annual report
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Moving Forward (cont.)
OES Conducts Mass Care and
Shelter Exercise
Over 150 participants from 24 County Departments and several local
partner agencies participated in a functional exercise which featured
the activation of a Shelter Operations Compound (SHOC). Over 40
VIPs at the State, Southern Region and County level were able to view
shelter operations in real-time, as partnering County Departments
and agencies provided a variety of client services to volunteer “shelter
residents” fleeing an exercise scenario of a mountain region wildfire
that forced the evacuation of whole communities.
The exercise was conducted to test the activation of the County’s SHOC
Plan, an all-inclusive and innovative approach to Mass Care. A SHOC
provides a one-stop shop for access to a Local Assistance Center
(LAC), a co-located animal shelter, reunification and communication
centers in addition to basic shelter services and access to advanced
medical and mental health services.
The SHOC “concept” has been practically employed by the County in
both the 2003 and the 2007 wildfires. After considerable refinement,
coordination and training, this programmatic approach to mass care
and sheltering is being held up as a model for multi-jurisdictional,
multi-discipline mega-sheltering.
Responders Organized for Pass
Emergencies
First Responders and Private Sector partners from San Bernardino
County came together to participate in the San Bernardino County
Responders Organized for Pass Emergencies (ROPE) Table Top Exercise.
The exercise scenario addressed the challenges of accessing the Cajon
Pass after a 7.8 earthquake. With the San Andreas Fault cutting through
southwestern San Bernardino County, which houses some of the most
densely populated areas in the region, the likelihood of post-earthquake
challenges in the Cajon Pass are evident. Due to the fact that the
Cajon Pass incorporates a major transportation corridor (Interstate
15), rail, and utility resources; infrastructure coordinated operations
are essential to the response and recovery of San Bernardino County
and the Southern California region. The exercise focused on Incident
Command objectives and priorities, Operational Communications and
Operational Coordination, including strategic areas north and south of
the Cajon Pass to facilitate emergency responses, along with analyzing
any gaps within the ROPE planning process.
At the conclusion of the exercise more than 100 participants now feel
prepared to respond to an incident within the Cajon Pass using the
newly established ROPE Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG) and the
ROPE Field Operations Guide (FOG) for all-hazards
One Stop Shop
The Planning & Engineering Division of County Fire is one of many agencies
participating with the new “One Stop Shop” concept proposed by the
Board of Supervisors; with shops located at the Government Centers
in San Bernardino and Hesperia. The concept behind these centers is
to allow the customer the opportunity to consult and submit plans with
Fire, Building and Safety, and Land Use Services Departments during
a single visit. The program has shown to improve efficiencies for both
customers and the different County agencies by offering knowledgeable
staff from multiple departments in a centralized location.
Special Events
Along with providing planning, permitting and inspection services for
many types of special and temporary events throughout the County,
the Special Events Section of the Office of the Fire Marshal was hard
at work coordinating NASCAR events, public fireworks displays, film
shoots, minor to major scaled events, tents and concerts at the San
Manuel Amphitheater, just to name a few activities. Our Special
Events Coordinator, Curtis Markloff, was a runner up for the California
on Locations Award as 2013 Public Employee of the Year. He was
nominated by the Inland Empire Film Commission for his dedication and
tireless efforts in balancing film industry dreams with fire code realities.
Public Education Reigns
Fire Prevention Week focused on “Preventing Cooking Fires”. The message
of Cooking Safety was reinforced and select County Firefighters shared
their favorite recipes on cards provided to ѡ