Community Emergency Response Teams are the neighborhood's first response in a major
disaster.
Click here to see video from the rollout of CERT Disaster Training and
Preparedness trailers.
Office of Emergency Services
The Office of Emergency Services (County OES) is a Division of the San Bernardino
County Fire Department. County OES is responsible for disaster planning and emergency
management coordination throughout the San Bernardino County Operational Area (OA)
by functioning as the Lead Agency for the OA. County OES serves a county population
of over 2 million and over 20,100 square miles. While County OES does not directly
manage field operations, as does an Incident Command Post (ICP), it ensures coordination
of disaster response and recovery efforts through day-to-day program management
and during a disaster/emergency.
Other major areas of responsibility
- Initial staffing and coordination of the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC),
which is the primary coordination point for disasters and major emergencies.
- Coordination of EOC Responders, who are pre-selected and trained individuals to
perform specific functions in the EOC as designated under the Standardized Emergency
Management System (SEMS).
- Development and coordination of annual exercises to test the readiness of various
types of disasters and large-scale emergencies.
- Development and implementation of the OA Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The EOP
identifies hazards and response, roles and responsibilities, and other key activities
of government during a disaster. County OES also maintains current copies of all
San Bernardino County City/Town EOP’s.
- Development and implementation of other Emergency Management documents to be used
throughout the County by many agencies:
- Annexes, such as the Terrorism, Citizen Corps Program and Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard
Mitigation Plan Annexes.
- Concept of Operations (CONOPS), such as the Flood Area Safety Taskforce (FAST) and
Telephone Emergency Notification (TENS) CONOPS.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), such as the EOC Section and Citizen Corps
Program SOPs.
- Assistance in the development and coordination of the Mountain Area Safety Taskforce
(MAST) and Flood Area Safety Taskforce (FAST) organizations.
- Coordination of many disaster-related Grant Programs for the County, such programs
as Homeland Security Grant, Bark Beetle Emergency Grant, and OJP State Domestic
Preparedness Equipment Program.
- Development and coordination of Emergency Alert System (EAS) notifications for countywide
distribution, such as Evacuation Orders (both voluntary and mandatory).
- Assistance to County unincorporated communities and residents with local region
preparedness.