5. Use of 211 Service During Recent Emergencies
Even though the original purpose of 211 service was to provide a single, easily remembered number for people to call regarding community and social services, 211 service has developed beyond this purpose, as a source of vital safety information during emergencies.
For example, during the 2007 Southern California firestorms, 211 service providers received over 130,000 calls in just five days, a 764% increase from the call level of the previous week.22 2-1-1 California also references a report by our Communications Division, which commended the performance of the existing 211 service providers during the 2007 firestorm to provide information to county officials and the public.23 In addition, 2-1-1 functioned as an interactive communications asset with personnel gathering information from the Joint Information Center, WebEOC,24 private sector corporations, and other resources.
Technology and automation played a major role in the response to the 2007 fires and delivery of evacuation notifications in San Diego. Reverse 911, AlertSanDiego, and 2-1-1 allowed the county to quickly notify residents of the need to evacuate and provided other emergency information to the public.25
22 See 2-1-1 California's report Trial By Fire: How 2-1-1's Regional Response to the 2007 Southern California Wildfires Underscored the Need for a Statewide Network at 3. http://www.211us.org/documents/211Wildfires.pdf
23 See Communications System Performance During the 2007 Southern California Firestorm (Firestorm Report). ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/Telco/CPUC_Firestorm_Report_9.08.pdf
24 WebEOC is a web-enabled crisis information management system that provides secure real-time information sharing for public safety and emergency management officials.
25 See Commission's Communications Division report titled Communications System Performance During the 2007 Southern California Firestorm at 20. ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/Telco/CPUC_Firestorm_Report_9.08.pdf
