Emergency Services

Being prepared looks different for Palo Alto's community. Learn about how you can best prepare yourself, family and neighbors for an emergency.

Palo Alto's Emergency Services Volunteers (ESV): Learn more about Palo Alto's Emergency Services Volunteers. The Office of Emergency Services sponsors the Palo Alto ESV program that consists of Palo Alto community members who make Palo Alto more resilient by forming neighborhood connections, promoting emergency preparedness, and providing supplementary resources to professional first responders during times of need.  

The ESV program includes:

• Palo Alto Neighborhoods - Neighborhood and Block Preparedness Coordinators
• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members
• Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) a.k.a. ham radio operators

The Emergency Operations Center is an emergency management structure comprised of interdepartmental City staff and volunteers that, when activated, can support, communicate, coordinate, prioritize, document, guide policy, plan and manage information and resources.

Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) Expanded Incident Command Post function, backup Palo Alto 9-1-1 center.
Director's Command Vehicle (DCV): Mobile Incident Command Post and hazard response across conditions.
MEOC Support Vehicle (MSV): Logistics support to Incident Command Post, disaster support and search and rescue.
Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) 100% all electric. Patrol locations where larger vehicles cannot be driven.
Solar Generator Trailer: (SGT) 100kWh source of renewable energy to provide emergency power for critical systems.