Recent hire shares her personal goals and accomplishments working with the city
The City of Malibu recently welcomed a new emergency services coordinator to the team, Sarah Flores.
Flores has a bachelor’s degree in emergency management and homeland security from Grand Canyon University.
Prior to coming to Malibu, Flores worked with the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department and was interested in working in Malibu as she described it as a beautiful city with a close community.
“Some things I hope to accomplish with the city is to work with the Public Safety Department to ensure that we are prepared to handle a wider variety of disasters that the city may encounter,” Flores said. “The more the city is prepared for these types of disasters, the better off we will be.”
The description of the emergency services coordinator position is to coordinate the city’s response to disasters and national security emergencies.
Flores said some qualifications that she has that make her eligible for this position are her education in emergency management and homeland security, as well as her prior work experience.
“While working with the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department, I worked on many Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activations for large, planned events as well as emergency situations. Some activations that I worked were COVID-19, adverse weather events, extreme heat, extreme rain and cold, Super Bowl LVI, and the Los Angeles Marathons.”
Some tasks that Flores has worked on while with the City of Malibu are supporting the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and keeping the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in a state of readiness, which includes working with outside agencies to prepare for and coordinate disaster response.
CERT is a highly acclaimed, nationwide program that empowers community members to help themselves and their neighbors during disasters. Volunteers are trained in basic first aid, fire suppression, and search and rescue so that they can provide emergency assistance to their neighbors.
CERT recently received an award from the California Emergency Services Association – Southern Chapter (CESA-SC) for its many contributions towards community-wide emergency preparedness in Malibu. Following the communications blackout during the 2018 Woolsey Fire, the CERT Team joined with the city’s efforts to improve radio, satellite, and backup power capabilities to enable emergency communications during future disasters.
The City of Malibu also recently offered CERT training courses from April 13 through May 25. In addition to basic CERT training, the city’s CERT Team members must also complete Federal Emergency Manager Agency (FEMA) trainings, serve at least 30 volunteer hours per year, attend regular meetings and drills, and become registered as disaster service workers.
Flores is also assisting the city with the upcoming Public Safety Expo, which is scheduled for June 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at City Hall.
“It will be a great event and we really hope to see everyone there,” Flores said.
The Public Safety Expo is a free event that is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to help the community be more prepared for all types of disaster that the city might face. Attendees can learn how to use a fire extinguisher, ride in an earthquake simulator, and see a live demonstration of a vehicle extraction rescue with the “jaws of life.”
While fairly new to the team, Flores has already presented during City Council meetings.
“A personal goal that I have is to develop my career here with the City of Malibu,” Flores said.