Emergency Command Center (ECC)

The CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department’s Emergency Command Center (ECC) is located at the Truman Holland Administrative Headquarters in the City of Perris. It is one of the largest regional fire service organizations in California and is dedicated to Integrated, Cooperative, Regional Fire Protection and Emergency Services.

The Perris ECC is part of CAL FIRE’s three-level command and control structure (Department, State, and Region) utilized for the day-to-day operations of the department and for dealing with emergency incidents. The purpose of the ECC is to receive reports of emergencies from a variety of sources 99-1-1 calls, alarm company activations, etc.), assign resources based on pre-planned response criteria, coordinate interagency incident activities, support the incident as needed, provide internal/external information, and document the activity.

The Perris ECC is a secondary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and utilizes an overlapping shift system. This concept allows for Fire Communication Dispatchers (FCD), a Senior FCD, and a Fire Captain to be on-duty during daily high activity periods. All Fire Communication Dispatchers are certified through the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch as Emergency Medical Dispatchers and Emergency Fire Dispatchers. This discipline allows calls to be prioritized to better serve the community.

Command and Control

Riverside County is the fourth largest county in California spanning over 7,303 miles with an estimated 2.45 million residents. The Perris ECC is also a full-service regional command and control center, providing dispatch services to all unincorporated county areas, 20 Contract Cities, and one Community Service District. for a total of 92 fire stations.

A great advantage for the county and all of the contract cities is that they are part of CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department’s cooperative fire protection philosophy and are dispatched and coordinated as a single fire department. It is automatic-aid at its best, providing effective and cost efficient customer service.

Emergency Command Center

Scope and Coverage

CAL FIRE engines, fire crews, dozers and aircraft are a familiar sight throughout the State. Their responsibility is to protect over 31 million acres of California’s privately owned wild lands. The Perris ECC is directly responsible for command and control as these resources respond throughout the state as part of the State’s mission of protecting the property and resources of California.

The Perris ECC is also California’s Emergency Management Agency (CAL EMA) Local Area Coordinator for the California Fire Service and Rescue Emergency Mutual Aid System. The purpose of the plan is to provide for systematic mobilization, organization and operation of necessary fire and rescue resources of the state and political subdivisions in mitigating the effects of disasters, whether natural or man-caused. This is a statewide plan to facilitate mutual aid to local fire departments which are faced with a disaster, fire, flood, earthquake, hazmat or other emergency, that is beyond the ability of the local fire department to mitigate without loss of life or property.

In accordance with standard FIRESCOPE Incident Command System (ICS), the Perris ECC is able to expand and contract in relation to activity and incident needs. One means of facilitating this is with the activation of Perris ECC Expanded operations; augmenting on- duty personnel with trained personnel making up the expanded cadre. Expanded is able to support local incidents with direct radio, logistical and informational support while not impacting the main command floor. Expanded is also utilized for mobilizing personnel and resources in support of fires throughout California and the Western United States.

Two alternate Emergency Command Centers, located in Riverside and Indio are maintained to provide redundancy as a backup to the Perris ECC as communication centers in support of The Riverside County Emergency Management Department (EMD) to coordinate multi-agency disaster management within Riverside County.

Emergency Medical Dispatch System  

Beginning in October 2012, Perris ECC began utilizing an Emergency Medical Dispatch System (EMD) for medical emergencies. All Communication Officers are accredited by the National Association of Medical Dispatch (NAEMD) in EMD.

This system allows for a structured, patient-focused process for gathering key information, prioritizing medical situations and delivering effective instructions to callers.

ECC Photo Library