HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 Tustin Emerg Preparedness
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AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE:
OCTOBER 17,2005
TO:
WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
FROM:
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/ENGINEERING DIVISION
SUBJECT:
CITY OF TUSTIN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
SUMMARY
The City's Emergency Plan identifies the response procedures and the roles of City
personnel during a major emergency. Implementation of the plan will enable staff to
organize the response activities and coordinate the delivery of the resources needed to
facilitate response and recovery.
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and File
FISCAL IMPACT
None
BACKGROUND
Recent events in the southern states and other international locations have reminded all
of us of the importance of preparing for emergencies, both natural and man-made.
In the City of Tustin, almost all incidents are handled on a daily basis by police, fire,
emergency medical services and public works personnel. When a major incident
occurs that will overwhelm existing response systems, the City must be able to respond
with all the resources necessary to mitigate and recover from the incident. The City's
Emergency Plan provides the organizational framework for responding to a major
emergency incident.
The plan utilizes an all hazards approach to emergency response where the City's
existing organization can be scaled to fit any specific emergency situation and utilizes
the state mandated Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS). This
system was established by the State to ensure consistent and compatible organizational
structure and response procedures for all California public agencies.
City of Tustin Emergency Preparedness
October 17, 2005
Page 2
A major objective of the City's Emergency Plan is to ensure the continuity of local
government authority so that the City can coordinate emergency response and
recovery. Staff recognizes that the City's resources will become quickly overwhelmed in
a major emergency and mutual aid agreements are in place to provide assistance in the
areas of law, fire, public works, building and emergency operations center staff.
The use of this emergency response system can not be overstated. Post-Hurricane
Katrina reports have indicated that the failure to utilize proper incident command
systems at the state and local levels significantly hindered the ability of all agencies to
provide a coordinated and timely response.
The City's Emergency Plan clearly defines the responsibilities of various City
Departments during an emergency event. The Orange County Fire Authority, the Tustin
Police Department and the Public Works Department along with the Building Division in
the Community Development Department are the primary first responders in the field.
Law and Fire personnel are available 24/7 and will be the first responders in almost all
situations. Specialized staffing support, including additional security, medical, heavy
search and rescue will be coordinated through fire and law enforcement mutual aid
channels. Public Works and Building Division staff will provide any necessary support
to law and fire functions and will also be responsible for debris removal and for
coordinating of the repair of transportation and City facilities and the restoration of
utilities.
Parks and Recreation is responsible for all care and sheltering issues. The plan
identifies three possible shelters; Tustin High School, the Tustin Area Senior Center and
Foothill High School. The Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross is the
primary response organization for sheltering needs. They will staff and supply the high
school sites and City staff will operate the Senior Center and the Community Center if
sufficient staff and volunteer resources are available. In addition, the Clifton Miller
Community Center has been designated as an onsite shelter for emergency response
personnel.
Staff has pre-positioned certain nonperishable supplies at the Senior Center and the
Community Center to accommodate the opening of shelters at those locations Bedding
materiaís including cots, blankets, pillows, sleeping bags and privacy screens could be
set up by Parks and Recreation staff as needed during an major incident. The City also
maintains a stock of bottled water and several hundred instant meals.
City of Tustin Emergency Preparedness
October 17, 2005
Page 3
Additional resources including perishable stores (water and food) can be acquired
through local purchases, mutual aid private contractors, and other emergency response
channels and distributed as needed. Mutual Aid is a system to share local or regional
resources to respond to a local emergency and is a very an important aspect of any
emergency plan. Mutual aid can be applied to the full range of the City's emergency
response activities. .
The initial response by City staff will be largely dependent upon the time of day that an
incident occurs. During a typical workday, up to thirty-five (35) sworn police personnel
and forty (40) public works staff would be available for field duty. After normal work
hours, less than fifteen (15) sworn police personnel would be available for emergency
response.
Many staff live outside the City limits and mobilization after hours will be dependant
upon the ability to notify staff and the ability of staff to report for duty. Currently, key
staff is manually notified by police dispatch or the Watch Commander during an after
hours event. The Police Department is in the process of implementing a system to
automatically notify police personnel via cell phone text messaging. Staff will
investigate whether this system could be expanded to other key personnel.
Nevertheless, the ability of staff to report for assignment could be impeded due to
possible damage and restricted access to roads and highways. Standard procedure for
all staff is to report as soon as possible if it is safe to do so and after family concerns are
resolved. If they are unable to report, they should report to the city in which they reside
and offer assistance.
The City will coordinate all response activities from the Emergency Operations Center
(EOC). The EOC is located in the Police Department briefing room and would be staffed
by available senior staff who are assigned specific functions according to the
emergency plan Other agencies that may provide .support or liaison staff to the City's
EOC include TUSD, the County of Orange, CHP and OCFA. A backup generator
powers the EOC, police dispatch and various communications and computer systems to
insure continued operations. The Police Department command vehicle can also be
utilized to coordinate field crews from a central location and act as a field liaison to the
EOC.
Communications is always a major concern for all agencies in an emergency. The
County 800 MHz radio system is the cornerstone of the City's (and the County's)
emergency communications system. With a variety of backup capabilities, multiple
radio channels and system redundancy, the system is like~y to survive all but the most
City of Tustin Emergency Preparedness
October 17, 2005
Page 4
catastrophic emergencies. Communications with the public will include the use of local
media, the City's cable television channel and drive by announcements by field
personnel.
Even though the City will assure that additional resources and people will be deployed
to facilitate response and recovery, citizens could still see some significant delays as
they strive to return to their normal daily routines. Personal and family preparedness is
an important responsibility that all citizens must assume. All citizens should be
prepared to provide for themselves without government assistance for at least 72 hours.
Every family should have their own emergency plan that includes adequate provisions,
communications and an evacuation and sheltering plan.
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Tim D. Seriet'-^ . "
Director Public Works/City Engineer
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Joe Meyers 1/
Administrative Services Manager/
Emergency Services Coordinator
Public Works Department
S:\City Councilltems\2005 Council Items\Emergency Preparedness.doc