The city continually strives to meet the emergency needs of our residents. Emergency responses including fire suppression, emergency medical services, rescue, and hazardous material response provided by Fire Station 21 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services.
A variety of informative brochures and flyers are available at no cost. Downloadable copies are available online in the Document Library Section at the end of this page. You may also obtain hard copies by visiting the Municipal Services Department, located at 14616 Grevillea Avenue. For additional information, contact Municipal Services Department, at (310) 973-3225.
When an Emergency Occurs
An emergency can occur quickly and without warning. The most important thing you can do to keep yourself and your family safe is to prepare, stay calm, and follow instructions from emergency personnel. Prepare to be self-sufficient in a disaster. During the first few hours or days following a disaster, essential services may not be available. The first 72 hours are critical. Electricity, gas, water, and telephones may not be working. Public safety services such as fire and police will be busy handling serious crises. The best way to make your family and your home safer is to be prepared. Develop an emergency plan, assemble a preparedness kit, and learn basic information on what to do before, during, and after any emergency.
Follow this link for more information about what you can do to prepare
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
The city offers CERT training to residents in partnership with the county fire department. The CERT program will educate you about hazards that may impact you and will train you in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. With CERT training, you will be able assist others in your neighborhood or in your workplace immediately following a disaster, before professional responders arrive. CERT members are also encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
What if You Have Pets?
Create a survival kit for your pet. This should include:
- Identification collar and rabies tag
- Carrier or cage
- Leash
- Any medications
- Newspapers and plastic trash bags for handling waste
- At least a two week supply of food and water, along with food bowls
- Veterinary records (most animal shelters won't allow pets without proof of vaccination)
If you must leave your pet at home, place your pet in a safe area inside with plenty of water and food. Never leave pets chained outside. Place a note outside your home listing what pets are inside, where they are located, and phone numbers of where you can be reached.
Neighborhood Watch
Working with neighbors in an emergency can help save lives and property. Plan how you and your neighbors could work together until help arrives. If you are a neighborhood watch participant, introduce emergency preparedness as a new activity. Know your neighbor's special skills and consider how you could help those with special needs, such as the disabled and elderly.
If you have any further questions or would like help in establishing your Neighborhood Watch on your block, please call the Lawndale Service Center at (310) 219-2750.
Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service
DCS is a volunteer organization administered by the Sheriff's Department Emergency Operations Bureau. Its main function is to provide disaster relief communication for county residents. Each city has chosen amateur radio as its government communications back-up system. During major incidents volunteer members serve as a critical communications link to help direct resources to where they are needed. They coordinate, transmit and receive command and liaison traffic while staffing locations and shadowing key personnel. This allows county and city governments, law enforcement, fire agencies, and other disaster relief agencies to coordinate and communicate their efforts. DCS operates at each sheriff's station and in emergency operations centers in 56 cities, fire stations and other agencies throughout the county. The South Los Angeles Sheriff's Station is home to the DCS group that serves Lawndale.
We welcome ham radio operators and those who have an interest in volunteering to help the community in times of need. Our main function is to provide a secondary communication system to agencies. For additional information on becoming a DCS member please visit www.lacdcs.org.
Documents Related to Emergency Preparedness*
*These documents are in PDF format, which require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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