City of Beaverton Emergency Management

BeavertonOregon.gov/emergency/

City of Beaverton Emergency Management

Contact Us  |  City of Beaverton

Translate

Home

About Us

Current Conditions

CERT

Preparedness

When Emergencies Happen

Resources

City’s Response

Accidents and emergency incidents occur frequently, but rarely with the scope and complexity that would require activation of the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) or implementation of the Emergency Response and Recovery Plan (ERRP). To better define the relationships between incident size and complexity, EOC activation, and implementation of the City’s ERRP, the City has categorized the types of emergencies and the possible levels of response.

Categories of Emergencies

Depending on the threat or potential threat to lives and property, an incident, emergency or disaster will be designated one of four types. Because incidents are constantly evolving, the level of a given incident may also change.

Routine Emergency

  1. A routine emergency is one that is handled on a daily basis by police, fire, emergency medical, and/or Operations Department personnel. This type of emergency is small and localized in nature, and does not have any significant impact on the health and well-being of citizens outside of the confined area of the emergency. The incident may require the support of an additional department or agency and may be handled at the scene with a basic incident command structure, or through a department level command center.
  2. Types of incidents could include:
    • Fire, traffic stop, robbery, clogged catch basin
    • Major fire requiring traffic to be detoured
    • Slight wind storm damage with some branches blocking roadways
    • Small, localized hazardous material spill

[ TOP ]

Minor Emergency

  1. A minor emergency is one that normally involves a single department with a large area being impacted, or requires several departments and/or agencies, but can be managed using existing City resources. The incident may be handled at the scene with an expanded incident command structure, or managed off-site through a Department Operations Center (DOC) or the City Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
  2. Types of incidents could include:
    • Multiple reports of localized flooding
    • Moderate to major windstorm damage with numerous trees, branches, and utility lines blocking roadways, etc.
    • Hostage situation requiring a small area to be evacuated
    • Moderate hazardous material spill

Major Emergency

  1. A major emergency is one where consolidation and centralization of the City’s response is desirable and activation of the EOC is appropriate. The consequences are such that City resources are insufficient to meet incident demands. Outside assistance is sought and is integrated into the overall response.
  2. Types of incidents could include:
    • Major hazardous material spill
    • Large scale flooding
    • Severe winter storm
    • Small magnitude earthquake

Catastrophic Emergency

  1. A catastrophic event is one where the capability of the City to help itself is minimal. Impacts to life and property are significant enough to warrant an aggressive response and an extensive and prolonged recovery period is likely.
  2. Types of incidents could include:
    • Prolonged severe winter storm
    • Moderate to large magnitude earthquake
    • Widespread flooding

[ TOP ]

Levels of Response

The level of threat or potential threat to lives and property generated by a disaster or emergency will determine the level of response the City will undertake. The characteristics and actions associated with each level of response are described below. These are guidelines, which may be modified to meet the specific needs of an incident.

Level I:  Conditions or activities exceed normal resource utilization for response but can be carried out within the confines and capabilities of one department.
  1. All activities, personnel, and resources may be handled from a Field Incident Command Post.
  2. This type of emergency is small and localized in nature, and does not have any significant impact on the health and well being of citizens outside of the confined area of the emergency.
  3. The Incident Command System (ICS) may be activated on a departmental level.
  4. This level of response does not require implementation of the Emergency Response and Recovery Plan (ERRP).

[ TOP ]

Level II:  An incident that has special or unusual characteristics requiring response by more than one City department, or which is beyond the scope of available resources.
  1. All activities, personnel, and resources may be handled with an expanded ICS structure from a Field Incident Command Post or a Department Operations Center (DOC).
  2. This level of operation indicates an Incident Commander is requesting activation of some members of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Staff. The additional staff may be requested to report to the Field Incident Command Post or DOC or they may be used to staff a partial activation of the EOC.
  3. There may be some situations where a full activation of the EOC may be required, particularly if the event involves a large part of the City.
Level III:  An incident that exceeds the City’s normal response capabilities. It requires the coordinated response of all levels of government to save the lives and property of a significant portion of the population.
  1. Under these conditions, the ERRP will be implemented and the EOC will be fully activated.
  2. The EOC takes over all requests from the field for resource support and initiates requests for county, state, and/or federal assistance, if needed.
  3. When the City’s EOC is activated, the designated EOC Incident Commander assumes overall responsibility for the incident. The on-scene Incident Commander(s) work directly with the EOC through the Operations Chief (or Branch Director) and retains responsibility for on-scene activities.

[ TOP ]

EOC—Emergency Operations Center

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is an established location/facility in which city staff and officials can receive information pertaining to an incident and from which they can provide direction, coordination, and support to emergency operations.

  1. The EOC is staffed by city personnel who are assigned to specific positions within the EOC organizational structure. The structure is based on the new National Incident Management System’s (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS).
  2. The EOC staff provides information and recommendations to the Mayor, through the Incident Commander or as directed, to develop a course of action to respond to and contain, control, and recover from an emergency.
  3. Some of the primary functions that are performed at the EOC include:  coordination, operations management, planning, information tracking and dissemination, logistical support, financial management and support, and emergency public information.

[ TOP ]

Levels of Activation

There are three levels of activation for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)—none, limited, and full.

  1. None—There is no need for the EOC to be activated because all aspects of the incident can be handled by the on-scene Incident Command Post and/or a Department Operations Center.
  2. Limited (Partial)—For small incidents that impact large areas or complex incidents within a small area that impact a large number of agencies and the public (e.g., hazardous materials incident, terrorist attack, etc.), the Incident Commander may elect to call in a limited number of EOC staff. The specific functions/positions activated are based on incident demands, with primary consideration being given to:
    • Incident Commander
    • Public Information Officer (PIO)
    • Operations Chief
    • Logistics Chief
    • Emergency Manager
    • Safety
    • Planning Chief
    • Message Center Manager

    [ TOP ]

  3. Full—For larger incidents, the entire EOC team is called in for a full activation of the EOC. After activation of the EOC and initial briefing of the staff, the Incident Commander may reduce the level of staffing needed to support response activities.
Table 1 General relationships between the levels of disasters or emergencies, levels of response, and levels of EOC activation.
Level of Disaster or Emergency Levels of Response Levels of EOC Activation
Routine Emergency
Minor Emergency
Major Emergency
Catastrophic Emergency
Daily Operations
Level I
Level II
Level III
None
Limited
Full

[ TOP ]

ERRP—Emergency Response and Recovery Plan

The Emergency Response and Recovery Plan (ERRP) describes the roles and responsibilities of the departments and personnel for the City of Beaverton during major emergencies or disasters.

While no plan can replace the common sense and good judgment of emergency response personnel, department directors and other decision makers, ERRP does provide a framework to guide the City’s efforts to respond to and recover from major emergencies or disasters.

The Plan sets forth a strategy and operating guidelines using the new National Incident Management System’s (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) adopted by the City for managing its response and recovery activities during disasters and emergencies.

The ERRP consists of various sections and supporting materials. The development and maintenance of this plan is the basis of the City’s emergency response and recovery operations.

  1. Basic Plan—Provides an overview of the City’s emergency response organization and policies. It cites the legal authority for emergency operations, summarizes the situations addressed by the plan, explains the general concept of operations, and assigns general responsibilities for emergency planning and operations.
  2. Functional Annexes—Each annex focuses on one of the critical emergency functions that are typically common for all hazards, which the City will perform in response to an emergency. The type and scope of an incident will dictate which functional annexes will be needed.
  3. Hazard Specific Appendices—The appendices provide additional detailed information and special considerations that are applicable to specific hazards. The appendices are to be used in conjunction with the Basic Plan and the Functional Annexes.

[ TOP ]

ICS—Incident Command System

ICS stands for “Incident Command System” and is a management system that can be used for any kind or size of incident. It can also be used as a management system for planned, non-emergency events.

  1. To ensure effective incident management at all incidents that involve any type of response activities, command, resource control, and communication must exist.

    1. Command—A designated lead person responsible for:
      1. Assessing the situation and resources
      2. Developing and implementing an appropriate action plan
      3. Monitoring the effectiveness of the plan
      4. Reviewing/modifying the plan as changes occur
    2. Resource Control—Resources must be properly directed to maximize their utilization.
    3. Communication—In order to orchestrate and coordinate the use of resources at an incident, all members of the incident response team must be linked by:
      1. A well-defined organizational structure
      2. Clear lines of communication
  2. Without an incident management system in place to provide for command, control, and communications, the result will most likely be chaos. The Incident Command System (ICS) provides an effective tool to accomplish these tasks.
  3. Some of the incidents and events that may be managed through the ICS include:
    • Fires, HAZMAT, and mass casualty incidents
    • Single and multi-agency law enforcement incidents
    • Multi-jurisdiction and multi-agency disaster responses
    • Search and rescue missions
    • Oil spill response and recovery incidents
    • Air, rail, water, and ground transportation accidents
    • Private sector responses
    • Planned events (e.g., parades, tournaments, and concerts)
  4. The City, County, and TVF&R have adopted ICS as the standard for handling disaster response.

  5. Additional information about ICS can be obtained from the City's Emergency Manager.

[ TOP ]