City of Palo Alto Office of Emergency Services

Office of Emergency Services

Department head: Ken Dueker

250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

(650) 617-3197

The purpose of the Office of Emergency Services is to prevent, prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from all hazards. The office is responsible for a comprehensive emergency management program that engages the whole community. The Office of Emergency Services is part of the city’s public safety structure, which includes the Police Department, Fire/EMS, and other departments. It is geared to not only support the Emergency Operations Center in the Police Department, but also to respond and provide resources to incident commanders in the field, including enhanced Incident Command Post functionality.

The office prepares for “all hazards, all risk,” ranging from natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, climate change, etc.) to technological failures to crime and terrorism. The office is also involved in planned events (such as Stanford football games, dignitary visits, etc.) to bolster public safety.