General Plan Update - City of Inglewood

6.8 Emergency Preparedness
necessary: field response, local government, operational areas (countywide), OES Mutual
Aid Regions, and State OES.
As its name implies, the SEMS provides guidelines for standardization of procedures and
approaches to emergency response; facilitation of the flow of information and resources
between organizational levels (field, local government, operation area, regional and state);
coordination between responding agencies; and rapid mobilization, deployment, use and
tracking of resources. Cities and counties are encouraged to utilize the SEMS in order to
qualify for State funds for emergency response activities.
City of Inglewood Hazard Mitigation Plan
This section highlights the coordination of resources necessary to address potential
emergency hazards in the City.
Emergency Operations Organization
In the late 1970s, the City established the Inglewood Civil Defense and Disaster Council,
which has oversight of the City Emergency Operations Organization (EOO) through the
Emergency Operations Board (EOB), as discussed in detail below. The EOO is
responsible for oversight, approval, and implementation of the City’s Local Hazard
Mitigation Plan.
The EOO is comprised of all agencies of the City government. However, unlike
traditional departments, the EOO is not located physically in any one place. Rather, it is a
chain of command and protocols that integrate the City’s emergency operations into a
single operation. It centralizes command and information coordination so as to enable
the chain of command to operate efficiently and effectively in deploying resources.
The EOB supervises the EOO emergency preparedness, response and recovery, and is
comprised of the heads of the City’s critical emergency operations agencies (i.e., the
Board of Public Works, Fire and Police departments, etc.). The Chief of Police acts as
chair of the EOB, at the direction of the City Administrative Officer who is the vice chair
and is responsible for coordinating non-emergency EOO activities. The City Attorney is
the legal advisor to the EOB. The Mayor, in time of emergency, directs the operational
divisions of the EOO.
Each division is responsible for carrying out specific tasks for coordinating emergency
actions which are essential in abating the impacts and limiting the scope of a catastrophe;
responding to life threatening situations and safety needs of the population; maintaining
and re-establishing essential services, transportation and communication networks; aiding
dislocated people; and planning for recovery.
Various City agencies are responsible for coordinating the activities of their assigned
divisions. For example, the Traffic Division is responsible for developing plans for the
maintenance of traffic control devices, emergency travel routes to be used in the event of
an emergency, placement of barricades as necessary or as directed by the chiefs of the
City of Inglewood General Plan Update Technical Background Report
6.8-5