City of Seattle
Seattle Fire Department (SFD)
Metropolitan Medical Strike Team (MMST)
Ll/07/98
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Mayor's "emergency powers", the Mayor will activate the City's Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) and declare a "Civil Emergency".
In Seattle, day-to-day emergencies do not require activation of the EOC. All of the
City's operations departments operate using "control centers". During routine operation
these centers dispatch and support field personnel and their equipment. In a low-level
emergency, an IC can request support directly from the individual department control
center. If mass transportation is needed on scene, the IC request is routed directly to the
responsible department's control center for action. It is the responsibly of the department
control center to 1) notify key department official, 2) call off-duty personnel and arrange
additional workforce requirements, 3) monitor and keep records of departmental support
and costs, and 4) call the EOC Staff Duty officer for assistance if resources become
scarce. In additional, there IC can request the EOC Staff Duty Officer to activate the
EOC when an emergency is of such magnitude it will require significant manpower or
result is the request for multi-departmental resources.
In a WMD event, the City of Seattle Emergency Operations Center (CS-EOC) will be the
counterpoint of operations coordinating resources from multiple agencies and
jurisdictions as well as technical expertise from a variety of disciplines. In contrast to the
IC command post, which is concerned with activities at the scene, the EOC establishes
priorities for the distribution of resources among the various sites, and handles off-
incident concerns (e.g., interactions with offsite facilities, such as shelters, ordering of
resources, etc.)
Under the Washington State Comprehensive Emergency Plan, whenever the CS-EOC is
activated, it is required to inform and provide immediate situation reports and damage
assessment to the Washington State EOC. Based on these reports, the State Emergency
Management Division Duty Officer will make a finding for the Governor whether the
emergency may require a Governor declaration.
Access to state resources, which include the National Guard, Emergency Management
Assistance Compact (EMAC), and the Pacific Northwest Emergency Management
Arrangement is through the CS-EOC.
To ensure an effective WMD response, the EOC must successfully address the
following key areas