Orange County Grand Jury • 2007-2008 • Agency Response
Response to: Can the Emergency Operations Center at Loma Ridge Survive a Disaster? 5/06/08, 104K

Sheriff-coroner Department County of Orange Sandra Hutchens California Sheriff-coroner Executive Command Staff Jack*

Published: June 20, 2008 8 pages
Ver PDF original

Findings and Recommendations 4 findings

F1
The HVAC systems are inadequate for the Emergency Operations Center facility because they lack a smoke filtration system. Response: Agree with the finding There is an existing Sheriff-Coroner Department "HVAC Damper" project, funded by Prop 172 savings, in process as referenced in the Grand Jury report (Pg. 4). The status of this project as of 5/6/08 is that the selected contractor is undergoing Insurance Review. The anticipated schedule for completion of this project is August 1, 2008. While this is not an air filtration system it does allow staff to shut off intake of outside air during heavy smoke conditions.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1a
The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department complete the installation of the "HVAC Damper" project before the start of the 2008 summer fire season. Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. This project is in process with a timeframe for implementation on or before August 1, 2008. Insurance review is expected to be complete in two weeks. There is also an addition of CO2 sensors. Wiring installation for these sensors is complete. A purchase requisition for the sensor hardware is in process. These sensors are available and on the shelf. This project will be completed prior to HVAC Damper project completion.
F2
The sewage system is barely adequate for the present staffing level. Any increase in staffing will overload the system and require daily, or more frequent, trips of the sewage pump truck. . ķć ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT GRAND JURY RESPONSE CAN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT LOMA RIDGE SURVIVE A DISASTER? Response: Agree with the finding Although the current system proved to be adequate during recent staffing and EOC activation requirements for the Santiago fires; the system was not "overloaded" during this activation period. The best long term solution requires tie in to local sewer lines that are estimated to be 2.7 miles away. This solution would prove to be very costly. Another solution would be the addition of a second sewage tank. This solution would be costly and would not eliminate the concern listed on item F-2.1.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2a
The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department submit a funding request to the Orange County Board of Supervisors for one of the following items: A larger sewage holding tank to replace the existing tank, or an additional holding tank to supplement the existing tank or Connect the Emergency Operation Center to the nearest public sewer system, near the intersection of Jamboree Road and Santiago Canyon Road, a distance of about 2.7 miles ş3° • ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT GRAND JURY RESPONSE Can The Emergency operations Center at Loma Ridge Survive a Disaster? Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. A funding request will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for review and approval after the completion of a costing estimation. The time frame for implementation is on or before July 31, 2008.
F3
The Emergency Operations Center uses water for its fire suppression system in vital equipment areas that house computer servers, critical telecommunications systems, and backup batteries. The release of water will damage all electronic equipment in the vicinity and the system responds only when a fire has substantially developed. ě 43 ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT GRAND JURY RESPONSE CAN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT LOMA RIDGE SURVIVE A DISASTER? Response: Agree with the finding The Sheriff-Coroner Department has an approved capital project that is funded by Prop 172 savings (14Q / Org P744) for a "Dry Fire Suppression System" at Loma Ridge. The scope of this project is limited to 4,135 square feet. The Grand Jury report refers to a total square footage of 5,021 (Pg. 6). Although funding has been reserved, there are concerns that the funding amount is inadequate to support either scope of this project based on recent feedback from another agency's dry fire suppression projects. The status of this project as of 5/6/08 is Scope Development.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3a
The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department submit to the Orange County Board of Supervisors a request to adequately fund a clean agent fire extinguishing system in compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 2001 Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing systems, (2004 edition). This clean agent fire extinguishing system will cover the areas as detailed in the report. The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will Response: be implemented in the future, with a timeframe for implementation as stated below. The dry fire suppression project is a funded project and is currently in Scope Development. At this stage of the project, a timeframe for implementation cannot be accurately stated. The Grand Jury recommendations for the type of clean agent will be included in the scope development process. The recommended system coverage is greater than the original budgeted scope of work. This will require a cost analysis and a funding request to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for review and approval after the completion of a costing estimation. ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT GRAND JURY RESPONSE CAN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT LOMA RIDGE SURVIVE A DISASTER?
F4
The four Liebert Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems used in the critical electrical service are nearing the end of their rated design life of 20 years, according to the manufacturer specifications. The demand on these units has exceeded the desired "less than 50% of available capacity." Response: Agree with the finding The Sheriff-Coroner Department has an approved capital project that is funded by Prop 172 savings (14Q / Org P624) for a "Replace UPS Systems at Loma". The scope of this project is noted in the Grand Jury report (Pg. 6). The status of this project as of 5/6/08 is that the system design is in Plan Check. The target date for Board of Supervisors approval to take this project out for bid is July 29, 2008. The anticipated schedule for project completion is September 2009. ; ès¥ ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT GRAND JURY RESPONSE CAN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AT LOMA RIDGE SURVIVE A DISASTER?
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's Department replace the existing four Liebert UPS units with four other units of 60 to 80 Kva each. The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will Response: be implemented in the future, with a timeframe for implementation on or before September 2009. This project is in process. The current UPS replacement project includes the replacement of the current Liebert UPS systems. Four new 80Kva UPS systems will be installed. The system design is currently in plan check. . .

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.