Public Safety Reports

availability/reliability, department capability, and operational effectiveness.

These elements

can be further defined as:

Resource availability/reliability:

The degree to which the resources are ready and available to

respond.

Department capability:

The ability of the resources deployed to manage an incident.

Operational effectiveness:

The product of availability and capability. It is the outcome

achieved by the deployed resources or a measure of the ability to match resources deployed

to the risk level to which they are responding.

Recommendation: CAL FIRE should conduct a formal fire risk analysis that concentrates

on strip commercial establishments, big-box occupancies, high-rise structures, and

processing and institutional properties.

Target Hazards

The process of identifying target hazards and preplanning suppression and rescue efforts are

basic preparedness efforts that have been key functions in the fire service for many years. In this

process, critical structures are identified on the basis of the risk they pose. Then, tactical

considerations are established for fires in these structures. Consideration is given to the activities

that take place (manufacturing, processing, etc.), the number and types of occupants (elderly,

youth, handicapped, imprisoned, etc.), and other specific aspects relating to the construction

of the facility or any hazardous or flammable materials that are regularly found in the building.

Target hazards are those occupancies or structures that are unusually dangerous when

considering the potential for loss of life or the potential for property damage. Typically, these

occupancies include hospitals, nursing homes, high-rise, and other large structures. Also included

are arenas and theaters, industrial and manufacturing plants, and other buildings or large

complexes.

The Morgan Hill and South Santa Clara County service areas have a limited number of target

hazards. There are a number of area nursing or adult care facilities (Centennial Senior Center,

Pacific Hills Manor, Hillview Convalescent Hospital, Valley Pines Senior Assisted Living, Westmont

of Morgan Hill, Morgan Hill Villa, St. Joseph Care Home, and South County Retirement Home).

The San Martin Airport and the James Boys Ranch Juvenile Detention Facility would also be

included. There are a number of big-box retail centers (Walmart, Home Depot, Safeway, Target,

Trader Joes, Ace Lumber, Staples, and TJ Maxx). The city has a number of large assembly

buildings, including schools, hotels, theaters, and churches. The presence of Highway 101

presents the potential for transportation accidents and the dispersal of product that requires

specific tactical considerations and preparation.

Fire Service Deployment, Assessing Community Vulnerability: From

National Fire Service Data Summit Proceedings, U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST Tech Note 1698, May

2011.