CHAPTER 7
EMERGENCY SERVICES

7-10 Purposes

The declared purposes of this chapter are to provide for the preparation and execution of plans for the protection of persons and property within this county in the event of an emergency; the direction of the emergency organization; and the coordination of the emergency functions and resources of this county with all other public agencies, corporations, organizations, and affected private persons.

(Ord. No. 779, §1; Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1410, §1)

7-11 Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter 7, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

(a) State of emergency shall mean the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot or earthquake, or other conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy, or conditions causing a “State of War Emergency,” which conditions by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county or city, and require the combined forces of mutual aid region or regions to combat.

(b) Local emergency shall mean the duly proclaimed existence, or threatened existence, of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territory of the county or within any portion thereof, caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm epidemic, riot, earthquake, or other conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy, which are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the county and require the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat.

(Ord. No. 779, §1; Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1410, §1; Ord. No. 1484, §1)

7-12 Office of emergency services and its director

(a) The office of emergency services is created as a division of the sheriff’s office. The county administrator is designated director of emergency services. The sheriff shall serve as the assistant director of emergency services.

(b) The county administrator is designated as the Incident Commander, and will be responsible for the direction of the emergency services division in the case of any actual state of emergency or local emergency or drill, as defined in section 7-1 1, above.

(c) There is created within the office of emergency services the positions of the coordinator of emergency services and an emergency services program manager, who shall be appointed by the sheriff from the classified services of the county. The manager shall have all of the powers and duties as specified by law, and shall in addition have such additional powers and duties as may be determined by the director.

(Ord. No. 779, §1; Ord. No. 1410, §1; Ord. No. 1484, §2; Ord. No. 1525, §l)

7-13 Powers and duties of the incident commander and division head of emergency services

(a) The incident commander is hereby empowered to:

(1) Request the chairperson of the board of supervisors to proclaim the existence or threatened existence of a local emergency if the board of supervisors is in session or the incident commander may issue such a proclamation if the board of supervisors is not in session. Whenever a local emergency is proclaimed by the incident commander, the board of supervisors shall take action to ratify the proclamation within fourteen days or by the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board, whichever occurs first thereafter. If no such ratification occurs, the local emergency declaration declared by proclamation of the incident commander shall expire at the conclusion of that period.

(2) Request the governor to proclaim a state of emergency when, in the opinion of the incident commander, the locally available resources are inadequate to cope with the emergency.

(3) Direct and control the effort of the emergency organization of the county for the accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter.

(4) Direct the cooperation between and the coordination of services and staff of the emergency organization of this county and resolve questions of authority and responsibility that may arise between them.

(5) Represent the county in dealings with public and private agencies on matters pertaining to emergencies as defined herein.

(b) In the event of a proclamation of a local emergency as herein provided, the proclamation of a state of emergency by the governor or the director of the state office of emergency services, or the existence of a state of war emergency, the incident commander is hereby empowered:

(1) To make and issue rules and regulations on matters reasonably related to the protection of life and property as affected by such emergency; provided, however, such rules and regulations must be confirmed at the earliest practicable time by the board of supervisors.

(2) To obtain vital supplies, equipment, and such other properties found lacking and needed for the protection of life and property and to bind the county for the fair value thereof and, if required immediately, commandeer same for public use.

(3) To require emergency services of any county officer or employee and, in the event of the proclamation of a state-of-war emergency, to command the aid of as many citizens of Solano County as the incident commander deems necessary in the execution of the commander’s duties, such persons shall be entitled to all privileges, benefits, and immunities as are provided by state law for registered disaster service workers.

(4) To requisition necessary personnel or material of any county department or agency.

(5) To execute all of the special powers conferred upon the incident commander by this chapter or by resolution or emergency plan pursuant hereto adopted by the board of supervisors, all powers conferred by any statute, by any agreement approved by the board of supervisors, and by other lawful authority.

(c) The incident commander shall designate the order of succession to that office, to take effect in the event the incident commander is unavailable to attend meetings and otherwise perform duties during an emergency. Such order of succession shall be approved by the board of supervisors.

(d) The deputy incident commander shall, under the supervision of the incident commander and with the assistance of the emergency service chiefs, develop emergency plans and the emergency management programs of the county, and shall have such other powers and duties as may be assigned by the incident commander.

(Ord. No. 779, §1; Ord. No. 1410, §1)

7-14 Emergency organization

All officers and employees of Solano County, together with those volunteer forces enrolled to aid them during an emergency, and all groups, organizations, and persons who may by agreement or by operation of law, including persons impressed into service under the provisions of section 7-16(b)(3) of this chapter, be charged with duties incident to the protection of life and property in this county during such emergency, shall constitute the emergency organization of the County of Solano.

(Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1410, §1)

7-15 Disaster council membership

The Solano County disaster council is created as an advisory group to the board of supervisors. When convened by the incident commander the council, whether designated in whole or in part, shall serve as the functional membership of the county emergency operations center (EOC). During such emergency service, members of the disaster council shall function under the incident command system (ICS) commonly used in fire and law enforcement services and when requested by SEMS (Standard Emergency Management Systems).

Membership of the Solano County Disaster Council shall consist of the following: (Names asterisked are members of the incident command committee of the disaster council.)

1. Incident commander,* who presides over the meetings of the disaster council and who shall act during the course of an emergency as the person in charge of the county emergency operation under the purview of the incident command system (ICS).

2. Division head of emergency services,* who shall act as the deputy incident commander in the ICS system when activated.

3. County risk manager/safety officer.*

4. A management analyst designated by the CAO.*

5. County sheriff.*

6. County counsel.*

7. County auditor-controller.*

8. County department of health and social services director.*

9. County environmental management director.*

10. County director of general services.*

11. County transportation department director.

12. County communications division chief.

13. Operational area fire-rescue coordinator.*

14. County public health officer.

15. County sheriff’s office public information officer.

16. A representative from the County’s information system provider.

17. County emergency medical services division administrator.

18. CHP local commander representative.

19. American Red Cross representative.

20. Salvation Army representative.

21. Travis Air Force Base representative.

22. Mare Island Naval Shipyard representative (until such time as the base closure is complete).

23. A liaison officer, representing non-county emergency response agencies, which shall serve in the emergency operations center and shall function as a member of the ICS.

24. California National Guard representative.

25. Representatives from each incorporated city who shall serve as liaisons.

26. Representatives from the medical facilities in the county.

27. Representative from the Superintendent of Schools.

28. Director of human resources.

The incident commander shall invite these agencies/individuals to serve as members of the Solano County Disaster Council, to attend its scheduled meetings and to serve, when requested, as members of the county’s emergency operations center (EOC), under the purview of the incident command system.

(Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1338, §I; Ord. No. 1410, §1; Ord. No. 1525, §1.)

7-16 Incident Command Committee--membership

The incident command committee consists of Solano county disaster council members noted by asterisk (*) in Section 7-15 (above) and serves for the purpose of effectively aggregating, under the aegis of the incident command system, county personnel and material assets in support of an effective emergency response before, during and after a major emergency/disaster.

(Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1338, §1; Ord. No. 1410, §1.)

7-17 Same--Powers and duties

(a) The Solano County Disaster Council shall review, evaluate, and recommend for adoption and/or consideration by the board of supervisors estimates of hazards facing the county, as well as plans and methods for the mitigation of such hazards. The disaster council shall also develop for adoption by the board, emergency and mutual aid plans, emergency exercises, emergency mutual aid agreements, and such ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the same.

(b) The incident command committee of the disaster council shall meet at the call of the incident commander.

(c) The disaster council and its component committee, the incident command committee, and all other such committees as may be designated by the chairman of the disaster council are authorized to:

(1) Develop and implement the regulations and training necessary to insure that the entire county staff and all county employees are able, when called upon during an emergency, to do their part in mitigation, response and recovery from the effects of a disaster, which may affect Solano county, its people, industry, or any of its component jurisdictions as required by SEMS regulations.

(2) Develop, review, publish, and when appropriate, implement emergency plans of the county.

(3) Make recommendations to the board of supervisors with respect to emergency situations or hazards, current or developing in the county.

(4) Act as the focal point for the coordination of emergency exercises conducted with other governmental agencies, to include the cities and special districts of the county and all appropriate elements of private enterprise in the county.

(d) The disaster council shall review emergency services programs and the emergency services plans, programs and emergency readiness status of all county departments. It shall render, under the signature of the incident commander, an annual report to the board of supervisors, on the emergency services preparedness status of the county and its agencies.

(e) It is the desire of the board of supervisors that directors of county departments personally participate, as requested, in the deliberations and activities of the disaster council, and that if they choose to have a representative attend the meetings of the council that that person be empowered to commit that department to all necessary action in support of emergency preparedness activities.

(f) Under the direction of the incident commander, each county department shall function as a constituent member of the incident command system when called upon by the incident commander to do so in emergencies and for such training as may be required to properly prepare for emergencies.

(Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1338, §2; Ord. No. 1410, §I; Ord. No. 1525, §I.)

7-18 Emergency plan

The incident commander shall be responsible for developing and maintaining the Solano county emergency plan. The emergency plan shall provide for the effective mobilization of all the resources of this county, both public and private, to meet any condition constituting a local emergency, state of emergency, or state of war emergency; and shall provide for the organization, powers and duties, services, and staff of the emergency organization. Such plan shall take effect upon adoption of a resolution by the board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1410, §2)

7-19 Expenditures

Any expenditure made in connection with emergency activities, including mutual aid activities, shall be deemed conclusively to be for the direct protection and benefit of the residents and property of the county of Solano.

(Ord. No. 1192, §2; Ord. No. 1410, §1.)

7-20 Punishment for violations

It shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment, not to exceed six months, or both, for any person during any emergency to:

(a) Willfully obstruct, hinder, or delay any member of the emergency organization in the enforcement of any lawful rule or regulation issued pursuant to this chapter, or in the performance of any duty imposed upon the member by virtue of this chapter.

(b) Do any act forbidden by any lawful rule or regulation issued pursuant to this chapter, if such act is of such a nature as to give or be likely to give assistance to the enemy or to imperil the lives or property of the inhabitants of this county, or to prevent, hinder, or delay the defense or protection thereof.

(c) Wear, carry, or display, without authority, any means of identification specified by the emergency organization or by the emergency management agency of the State of California.