BURBANK FIRE DEPARTMENT
EMERGENCY SERVICES DIVISION

Welcome to the official site of the Burbank Fire Corps Program. The BFCP is an all-volunteer section of the Burbank Fire Emergency Services Division. The BFCP is affiliated with the Federal Fire Corps program, as well as Citizen Corps in regards to the CERT mission. Finally, the BFCP follows Cal EMA guidelines and it's members are state-registered Disaster Service Workers.

Burbank's Fire Corps program operates as an auxiliary support arm of the Burbank Fire Department. Our regular taskings include an Arson Watch Patrol, a canteen service for firefighter relief, meeting our auxiliary communications obligations, promoting disaster awareness through the community and maintaining CERT operational readiness.

The BFCP meets regularly on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. These meetings are open to the general public and all are invited to attend. Typically, Fire Corps coordinators conduct training and seminars on a variety of disaster preparedness, response and recovery topics.

For information on volunteering with the BFCP, please check the recruitment page.

MISSION READY – MISSION CAPABLE


History of the Burbank Fire Corps

The Burbank Fire Corps Program traces it's conceptual roots to the Civil Defense Corps. Over time, Civil Defense began to wane but the spirit of Burbank volunteerism never wavered. In 1995, in response to the Northridge earthquake, Burbank created the BRACE program, similar to the CERT program that was taking hold in Los Angeles.

As the mission evolved, so did the organization, becoming the Community Disaster Volunteers in the late 1990s. CDV was an umbrella volunteer organization and included a CERT component, as well as the Auxiliary Communications component, the Burbank Emergency Amateur Radio Service (BEARS).

In a dynamic social and political climate, the demands continued to evolve and Burbank rose to the challenge, reorganizing our volunteer efforts as the Burbank Fire Corps Program.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Fire Corps Monthly ACS Meeting

The Burbank Fire Department will conduct the August monthly meeting of Fire Corps ACS at 7:00 pm today. This is the regularly recurring meeting that takes place on the second Wednesday of every month. August's topics will include tour of PSJMC mobile command trailers. Talk in on 446.86 R 123.0 (ALPHA repeater).

This meeting is open to the general public - you do not need to be a member to attend. This month, the event takes place at the PSJMC (Providence St Joseph Medical Center) Physical Plant Building Conference Center.

Driving directions: Enter Buena Vista Street entrance (opposite Disney Studios) and drive past emergency entrance to dead end (T intersection). Turn left and park behind parking structure near large white trailers.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

2010 CERT Invitational

Time: 0730 - 1800 hrs.
Location: The Burbank Fire Training Center

The Burbank Fire Department is hosting the 2010 CERT Invitational. Ten teams will compete in high-intensity skills challenges based solely on the Citizen Corps CERT curricula. Awards will be given for the highest scoring team at each station as well as awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall finishes. The name of the overall winning team gets bragging rights – their name will be the first engraved on a perpetual plaque for what is expected to become an annual tradition.

The greater purpose of this event is to raise awareness of the CERT mission and the effect it can have on a community; before, during and after a disaster. With the preparedness skills CERT teaches, a CERT graduate is a more resilient, self-reliant citizen. In the wake of a disaster, CERT teams become first responders when professional emergency services are overwhelmed. CERT can be the critical difference between life and death.

There are two ways for Burbank Fire Corps volunteers to participate in this event: either as a competitor or as a host. While the rules and standards are transparent, and judging spread among jurisdictions to assure fairness, to avoid any conflict of interest, there is no crossover between the competition and hosting teams.

For those familiar, the CERT Invitational is similar to the BICEPP Challenge, though the judging criteria is more focused on the national, FEMA-standardized CERT curricula rather than BICEPP rescue curricula.

For those looking for serious rescue intensity, the competition team may be just the thing. Training will begin Saturday, June 12th, and final team selection will be Saturday, September 4th (a week before the competition). While candidates are not required to attend every training session, there are minimums for team qualification. If this option sounds exciting, start by checking out the CIT page, then contact Training Coordinator Erik Day.

If logistics and organization sound more appealing, we need volunteers as hosting staff. There will be a projected 10 competition teams, as well as vendors and judges from fire departments around the area. If a critical support role sounds right for you, contact Public Affairs Coordinator Thom O'Shaughnessy.