C. Douglas Bass

County Emergency Manager
Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management

Douglas Bass was appointed County Emergency Manager for Fairfax County, Virginia in November of 2002. He is responsible for overseeing the county’s emergency management program, county emergency operations center, domestic terrorism planning and grant programs as well as other emergency planning, training and exercise initiatives. In short, he is responsible for leading the County’s efforts as necessary to prepare for, respond to and recover from significant emergencies that affect the more than one million residents of Fairfax County.

Douglas Bass represents Fairfax County on multiple local, regional, and national committees. He currently serves as Chairman of the International Association of Emergency Manager’s Homeland Security Committee and Chairman of the National Capital Region (NCR) Emergency Manager’s Committee. In addition, he serves on several national homeland security advisory boards. During his 18 years as an emergency management director he has been the recipient of four National Association of County’s Awards. These awards cite program enhancements and leadership in incident command, hazardous materials, public notification and warning and emergency technology initiatives.

Douglas Bass is a native of North Carolina where he worked in the public safety field as a law enforcement officer, emergency services instructor, and emergency management director for three decades. From 1988 until 1998, he served as the Assistant Emergency Management Director for Wake County (Raleigh, North Carolina). In 1998, he accepted the position of Onslow County Emergency Services Director (Jacksonville, North Carolina). In this capacity Doug managed the County Fire Services, EMS/Paramedic Program, Consolidated E-911 Communications Center, and Emergency Management Program.

Douglas Bass holds a Master’s Degree from N.C. State University and several undergraduate college degrees in both Fire Protection and Criminal Justice. He is a certified as a “Certified Emergency Manger” by the International Association of Emergency Managers, State of North Carolina, and Commonwealth of Virginia.  Doug is a graduate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Executive Development Institute.