Human Services (HS) Emergency Response Codes (ERC)

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous United States. Its 2.1 million residents inhabit mountains, deserts, valleys and 24 cities spread over 20,100 square miles. As such, the County is subject to many hazards. Natural events including earthquakes, floods and wildfires occur frequently. Manmade emergencies, especially acts of violence, have become an ongoing concern.The County’s Human Services’ (HS) Emergency Services Unit (ESU) and its Program Development Division (PDD) began development of a comprehensive Emergency Response Code (ERC) System in April 2016 that focuses on emergencies that may occur in HS buildings, assigns specific color codes that define and communicate each type of emergency and provides training and actions to be taken for the safety of staff and the public.In the 32 months since the project was initiated, 4,085 HS staff working in 47 HS facilities have been successfully trained and are now prepared to respond to emergencies using the ERC system.