Government on Fire: Response to Maintaining Services After a Building Fire

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

On June 19, 2022, a Response Team comprised of staff from San Bernardino County’s (SBC’s) Department of Public Health (DPH), Project and Facilities Management Department (PFMD), Real Estate Services Department (RESD), Department of Risk Management (DRM), and the County Administrative Office (CAO) formed and collaborated due to an unexpected fire that damaged a six-story county building located on 172 West Third St., San Bernardino, California. The fire displaced approximately 200 DPH employees alone. This was in addition to other County department employees who were also displaced. The fire destroyed all work equipment housed in the building, including the majority of DPH IT equipment. The County Team had to come up with an immediate response to the unprecedented event in order to continue providing services to the community uninterrupted. The multi-department Response Team collaboration established temporary work locations for all displaced DPH staff and services to the community within 24 hours. In less than 25 days after the fire, RESD had taken the necessary steps to provide the SBC Board of Supervisors (BOS) with a lease to sign for new office space for displaced staff. In September 2022, 100 DPH employees began moving into the second floor of the permanent office space. In February 2023, another 45 employees were relocated to the fourth floor of this permanent location. Within only nine months after the fire, there was a 100% restoration of operational efficiency with a permanent work location which would not have been possible with the Response Team’s immediate, effective, and strategic actions.