LOS ANGELES: On August 28, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department made a presentation to the Friends of the South Asian American Communities (FOSAAC) about the role of the Sherrif's Department in an emergency.

The presentation was made by the Commander of the Emergency Operations Bureau, Captain Eric G. Parra. He was assisted by Sergeant Paul Hanley, who is assigned to the Tactical Planning Unit of the Emergency Operations Bureau. The presentation was organized and hosted by Kevin Kaul, Founder and Chairman of FOSAAC. The presentation was held at the FOSAAC offices at 18766 Pioneer Boulevard, Artesia, California.

Also in attendance from the Sheriff' Reserve Emergency Response Detail (SRERT) were reserves Chris Vovos, Mike Patel, Nick Patel and Joe Wong. SRERT is a multi-disciplinary team of Sheriff's Reserve Deputies created to assist the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Emergency Operations Bureau in responding to emergencies as a result of natural or man-made disasters.Captain Parra and Sergeant Hanley explained the role of the Sheriff's Department during a catastrophic emergency, such as a major earthquake, flood, fire or other natural disaster.

In addition to natural disasters, a large scale terrorist attack would also quickly drain the resources of government.During a catastrophic event, the Incident Command System (ICS) is used by the front line first responders to oversee the overall event management in California. It breaks complex tasks into manageable parts and helps suppress confusion. In Los Angeles County, the County Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) is the umbrella organization that coordinates all emergency response. It is run by the nine major county departments and managed by the Sheriff's Department, headed by Sheriff Leroy D. Baca and the County Office of Emergency Management.It was explained that public resources are rapidly depleted during a catastrophic event.

They said, "It is important and imperative the public government entities partner with the business community to provide a safe and secure environment for all residents of Los Angeles County. This cannot be done without the assistance of private resources. The business community is highly valued by law enforcement for their ability to help the way only private entities can; by providing much needed resources without the bureaucratic delays.

This important endeavor to help our law enforcement professionals by partnering with the private sector will ensure the public's safety during large scale emergency incidents."For more information you may fax to: LASD SRERT Fax (800) 725-1576. Sheriff's Reserve Emergency Response Team Phone (800) 578-0629; www.srert.org; info@srert.org