SUBJECT
Title
ACCEPTANCE OF A DONATION FROM THE BURN INSTITUTE (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
San Diego County Fire (County Fire), through a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE, is the fire protection and emergency medical services agency for 92,203 residents across 1.8 million acres in the unincorporated area. In 2019, the Board of Supervisors authorized the establishment of a Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Division within County Fire that is fully integrated with CAL FIRE’s State-mandated duties to maximize engagement opportunities with residents that reduce risk in our service area.
Using a holistic approach to increasing resilience, CRR focuses on engaging communities, building evacuation readiness, promoting defensible space and structural hardening, and managing vegetation. A key strategy to engaging individual communities is working closely with their Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). The CERT program is made up of community volunteer teams, sponsored by area fire agencies, that provide training to residents to develop the skills necessary to safely assist in disaster response and recovery.
County Fire is fortunate to receive support from partner agencies and community members, like those engaged in CERT, who help bolster services and resources. The Burn Institute has been a key partner in helping the County ensure the San Diego County Fire CERT program has the tools needed to effectively serve communities. Most recently, the Burn Institute donated $7,500 to County Fire to fund specialized Automated External Defibrillator (AED) trainers with pictures and text in addition to voice prompts. These units are designed to assist individuals in learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) who are deaf, deafblind, people with hearing loss, hard of hearing, late- deafened and limited English proficient, or the term deaf, meaning in all inclusive manner of those just described. The funds will also support hiring American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters to be used in coordination with the AED trainers, allowing County Fire CERT to expand its CPR course offerings to the deaf, hard of hearing and limited English proficient community throughout San Diego County.
County of San Diego Administrative Code Section 66 and Board of Supervisors Policy A-112, Acceptance of Gifts and Donations, permit the acceptance of gifts and donations upon approval by the Board of Supervisors. Today’s action seeks approval to accept a cash donation of $7,500 from the Burn Institute to fund the services and supplies that support these CPR/AED course trainings.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
1. In accordance with Administrative Code Section 66 and Board Policy A-112, ratify the acceptance of a donation from the Burn Institute in the amount of $7,500 for American Sign Language Interpreters (ASL), Automated External Defibrillator (AED) trainers, and supplies needed to host CPR/AED training for priority populations.
2. Authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign a letter of appreciation on behalf of the County of San Diego to the Burn Institute.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The San Diego County Fire Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) aims to positively impact equity by making emergency preparedness and response resources accessible to all, empowering diverse community members, ensuring equitable resource distribution, fostering community bonds, and raising awareness. This is achieved by providing education and outreach to priority populations in the County such as seniors and older adults, people with disabilities or access and functional needs, tribal community members and youth, in addition to providing this information in multiple languages. Acceptance of this donation will assist the County Fire CERT program by providing the training equipment, American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters and supplies needed to host free CPR/AED training for deaf, deafblind, deaf disabled, hard of hearing and late-deafened county residents. Discovering that CPR/AED courses for county residents who are disabled, have access and functional needs and/or are limited English proficient are very limited in availability, the County Fire CERT aims to fill the equitably gap by offering courses to these priority populations. This would otherwise not be possible without involvement from community members and investment from partners like the Burn Institute.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
Acceptance of this donation will also help the region better respond to, and recover from, the immediate needs of individuals and families during times of disaster. The San Diego County Fire Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) enhances sustainability by embracing the whole community with emergency preparedness activities, events and training while also promoting preparedness, reducing vulnerabilities, supporting environmental stewardship, strengthening social cohesion, bolstering economic stability, and aiding in long-term recovery and adaptation. Through these efforts, CERTs help create resilient communities capable of withstanding and thriving despite emergencies and disasters while also supporting the County’s Revive & Survive Initiative.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this request are included in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Operational Plan for San Diego County Fire. The funding source is a donation from the Burn Institute. There will be no change in net General Fund cost and no additional staff years.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
N/A
Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
N/A
BACKGROUND
San Diego County Fire (County Fire) and CAL FIRE work together to provide services as a joint agency, County Fire, across 1.8 million acres of unincorporated San Diego County (County). County Fire established a Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Division to implement a cohesive pre-fire strategy to better protect residents and structures.
Using a holistic approach to increase resiliency, the CRR Division focuses on engaging communities, building evacuation readiness, promoting defensible space and structural hardening, and managing vegetation along evacuation routes. A key strategy to engaging communities is working closely with their Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). The CERT program is an all-risk, all-hazards community-level program that provides training to citizens to develop the skills necessary to assist local first responder agencies in disaster response and recovery. When emergencies occur within the San Diego region, CERT teams support first responders by helping administer immediate assistance to victims and organizing spontaneous volunteers at disaster sites. CERT members also organize prevention and preparedness projects that help improve the safety of the community.
County Fire is fortunate to receive support from partner agencies and community members, like those engaged in County Fire CERT, that help bolster services and resources. The Burn Institute has been one such key partner in helping the County ensure the San Diego County Fire CERT program has the tools needed to effectively serve communities. Recently, the Burn Institute donated $7,500 to County Fire to fund specialized Automated External Defibrillator (AED) trainers with pictures and text in addition to voice prompts. These units are designed to assist with training individuals who are deaf, deafblind, people with hearing loss, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and limited English proficient with learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The funds will also support hiring American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters to be used in coordination with the AED trainers, allowing County Fire CERT to expand its CPR course offerings to the deaf, hard of hearing, and limited English proficient community throughout San Diego County. Our region’s readiness is enhanced by involvement from community members and investment from partners like the Burn Institute.
Today’s action seeks approval to accept a cash donation of $7,500 from the Burn Institute to fund the services and supplies that support these CPR/AED course trainings. County of San Diego Administrative Code Section 66 and Board of Supervisors Policy A-112, Acceptance of Gifts and Donations, permit the acceptance of gifts and donations upon approval by the Board of Supervisors.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
Today’s proposed actions support the Community, Equity and Sustainability Strategic Initiatives in the County of San Diego’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan by accepting donations to improve the community’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities through equitable access to training, education, and community support throughout the County Fire Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Respectfully submitted,
EBONY N. SHELTON
Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment A - Letter of Appreciation to the Burn Institute