The Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) is the system required by California Government Code Section 8607(a) for managing emergencies involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies and was developed as a result of the 1991 East Bay Hills Fire. All state government agencies must use SEMS when responding to multi-jurisdictional or multi-agency emergencies. All local government agencies must use SEMS in multi-jurisdictional or multi-agency emergency responses to be eligible for state reimbursement of response-related personnel costs.
SEMS has been established to provide effective management of multi-agency and Multi-jurisdictional emergencies in California. By standardizing key elements of the emergency management system, SEMS is intended to facilitate the flow of information within and between levels of the system and facilitate coordination among all responding agencies. SEMS is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the varied disasters that occur in California and to the needs of all emergency responders.
More information on SEMS can be found online at the California Office of Emergency Services.