Improving our Emergency Preparedness

By Gary C. Waldeck

We live in a beautiful, but frail place. Our open spaces and beautiful oaks and trees bring us tranquility ... until a fire or an earthquake happens. We must ensure that we are ready to handle these disasters when they happen.

Nobody can predict with any precision what kind of calamity may occur or when it might befall us, so we have to prepare as best we can. As a Council member, I will work with Town Staff, the Sheriff and our Los Altos Hills County Fire District to ensure that our residents will have the emergency resources available to them when they are needed. In particular, I will work with the LAHCFD to continue the cooperative relationship we have enjoyed so far.

The Town has been able to do some things to help our sister agencies and vice versa. Out of this cooperation has come a huge improvement in the reduction of the overall flammability of our town (neighborhood brush chipping, monthly garden debris clean-up days, removal of dead pine trees, eucalyptus trimming). And we now have a solid cadre of trained citizens available in the form of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Needed next is the wide-spread implementation of the Network Neighborhood program to ensure that each of us knows our neighbor and if needed, can help or get help from them. In a disaster, it will be a neighborhood response first. We need to be sure that we are trained and ready.

Last, those residents who are licensed HAM radio operators (I am one) will also be needed to play a critical role in case our phone systems are knocked out or jammed up in a serious emergency. The Town has authorized an Emergency Communications Committee (ECC) for 8 years now. Their purpose is to train and be ready to provide critical assistance in time of need. As a member of the ECC, I am a HAM and CERT member and have trained for the calamities that can occur. As a HAM repeater owner, I have contributed my own communications repeater as the designated backup facility in case it is needed to function in an emergency.