Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Guideines Introduction to SEMS Guideines Purpose of SEMS Guideines SEMS guideines are intended to assist those responsibe for panning, impementing and participating in SEMS by: expaining further the principes and operating concepts of SEMS as set forth in reguations, describing how SEMS functions at fied response, oca government, operationa area, region, and state eves and the reationships among eves, providing modes and exampes that may be used to pan and deveop SEMS, describing how existing pans and systems fit with SEMS, describing the roe of various eves of government, specia districts, and private and vounteer agencies in SEMS, describing the system for maintaining and improving SEMS. SEMS Guideines are not reguations, do not ater reguations, and do not set standards for compiance. The modes and exampes contained in the SEMS Guideines are not intended to be the ony ways to impement SEMS. SEMS Documentation Documentation specific to SEMS incudes: Government Code Section 8607(a)--Statute which directs the Governor s Office of Emergency Services (OES) to estabish SEMS by reguation. Caifornia Code of Reguations 2400-2450--Reguations estabishing SEMS. SEMS Guideines--Guidance for emergency response agencies on panning, deveoping, operating and maintaining SEMS consistent with reguations. SEMS Approved Courses of Instruction--Training courses for emergency response personne at fied and emergency operations center (EOC) eves deveoped pursuant to SEMS Reguations. The approved courses incude an Introductory Course, Fied Leve Course (Incident Command System), EOC Course, and Executive Course. Further information on the approved courses is provided in Part III of the Guideines. 3/1/95 Introduction to SEMS Guideines Page 1
Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Guideines Organization of the Guideines This SEMS Guideines document is organized in three parts: Part I. System Description expains how SEMS is intended to work. The Genera System Description provides an overview of the entire system and the genera interactions between eves of the system. It is foowed by a section on each of the SEMS eves: fied response, oca government, operationa area, regiona and state. Part II. Panning and Deveoping SEMS provides initia guidance for emergency response agencies on steps that need to be taken to deveop the system at each eve. Part III. Supporting Documents incudes the SEMS Maintenance System document which describes the roes of the SEMS Advisory Board, Technica Group and Regiona Advisory Committees in the ongoing deveopment and maintenance of SEMS. Part III aso contains a series of documents that provide additiona information on specific topics usefu to emergency response agencies, such as action panning, after-action reports, and a gossary. Persons with SEMS responsibiities are encouraged to read the entire guideines for a thorough understanding of the deveopment, operation, and maintenance of SEMS. At a minimum, they shoud read Part I. A. Genera System Description, the appicabe sections of Part I and Part II for their respective eve(s), and Part III SEMS Maintenance System. State and oca government agency officias with responsibiities for fied eve personne shoud read the fied response eve sections of Part I and Part II. Loca government officias with emergency operations center or department operations center responsibiities shoud read the sections on both oca government and operationa area eves. (Specia districts are defined as oca governments in SEMS.) State agency officias with emergency operations center or department operations center responsibiities may need to read the regiona and/or state eve sections. The guideines section for each SEMS eve is intended to be a comprehensive discussion of that eve incuding interactions with other eves. This resuts in some redundancy between sections. Reationship to Other Pans and Guideines Many emergency panning documents were deveoped prior to the estabishment of SEMS. The genera reationship of key documents to the SEMS Guideines is described briefy beow. State Emergency Pan and Supporting Pans--The State Emergency Pan is the primary document guiding the state's response during emergencies. It defines emergency roes and responsibiities of State agencies. SEMS reguations and guideines do not change the individua agency roes and responsibiities in existing aws or as described in the Introduction to SEMS Guideines 3/1/95 Page 2
Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Guideines State Emergency Pan. SEMS Guideines describe the system in which these agencies wi function. The current State Emergency Pan (1990) is generay compatibe with SEMS, but the pan wi be updated to more ceary show the reationship with SEMS. There are aso state supporting pans that wi be reviewed and updated for consistency with SEMS (discussed further in Guideines Part II. D). Muti-Hazard Functiona Panning Guidance (MHFP)--The MHFP provides oca emergency panning guidance in the form of a mode pan. Most jurisdictions have used the MHFP as the basis for their emergency pan. The MHFP is organized around key emergency response functions. The SEMS Guideines do not propose a mode pan format, but do provide the organizationa framework in which MHFP functions and other emergency functions can be paced. Some updating of oca pans that are based on the MHFP wi be necessary for consistency with SEMS. The reationship of the current MHFP to SEMS is discussed further in Guideines Part II.B. Loca Government. Mutua Aid Pans and Support Documentation--Severa documents describe the workings of mutua aid systems in Caifornia, incuding the Master Mutua Aid Agreement, Mutua Aid Handbook, and discipine-specific mutua aid pans, such as fire, aw enforcement and medica. SEMS does not change existing mutua aid systems; mutua aid is part of the framework of SEMS. SEMS Guideines provide an overview of mutua aid systems in the state and discuss the reationship of mutua aid coordinators to operationa area, regiona, and state EOCs. Readers interested in detaied information on discipine specific mutua aid systems shoud review the appropriate discipine-specific mutua aid pan and supporting documentation. OASIS, Operationa Area Sateite Information System, Interim Guideines--The OASIS guideines describe an information and resource tracking system for operationa areas. It defines data and forms to be reported for key functions that incude the MHFP functions. The OASIS functiona approach and use of the operationa area concept is compatibe with SEMS. The functions in OASIS, ike the MHFP functions, can be paced in the organizationa framework of SEMS. It is anticipated that fina OASIS Guideines wi identify data needed for essentia SEMS functions and wi become part of SEMS Guideines. Background on SEMS Deveopment History As a resut of events during the 1991 East Bay His fire, Senator Petris introduced SB 1841 (chaptered as Government Code Section 8607, effective January 1, 1993). This statute directs the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), in coordination with a interested state agencies with designated response roes in the state emergency pan and interested oca emergency management agencies, to estabish by reguation the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS). The framework of SEMS 3/1/95 Introduction to SEMS Guideines Page 3
Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Guideines incudes the Incident Command System (ICS), muti-agency or inter-agency coordination, Master Mutua Aid Agreement and system, and operationa area concept. Reguation Deveopment OES estabished the SEMS Deveopment Advisory Committee to assist in the deveopment of the system and reguations. Chaired by the Deputy Director, Panning and Disaster Assistance, OES, members incude: Representing Loca Government Emergency Management Mutua Aid Region I--Los Angees County Sheriff's Department Mutua Aid Region II--City of Oakand Office of Emergency Services Mutua Aid Region III--Redding Fire Department Mutua Aid Region IV--San Joaquin Co. Office of Emergency Services (previous) Pacer County Office of Emergency Services (current) Mutua Aid Region V--Kern County Emergency Medica Services Department Mutua Aid Region VI--Riverside County Fire Department, Emergency Services Division (previous) City of San Diego Emergency Management Office (previous) Rancho Cucamonga Office of Emergency Services (current) Representing Law Enforcement Tuoumne County Sheriff's Office Representing Fire Services Orange County Fire Department Representing Utiities East Bay Municipa Utiities District Metropoitan Water District of Southern Caifornia Representing State Agencies Emergency Medica Services Authority Department of Forestry and Fire Protection State Fire Marsha Caifornia Highway Patro Miitary Department Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training Using a faciitated round tabe process, the advisory committee began meeting March 16, 1993, to deveop the Standardized Emergency Management System and to write the proposed reguations. In this process, the committee considered the current structure and responsibiities of the fu range of emergency management in Caifornia. They identified five emergency management eves (fied, oca government, Introduction to SEMS Guideines 3/1/95 Page 4
Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Guideines operationa area, regiona, and state) and the responsibiities and methods of operations the eves have in common and those which are unique. The committee then deveoped and approved reguations addressing the eves, responsibiities, and methods of operations, and incorporating ICS, muti-agency or inter-agency coordination, the operationa area concept, and mutua aid. OES aso estabished an interna SEMS Coordination Committee. The Statewide Emergency Panning Committee (SWEPC), a standing committee with membership from 48 state agencies, has aso met to provide input to the system and reguations. The proposed reguations were subject to a review and pubic hearing process. Comments received in the process were considered by the Advisory Committee. The fina adopted reguations became effective September 2, 1994 as Tite 19, Division 2, Chapter 1 of the Caifornia Code of Reguations. Guideines and Training Course Deveopment The SEMS Advisory Committee continues in existence to assist in the deveopment of an approved course of instruction for SEMS, guidance materias, and other activities reated to impementation of the system. The committee estabished a Guideines and Training Working Group to deveop SEMS guideines and the Approved SEMS Course of Instruction. Working group membership incudes representatives from: Los Angees County Sheriff's Department Commission on Peace Officer's Standards and Training Kern County Emergency Medica Services Department Orange County Fire Department Governor's Office of Emergency Services Rancho Cucamonga Office of Emergency Services Caifornia Highway Patro Caifornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Caifornia Emergency Medica Services Authority State Fire Marsha's Office East Bay Municipa Utiities District City of San Diego Emergency Management Office City of Los Angees Poice Department State OES contracted with consutants to assist the working group in deveoping guideines and training courses. The working group and consutants deveoped draft SEMS Guideines and SEMS Training Courses for review by the Advisory Committee. Advisory Committee members aso asked a imited number of additiona oca government and agency representatives to review and comment on the draft guideines. Comments were addressed and the fina draft Guideines and Training Courses were provided to OES. 3/1/95 Introduction to SEMS Guideines Page 5