Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Student Manual

CA Emergency Mgmt. Agency Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Manual April 2011when Cal EMA officially deploys volunteers into the field. In accordance with the CaliforniaEmergency Services Act, Section 8657:“(a) Volunteers duly enrolled or registered with the California Emergency ManagementAgency or any disaster council of any political subdivision, or unregistered persons dulyimpressed into service during a state of war emergency, a state of emergency, or a localemergency, in carrying out, complying with, or attempting to comply with, any order orregulation issued or promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or any localordinance, or performing any of their authorized functions or duties or training for theperformance of their authorized functions or duties, shall have the same degree ofresponsibility for their actions and enjoy the same immunities as officers and employeesof the state and its political subdivisions performing similar work for their respectiveentities.”In 1977, the California State Attorney General issued a response to a series of questionspresented by the state emergency management agency of the time (the Governor‟s Office ofEmergency Services, or OES) regarding the liability protection afforded by the CaliforniaEmergency Services Act. The following are extracts of that response:Question: May structural engineers who are registered as Disaster Service Workers beutilized to assess the extent of damages incurred by buildings in an area struck byearthquakes?Answer: Structural engineers who are registered as Disaster Service Workers may beutilized to perform post-earthquake damage assessments following the proclamation of aState of Emergency or a Local Emergency.Question: Would the appointment of such engineers as Deputy Building Inspectors,without pay, affect their eligibility for state worker‟s compensation?Answer: The appointment, without pay, of structural engineers who are registeredDisaster Service Workers as Deputy Building Inspectors by government entities wouldnot affect the engineer‟s entitlement to State Disaster Workers‟ Compensation Benefits,which would remain the exclusive remedy for physical injuries suffered by them whileperforming related activities.Question: Would such engineers be required to be “fully conversant” with local buildingsafety codes?Answer: Volunteer Engineer/Disaster Service Workers would not be required to be fullyconversant with local building and safety codes.Question: If a local engineer, building inspector, or volunteer engineer certifies astructure is safe for occupancy and, when occupied, it collapses and individuals areinjured, would the local entity, the state, or the certifying engineer be liable?Answer: No liability would attach to a public entity, its employees, or a Disaster ServiceWorker under the circumstances presented.14