LANCASTER STATION
UNIT ORDER # 62
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this unit order is to prepare for the safety of all personnel within Lancaster station should it be necessary to evacuate the facility.
Lancaster station’s emergency drills should be conducted bi-annual, along with the fire extinguishers charged, inspected monthly, and serviced yearly. The administrative jailer should document all inspections pertaining to the fire extinguishers.
Should there be an emergency to evacuate the facility, the following procedures should be followed.
Station Area
If an evacuation is necessary look for the safest and quickest exit route. Do not wait to exit the facility if asked to do so or it is obvious that structure damage or other life threatening emergencies exhibit. Personnel assigned to the Jail, Dispatch or complaint desk will only evacuate when a catastrophe has created an immediate life threatening situation in their work area. Other than immediate life threatening situations these personnel will not evacuate their work areas unless a coordinate evacuation is authorized by the watch commander. The Mobil Command Post will be activated. Extended phone cords contained in the Mobil Command Post will be run to the front desk area and attached to the complaint phone lines. The mobile command center will then be used for receiving phone calls and dispatching emergency responses. Every effort will be made to secure the dispatch and complaint desk area as soon as possible.
When evacuating the building do so calmly and advise others to evacuate if they have not already acknowledge the danger or structural damage.
Gathering locations should be in the south parking lot, in front of the station, near Lancaster Boulevard and Sierra Highway, or the north parking lot near the heliport.
The watch sergeant will assign personnel to maintain security at the entrance and exit doors of the facility. Those personnel assigned will assure no one enters the facility without authorization.
Once personnel have gathered outside, the shift supervisors will conduct a personnel count to determine on duty personnel have evacuated the building. Personnel who have vacated the building should make every effort to report to their shift supervisor, and should not automatically leave the facility. When the emergency has been handled and the building has been cleared for re-entry, the watch commander or watch sergeant will advise personnel to return to their work areas.
Jail Area
If an evacuation in necessary in the jail due to an emergency or a fire in the jail area, the jailer will notify the watch sergeant. The watch sergeant will notify the watch deputy and the watch commander, then assist the jailer assessing the emergency and / or fire and evacuation of prisoners if required. The watch deputy will notify the Fire Department. He will advise station personnel via the public address system and designate field crews to respond to the station for prisoner evacuation and security.
The watch commander will notify the station commander, North Patrol Division Headquarters, the IRC watch commander, Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau and initiate a chief’s memorandum regarding the fire and evacuation.
If prisoners need to be removed from the station jail, they should be handcuffed using “TST” chains and escorted to the north parking lot unless this interferes with the Fire Department operation or if the north exits are blocked. If the booking (north) exit is blocked, the prisoners can be taken out of the jail via the rear jail (west) door or the interview rooms. The jailer’s gate book (U-dal) and booking packages in the roll-around file cabinet will be removed when evacuating the station.
After evacuation, the jailer will verify all prisoners are accounted for. The prisoners should remain on “TST” chains in the station parking lot until they can be transferred to another detention facility, such as Palmdale station, Antelope Municipal Court lock up, Santa Clarita station, etc.
All prisoners evacuated from the Lancaster station jail will be handcuffed using “TST” chains. They will be held in the north parking lot pending transportation. If at all possible, transportation will be done by Transportation Bureau. Access to Antelope Municipal Court lock up will be handled by the on-duty watch commander and Court Services Division. Prisoners being transferred out of the jail will be escorted by a deputy armed with a shotgun. This deputy will be a field unit called in by the dispatcher / watch deputy.