Standardized Emergency Management System 1 (SEMS) California
Standardized Emergency Management System 1 (SEMS) California : "In 1991, the Oakland Hills fires lasted three days, and destroyed some 1,600 acres, over 2,700 structures and killed 25 people. Damages were estimated at more than $1.68 billion.22 Emergency management experts criticized the handling of the fires because disparate agencies were poorly prepared to work together. In response, State and local officials developed SEMS as a management structure for coordinating and integrating emergency responses that involve multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions. SEMS was developed to provide a standardized but flexible strategy for coordinating responses and integrating management efforts. SEMS can operate at five levels, though only the levels required to respond to a particular emergency are activated. (1) Field: Refers to the incident level, where local officials manage responders and resources to meet needs. During large-scale events, there may be multiple field sites. (2) Local: The local level refers to city, county or special districts. The local level coordinates and manages response within its jurisdiction. (3) Operational Area: The operational area refers to the boundaries of a county. At the operational area, incident commanders manage response and serve as coordination and communication links between local and regional levels. Operational areas reflect county boundaries, but county officials do not necessarily lead operational area emergency management efforts. (4) Regional: The State has six emergency management regions. The regional level coordinates information and resource movement among operational areas within the mutual aid region and between operational areas and the State. (5) State: State resources are managed in response to the needs of other levels. State officials manage and coordinate assistance between the five local and state levels and the federal disaster response system". (Little Hoover, Safeguarding the Golden State, 2007, 8-9)
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