LA Council Watch

← All files

Boyle Heights / East Los Angeles / Cold Storage Warehouse / Fire / 1400 South Los Palos Street / Los Angeles Fire Department / Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program

Council File 26-0906-S4

Approved — the city council voted unanimously to require neighborhood councils to pursue emergency preparedness training after the Boyle Heights warehouse fire. Now the city is drafting a detailed plan on how to roll it out.

Introduced
2026-07-01
Last changed
2026-09-15
Status
open
Expires
2028-08-19
Mover
YSABEL JURADO
Second
MONICA RODRIGUEZ

Brief

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado moved a motion addressing community emergency response following a July 2026 cold storage warehouse fire at 1400 South Los Palos Street in Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles. The motion directs the Los Angeles Fire Department to work with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. Council adopted the motion 13-0-2 on August 19, 2026, after it passed the Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee and Public Safety Committee. Multiple neighborhood councils have since submitted community impact statements.

Full summary

Prompted by a fire that erupted on June 17, 2026, at a large cold storage warehouse at 1400 South Los Palos Street in Boyle Heights — which triggered shelter-in-place orders, public health advisories, air quality monitoring, and a multi-day emergency response — Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced this motion on July 1, 2026. The motion argues that Neighborhood Councils, as the city's most localized form of civic engagement, are well-positioned to support emergency preparedness but lack a consistent baseline of training to do so effectively. The motion instructs the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), with assistance from LAFD, to report back with recommendations on requiring a majority of all Neighborhood Council board members to obtain and maintain CERT certification. The report is expected to cover implementation options, timelines, costs, exemptions, and renewal requirements. The motion also specifically asks the department to explore more accessible training formats, including delivering the CERT program remotely. LAFD's CERT program provides free, hands-on training covering earthquakes, wildfires, hazardous materials incidents, and other disasters. The motion was first referred to the Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee, then corrected on August 5 to add the Public Safety Committee. Both committees approved it unanimously — Arts, Parks, Libraries on August 11 (Jurado, Hernandez, and Nazarian all voting yes) and Public Safety on August 12 (Lee, Price, McOsker, and Soto-Martinez yes; Park absent). The full Council adopted the motion 13-0-2 on August 19, with the action becoming final on August 21. Since adoption, six neighborhood councils spread across the city — Coastal San Pedro, Bel Air-Beverly Crest, North Hollywood Northeast, Sylmar, Greater Wilshire, and West Hills — have submitted community impact statements, indicating the proposal has drawn attention well beyond the fire-affected area. The file now awaits the DONE report with its formal recommendations. Three additional community impact statements from Sylmar, Greater Wilshire, and West Hills have arrived since the previous summary, the most recent on September 15, 2026.

Activity (17)

  • 2026-09-15 Community Impact Statement submitted by West Hills Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-09-11 Community Impact Statement submitted by Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-09-02 Community Impact Statement submitted by Sylmar Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-08-28 Community Impact Statement submitted by Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-08-26 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Hollywood Northeast Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-08-21 Council action final.
  • 2026-08-19 Council adopted item as amended by , subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2026-08-14 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on August 19, 2026.
  • 2026-08-12 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2026-08-12 Public Safety Committee concurred with the previous action of the Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee.
  • 2026-08-11 Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee transmitted Council File to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2026-08-11 Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2026-08-11 Community Impact Statement submitted by Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-08-07 Public Safety Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 12, 2026.
  • 2026-08-05 Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 11, 2026.
  • 2026-08-05 Corrected Referral per City Clerk to include Public Safety Committee.
  • 2026-07-01 Motion referred to Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee.

Documents (25)

Council votes (1)

  • 2026-08-19 Adopted as Amended — 13-0-2 · Regular

View on CFMS →