West Orange County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team for Western Orange County California)

West Orange County CERT serves the Western Orange County CA communities of Seal Beach, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, La Palma, Buena Park, and Westminster,

YES! I'd like to know more about how
West Orange County CERT can help me and
my family stay safe in a disaster

;
  • Home
  • What is CERT?
  • Our Team
    • Events
  • Updates
  • Training
    • CERT Training Academy – Basic FEMA Based Training Program
    • Skill Review
  • Members
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
    • City Contacts

Seal Beach Police Open House 2017 – A Smashing Success

The day started out overcast and drizzling. There was so much drizzle in fact, some people were using umbrellas. By 10 when the Open House kicked off, the drizzle was gone and people were ready for the station tour and to check out the booths and activities. The Emergency Services “CERT” Trailer was set up and ready to go right about 9:00 which let the 8 Team members help out the other groups who were setting up.

The Station tour was once again a very popular activity. There was a line forming well before the 10:00 opening and continued most of the day. The Department VIPs (Volunteers In Policing) and officers guided the tour groups of 10-15 though both floors of the station. At various places along the tour route, a member of the Miss Seal Beach Court spoke to the group informing them about the area they were visiting.

The tour covered the Administration, Records, RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service)and the Detective Bureau before arriving at the WestComm Dispatch center (WestComm is a combined 911 dispatch center for the cities of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, and Cypress), where an off duty dispatcher about the call center, its call volume and how the center is staffed. The tour then left the main floor and headed downstairs to the police locker rooms, staff fitness room, and the jail. Enjoy the tour photos below.

  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Tour guests were welcomed in the station lobby and given a little history about the building and the department.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Throughout the tour, the Miss Seal Beach Court provided tib-bits of information about the police department and the area the tour gusts were viewing.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Photo ops for tour guests
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Discovering more about the Watch Commander and her/his 12 hour shift.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Seal Beach Police Records Department
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    A little prep from the RACES Team...
  • SBPDOH-153
    ...and now to pass along the RACES and communications information to the tour guests.
  • SBPDOH-152
    The interactive video demonstration was fantastic
  • SBPDOH-154
    The commanders' offices and duties are described and questions are answers.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The Detective Bureau....
  • SBPDOH-155
    And more questions about detective cases and processes.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    West County Communications processes and procedures are described.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • SBPDOH-157
    The Department locker rooms and staff gym...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • SBPDOH-158
    The booking process is described....
  • We got to see the cells and facilities for those who are under arrest or serving parts of their sentence.
    We got to see the cells and facilities for those who are under arrest or serving parts of their sentence.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
Seal Beach Lions served food & drinks all day.

 

 

The Seal Beach Loins Club along with the Seal Beach Police Foundation provided free hot dogs, chips, snow cones, popcorn and drinks all day for attendees.

The open house included Emergency Services, Orange County Fire, the CHP, Long Beach Animal Care, our joint SWAT team, Beach Patrol, police motorcycles, and the vary popular and busy bounce house for the kids.

There were a number of demonstrations during the day as well. A Police Helicopter from Long Beach PD dropped in for a visit thrilling attendees of all ages.

 

     

The joint SWAT unit (officers and staff from Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Cypress, and Fountain Valley Police Departments make up this elite joint team) under the direction of Sargent Mike Henderson, demonstrated the use of a “flash bang” disorientation device. If you look carefully at the series of photos below, you can see Sgt Henderson (third person in the group) toss the flash bang, it’s in the air, lands on the ground and blows the mat away when it goes off with a bang and smoke.

  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Ready to approach...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Approaching, readying Flash Bang
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Toss Flash Bang toward target area...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Flash Bang in air..
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Flash Bang lands and delays explosion....
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Flash Bang explodes with loud bang, smoke and light to disorient people in the target area.

 

The Cypress K9 unit put on an excellent presentation one how police can use trained K9 officers to do what human officers cannot do – at least not as easily.

  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    In this demo, the officer used her K9 to "help" a resisting person from his car.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    As you can see the "bad guy" is wearing a special sleeve to protect him from the dog's bite. This sleeve helps train the dog to bite but not crush the assailant's arm.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The K9 continues to encourage him to leave the vehicle...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The bad guy is still resisting - so the dog stays engaged.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The K9 officer will stay engaged until he is called off by his handler.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The officer can now more safely engage with the suspect and call her K9 partner off.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Alertly waiting for his next task.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    This K9 is also trained for drug detection and after sniffing around the car, found something on the driver door handle and sat down as a signal so the officer can investigate further.

And lastly, the Department showed off a couple of it’s state of the art drones, wowing the young with aerial maneuvers and seeing themselves on the big screen. These drones are used by the Lifeguards to fly over swim areas looking for sharks as well as struggling swimmers who may be hard to see from shore. The police department use these to get overviews of accidents and to gather intelligence information when it is not safe or practical for an officer to do so.

  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The drone waiting for lift off instructions...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Crime Analyst Officer Kevin Edwards launches drone.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    This view of the drone shows the SLR lens that use used to send images back to the controller for remote viewing...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Officer Edwards watches the drone in flight.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    This image shows the drone's four propellers with the camera hanging from the bottom.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The drone is broadcasting its images on the big screen attached to the mobile command unit.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The drone flying from right to left viewing the crowd as it travels.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Kids waving at the drone so they can see themselves live on the big screen
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The drone files high...
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    More kids are enjoying the drone live feed.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Commander Steve Bowles "controlling" the drone with his "super powers" for the audience.

There was a lot of fun had by everyone who attended the 2017 Seal Beach Police Department Open House. Enjoy so some candid shots from throughout the day and plan to join us for our next Open house Event!

  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Trying on some SWAT gear and getting the feel for an assault rifle.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Building community relations is at the heart of the Seal Beach Police Open House event. When the community knows what the police can do and who they are, better raport (trust) is established and the community works as a whole together much better.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    CHP Pubic Information Officer Duane Graham talks with a CHP Explorer during a momentary pause in the flow of community members.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Two of the SWAT team members enjoy the view from on top of the SWAT assault vehicle.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Police Chief Joe Miller talks with Officer Edwards while his son scans the event.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    CHP building better relationships with Seal Beach VIP member.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    One of the highlights for many of the young in attendance was getting to sit on the BMW police motorcycle - and have their picture taken of course.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    One of the highlights for many of the young in attendance was getting to sit on the BMW police motorcycle - and have their picture taken of course.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    CHP answering questions from the public.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Building awareness about the CERT program and personal preparedness in the community is one of our primary functions.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Too many lives taken - too much damage done. MADD reminds us to never drink and drive.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Chief Joe poses with community members for a photo op.
  • SBPDOH-155
    There's always interest in the open cases in the Detectives Bureau.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Checking out the new CHP Challenges.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Touring the Emergency Services CERT Trailer is always fun for families.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    CERT members explain the Neighbor 4 Neighbor program - it's the next generation of Neighborhood Watch.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Seal Beach Lions did a fantastic job of preparing and serving food all day long. Thanks everyone!
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    SWAT members pose for pictures all day - meaningful for everyone.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Commander Steve Bowles was the Master of Ceremonies for the day, welcoming the community and keeping people aware of what demonstrations were coming up next.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Jen from City Girl Prepper was there to help people understand how to prepare themselves and their family for the next major disaster event.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    RACES helps to educate the community about the advantages of short wave radios in disaster situations and that it's just a fun hobby to participate in.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The hundred plus year history of the Seal Beach Police Department all in one booth. Amazing.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Explorer volunteers help out the Lions Club serve up popcorn and snow cones.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Orange County Engine 48 was in and out all day as the call of duty for the fire department doesn't take a day off.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Building relations through the Police Explorer program is a key link into the youth in the community.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Some of the less seen and maybe more fun police vehicles that are a part of the Seal Beach Police Department.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The line build for the Police Station Tour. Tours ran throughout the day.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    The Station Tour was one of the more popular events for all ages during the open house.
  • 2017 Seal Beach PD Open House
    Traffic safety is a must, even at the ope house.
  • SBPDOH-Helio-67
    Why is it that landing a helicopter is such an attraction? It seems most people stop to take a look.

And just for good measure, here’s Fritz Campbell who was recently awarded the 2017 CERT member of the year

Fritz Campbell - 2107 CERT Volunteer of the Year
Fritz Campbell – 2017 CERT Volunteer of the Year

 

     

 

 

 

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Filed Under: Events

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Events

February 8, 2023
  • CERT Team Training Session & Potluck

    This is our bi-monthly team training and pot-luck meeting. All members are welcome to attend to refresh your CERT skills, get Team updates and enjoy some really good food.

    Please check your email for details.


    Location:   Location rotates between the six cities who sponsor our West Orange County CERT program, please see your member email for details

February 21, 2023
  • SLB Trailer Team Seal Beach PD

    9:00 am to 10:30 am

    Location:   Seal Beach Police Department, 911 Seal Beach Blvd, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA

March 1, 2023
  • LAP Trailer Team

    1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

    Location:   La Palma Police Department, 7792 Walker St, La Palma, CA 90623, USA

March 21, 2023
  • SLB Trailer Team Seal Beach PD

    9:00 am to 10:30 am

    Location:   Seal Beach Police Department, 911 Seal Beach Blvd, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA

April 12, 2023
  • CERT Team Training Session & Potluck

    This is our bi-monthly team training and pot-luck meeting. All members are welcome to attend to refresh your CERT skills, get Team updates and enjoy some really good food.

    Please check your email for details.


    Location:   Location rotates between the six cities who sponsor our West Orange County CERT program, please see your member email for details

April 18, 2023
  • SLB Trailer Team Seal Beach PD

    9:00 am to 10:30 am

    Location:   Seal Beach Police Department, 911 Seal Beach Blvd, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA

May 3, 2023
  • LAP Trailer Team

    1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

    Location:   La Palma Police Department, 7792 Walker St, La Palma, CA 90623, USA

May 16, 2023
  • SLB Trailer Team Seal Beach PD

    9:00 am to 10:30 am

    Location:   Seal Beach Police Department, 911 Seal Beach Blvd, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA

June 14, 2023
  • CERT Team Training Session & Potluck

    This is our bi-monthly team training and pot-luck meeting. All members are welcome to attend to refresh your CERT skills, get Team updates and enjoy some really good food.

    Please check your email for details.


    Location:   Location rotates between the six cities who sponsor our West Orange County CERT program, please see your member email for details

June 20, 2023
  • SLB Trailer Team Seal Beach PD

    9:00 am to 10:30 am

    Location:   Seal Beach Police Department, 911 Seal Beach Blvd, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA

July 5, 2023
  • LAP Trailer Team

    1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

    Location:   La Palma Police Department, 7792 Walker St, La Palma, CA 90623, USA

July 18, 2023
  • SLB Trailer Team Seal Beach PD

    9:00 am to 10:30 am

    Location:   Seal Beach Police Department, 911 Seal Beach Blvd, Seal Beach, CA 90740, USA

KeepOC Safe: If you See something Say Something

West Orange County CERT proudly serves the communities of Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, and Westminster in Orange County California.

  

Home | Updates | Our Team | Events | Training |Resources | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Contact Us

   

© Copyright 2007-2023 by West Orange County CERT · Built on the Genesis Framework