed away on the 15th day of April, 2008, at the age of 66 years; and

                WHEREAS, he was born in Wilmington on October 4, 1941, attended St. Ann’s Elementary School, and graduated from Salesianum High School in 1960, and Valley Forge Military Academy in 1962; and

WHEREAS, after graduation he joined the National Guard and served from 1963-1970 rising from Private to Staff Sergeant as a full-time member; and in 1968 worked in Wilmington during the civil unrest, earning the Medal of Service in Aid of Civil Authority; and

                WHEREAS, his firefighter career began in 1971, and he quickly rose through the ranks of the department to become Chief in 1985; never losing a firefighter on the scene; and, through relentless grant writing, he established the first Marine Unit in Wilmington, to be utilized as firefighting boat on the City Riverfront; and

                WHEREAS, after his retirement from the Wilmington Fire Department, he joined Delaware State Services, and was named the Director of Emergency Management in 1993; and

                WHEREAS, he was involved in the planning and construction of the new state-of-the art building for DEMA’s central operations located in Smyrna, where the building has attracted national and international attention as a facility for our times and our future; and

WHEREAS, while at DEMA he actively worked with DelDOT to streamline communication during emergencies; and he headed the State’s emergency preparations and operations during 9-11 and subsequently created post-planning for terrorism attacks in the State;

WHEREAS, Sean was widely recognized as a national authority on emergency management techniques, and he taught a course at Harvard University on Emergency Management for Terrorism Events;

NOW THEREFORE:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GNERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.The Delaware Emergency Management Operations Center in Smyrna is hereby renamed the “John P. Mulhern Jr.” Emergency Management Operations Center.               


SYNOPSIS

This Act has the effect of renaming the Delaware Emergency Management Center in Smyrna as the “John P. Mulhern, Jr. Emergency Management Center” in honor of the former Director of Emergency Management Agency and Chief of the Wilmington Fire Department, who passed away on April 15th 2008 at the age of 66 after a courageous two-year battle with Leukemia.  This gesture is made because of his dedication to safety of all Delawareans.

Author: Senator McDowell