The CAL
FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department’s main Emergency Command Center (ECC) is located in the City
of Perris at CAL FIRE’s Riverside Unit and Riverside County Fire Department’s headquarters. The
Perris ECC is the main command and control center for one of the largest regional fire service
organizations in California.
CAL FIRE/Riverside
County Fire Department is dedicated to cooperative fire services. The Perris ECC is tasked with
multiple responsibilities:
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The CAL FIRE
Riverside Unit/Riverside County Fire Department ECC provides dispatch services to all
unincorporated County areas, 17 Contract Cities and one Community Service District. Additionally,
the Perris ECC dispatches under contract for the Idyllwild Fire Protection District and two Native
American Fire Departments.
The "Cooperative Fire Services" philosophy is
advantageous for all participants, in that Contract Cities and dispatch contracts are part of CAL
FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department. They are dispatched and coordinated as a single fire
department. It is automatic aid at its best, providing efficient, cost-effective customer
service to our citizens and visitors.
The Perris ECC
is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days year and operates on three overlapping
shifts.
Daily staffing in the Perris ECC includes eight Public
Safety Communications Officers (PSCO), one Senior PSCO and three CAL FIRE Fire
Captains. This concept allows for sufficient staffing to be on-duty during daily
high activity periods, usually from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The Perris ECC's
operation is an integral role of the CAL FIRE three-level command and control structure. The
primary function of the ECC is to receive and process reports of emergencies from a variety of
sources. Their highly-trained staff is also responsible for allocating and tracking personnel,
resources and equipment based on pre-planned response criteria. They are skilled in
coordinating inter-agency incident activities, supporting major emergencies and
documenting internal/external intelligence.
CAL FIRE crews and
equipment are a familiar sight throughout the State, having responsibility for the protection
of over 31 million acres of California’s privately owned wildlands.
The Perris ECC is directly responsible for command
and control, as these resources respond throughout the State.
The Perris ECC is
the Region VI Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) Local Area Coordinator for the
California Fire Service and Rescue Emergency Mutual Aid System.
The purpose of the plan is to provide for systematic
mobilization, organization and operation of necessary fire and rescue resources of the State and
political subdivisions in mitigating the effects of disasters, whether natural or
human-caused.
This is a statewide
plan to facilitate mutual aid to local fire departments, which are faced with a disaster, fire,
flood, earthquake, hazmat or other emergency that is beyond the ability of the local fire
department to mitigate without loss of life or property.
In accordance with
standard Firescope Incident Command System (ICS) theology, the Perris ECC is able to "expand
and contract" in relation to activity, personnel and resource needs on all incident needs.
One means of facilitating this is with the activation
of Perris ECC Expanded Dispatch Operations. The Expanded Operations "team" is an
augmentation of on-duty personnel who have completed training classes to internally
assist with the deployment and tracking of emergency personnel and resources to major
incidents. Expanded Operations is able to support local incidents with direct radio,
logistical and informational support while not impacting the day-to-day incident activity on
the main command floor.
Expanded Operations is also utilized for mobilizing
personnel and resources in support of
fires throughout California and the Western United
States.
For safety and accountability, the status of these
resources is constantly maintained.
Two alternate
Emergency Command Centers, located in Riverside and Indio are maintained to provide redundancy as a
backup to the Perris ECC and as communication centers in support of Riverside County Office of
Emergency Services Division (OES) to coordinate multi-agency disaster management within Riverside
County.
Battalion Chief Todd Williams - B3119
PHOTO COMING SOON!
Battalion Chief Geoff Pemberton - B30
PHOTO COMING SOON!
8 Fire Captains
4
Senior Public
Safety Communications Officers
32
Public
Safety Communications Officers
