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Men's Central Jail (MCJ) Unit Orders

3-13-030 Utilities


3-13-020 Evacuations
3-13-070 Ambulance Service for MCJ Employees

PURPOSE OF ORDER:

 

The purpose of this order is to establish procedures detailing the emergency operations for the facility's utilities under adverse conditions, (i.e., fire, flood, gas leak, earthquake, and/or utility failure).

 

SCOPE OF ORDER: 

 

This order applies to personnel assigned to and/or working at Men’s Central Jail (MCJ), and necessarily by structural design, the inclusion of the old Inmate Reception Center (IRC), Court Services Transportation (CST), and the Arraignment Courts building.

 

ORDER:

 

The primary concern of this order shall be the protection of life of inmates and staff of this facility through alternate modes of utility operations.

 

When operating under this order, care shall be taken to select the best alternate mode of utility operation that will provide for the sustained safety, health, and/or comfort of the facility occupants.

 

The MCJ watch commander holds the ultimate responsibility for any alternate mode of utility operation within the facility.  However, an emergency may require immediate preliminary action by their designee(s).

 

  1. Utility Failure

 

  1. All utility failures shall be reported to the Main Control supervising line deputy (SLD), who shall:

 

  1. Obtain the name and call back number(s) of the notifying person(s).
  2. Attempt to determine the type, location, and extent of the failure.
  3. Initiate emergency lock-down procedures according to CDM 4-014/030.00, “Lockdown”, and, Unit Order 3-13-010, “Lockdowns”.
  4. Utilize Facility Services Bureau (FSB) whenever possible.
  5. Contact the appropriate utility service agency(ies), if possible.

 

                  Emergency Phone Numbers:

 

Boiler Plant Engineers.......................................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

Central Heating Plant........................................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

FSB Service Calls................................................................. [REDACTED TEXT]

FSB EOC Office................................................................... [REDACTED TEXT]                   

FSB District Manager 1........................................................ [REDACTED TEXT]

FSB District Manager 2........................................................ [REDACTED TEXT]

MCJ Incident Commander/Watch Commander..................... [REDACTED TEXT]

MCJ Plumber........................................................................ [REDACTED TEXT]

MCJ Steamfitters.................................................................. [REDACTED TEXT]

MCJ Electricians................................................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

D.W.P. Emergency Service - Water..................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

D.W.P. Emergency Service - Power..................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

Southern California Gas Company........................................ [REDACTED TEXT]

L.A. City Fire Dept Station 4................................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

Paramedics.......................................................................... [REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. In the event of a utility failure, it may be necessary to shut off utilities.  Refer to Section II, “Utility Shut-Down Procedures” and Section III, “Alternate Utility Resources.”

 

  1. Utility Shut-Down Procedures

 

    1. Natural Gas (leaks or break in service)

 

[REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. Once shut off, this valve can only be turned back on by FSB personnel [REDACTED TEXT].

 

  1. If an underground pipe ruptures, notify the Fire Department and/or Southern California Gas Company as soon as possible.  [REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. In the event of an extended shut-off in natural gas service, refer to Section III, “Alternate Utility Resources.”

 

    1. Electrical (fire, flood, structural damage, conserve emergency power, etc.)

 

  1. The primary electric switches are located in [REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. Alternate electric switches isolated by floors

 

    1. [REDACTED TEXT]
    2. [REDACTED TEXT]
    3. [REDACTED TEXT]
    4. [REDACTED TEXT]
    5. [REDACTED TEXT]
    6. [REDACTED TEXT]
    7. [REDACTED TEXT]
    1. [REDACTED TEXT]
    2. [REDACTED TEXT]
    3. [REDACTED TEXT]
    4. [REDACTED TEXT]
    5. [REDACTED TEXT]
    6. [REDACTED TEXT]
    7. [REDACTED TEXT]
    8. [REDACTED TEXT]
    9. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. In the event of an interruption of electrical service, refer to Section III, “Alternate Utility Resources.”

 

    1. Water (break in service or contamination)

 

  1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

    1. This valve shuts off all water to the facility while maintaining water for the fire stand pipes and the emergency fire sprinkler system.

 

  1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

NOTE:      There will be limited or no water for the fire stand pipes and the emergency fire sprinkler system if the secondary water shut-off procedure is carried out.

 

  1. Prior to shutting down either half or the entire hydro loop system, notify the Boiler Plant [REDACTED TEXT] to prevent serious damage to the water pumps.

 

  1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. In the event of a loss of water service, refer to Section III, “Alternate Utility Resources.”

 

    1. Facility Ventilation System (Fire, Gas leak), refer to key blocks stored in [REDACTED TEXT]

 

NOTE:           The facility ventilation system must be turned on in a sequential order and requires the direction of an FSB electrician [REDACTED TEXT].

 

    1. Steam (Rupture in steam lines, boiler malfunction).

 

  1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. In the event of a loss of electrical and/or natural gas service, the utilization of steam will be used for cooking only, refer to Section III, “Alternate Utility Resources.”

 

    1. Sewage System (Ruptured lines)

 

  1. A gravity fed system serves the Basement Kitchen and facility.
  2. In the event of a rupture in the main sewage system, the primary and/or secondary water shut-off procedure may be implemented to prevent raw sewage from backing up into the facility.
  3. Both Old IRC and CST basements are serviced by two (2) automatic electric sump pumps [REDACTED TEXT]  These two (2) pumps are designed to only handle the normal needs and pump into the main sewage system.  [REDACTED TEXT]
  4. The elevator shafts have automatic pumps that pump the water out of the elevator shafts and into the sewage system.  These electric pumps run off the emergency generators.
  5. In the event of a disruption of the facility sewage system, refer to Section III, “Alternate Utility Resources.”

 

    1. Emergency Fire Sprinkler System Shut-off

 

      1. In the event the sprinkler system activates, the Main Control SLD shall:

 

          1. Notify the LA City Fire Department and request they respond to the facility.

 

          1. If there is no fire in the area of the sprinkler system activation and the steamfitters are not available, dispatch two (2) deputies to shut off the valve of the system activated.  The deputies should be equipped with air packs, flashlights, and turnout gear.

 

          1. Page the on-site FSB personnel, if they are on duty, via facility PA system, and advise them where the system has been activated.

 

          1. Once the activated system has been shut off, advise FSB personnel to replace the sprinkler valve.

 

NOTE:            A sprinkler valve, once activated, will dispense between 25 and 50 gallons of water per minute.  Flooding will occur quickly if the system is not shut off.  All shut-off valves will require the combined strength of two persons to operate.  Make sure to send two (2) deputies when dispatching personnel to shut-off valves.

 

      1. [REDACTED TEXT]

       

      1. Alternate Utility Resources

       

        1. In the event of a planned or unplanned disruption of the following utility service(s), the below listed alternatives are available:

       

 
        1. Diesel Fuel in Lieu of Natural Gas - used for air conditioning, heat, steam, hot water, and cooking.

 

This facility is designed to function on diesel fuel #2 in lieu of natural gas.  [REDACTED TEXT]  The facility can maintain full operation for up to two (2) days.

 

[REDACTED TEXT]  The sole purpose of this fuel tank is to supply fuel to the boiler room and emergency generators #1, 2, & 3.

 

[REDACTED TEXT]

 

These two tanks are separate and do not interlink with the two (2) diesel tanks [REDACTED TEXT], which fuel the CST buses.  [REDACTED TEXT]

 

[REDACTED TEXT]  The pumps can be employed to extract diesel fuel from tanks in case of power failure or breaks in fuel lines.

 

[REDACTED TEXT]

 

  1. Electricity - There are four (4) emergency generators that service the facility by providing emergency electrical power in the event of an electrical blackout.  The generators are set on automatic and will assume full load in ten seconds.  The following systems are operational under emergency power:

 

 

  1. P.A. systems
  2. Electric gates
  3. Elevators
  4. Alarm systems
  5. Domestic water
  6. Firefighting water
  7. Boiler Plant
  8. Computer system
  9. Limited lighting
 

 

Refer to the Electrical Service Chart to determine items specifically served by each generator.

 

          1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

        1. It Consumes seven (7) gallons of diesel fuel #2 per minute.

 

        1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

        1. Anticipated length of service under full load, with generator #2 and #3 using the same fuel supply, is 10 to 17 hours.  However, this will be greatly diminished if the boilers are switched over to emergency fuel, which use the same source of fuel as the generators.

 

          1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

          1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

          1. [REDACTED TEXT]

 

        1. Consumes approximately sixty (60) gallons per hour under maximum load.

 

        1. This generator has an exclusive fuel source, one 1,000-gallon subterranean tank of diesel fuel #1[REDACTED TEXT]

 

        1. Diesel fuel #1 is used because of its stability during long term storage.

 

        1. Anticipated length of service under full load is 30 hours.

 

          1. Length of service can be extended by:

 

        1. Refueling of existing fuel tanks.

 

        1. Conservation of existing fuel can be achieved by curtailing the amount of service, i.e., shutting down computers, turning off other areas of service, and/or turning off one or more generators.

 

        1. Water - A minimum emergency standard, as prescribed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is one gallon per day, per person.  This provides for minimum needs (i.e., health, drinking, and cooking).

 

The following is designed to aid the watch commander in the location and conservation of available water stored in the facility in the event water service is discontinued or contaminated.

 

          1. In the event of a loss of water service, implement primary water shut down procedures, refer to Section II, “Utility Turn-off.”

 

          1. The Main Control SLD shall announce the following via the PA system: "All module officers, turn off the hot and cold-water valves to your assigned modules".

 

        1. It shall be the responsibility of the floor SLDs to check their respective floors and ensure this directive is completed, and to report their findings to Main Control.

 

        1. The floor SLDs shall additionally instruct the floor Rovers to secure all water to pipe chases, restrooms, mess halls, etc.

 

        1. Notify CST to turn off all their water sources.

 

          1. The following is a list of the water resources available:

 

  • [REDACTED TEXT]

 

          1. The available stored water should sustain the facility for four (4) days.

 

          1. Water pumps are on emergency power [REDACTED TEXT].  If there is no emergency power, the above sources may be tapped by hand (i.e., bucket brigade).

 

          1. The above listed sources may be affected by loss of water due to:

 

      • Fire fighting
      • Fire sprinkler system activation
      • Flooding (ruptured pipes)
      • Leaking toilets and plumbing

 

        1. Communications - The loss of communications to this facility may have disabling and/or disastrous effects on the continued operations of the unit.

 

Use of the surviving telephone equipment must be closely monitored, and all emergency traffic must be as brief as possible.  The following alternate modes of communication are available:

 

[REDACTED TEXT]

 

[REDACTED TEXT]

 

 

 

 

Revision Date 06/11/25

Revision Date 02/07/19

Revision Date 01/11/16

Revision Date 07/12/98

 

 

 

 

 

 

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