Emergency Preparedness
Meeting Agenda

The following Meeting Agenda has been prepared for assistance in conducting a meeting to start the Emergency Preparedness program for your block.

1.   STATE THE PURPOSE OF THE MEETING   The main purpose of this meeting is to plan how we will work as a team if a disaster occurs. Our area is as vulnerable to an earthquake as is any other Southern California area. In addition, we have been warned by the Secretary of Homeland Security that, "Terrorism is still a pervasive and global threat, with sleeper cells and agents ready to act." Remember, whether an earthquake, fire, or terrorist attack, our neighborhood should be prepared to be totally self-sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours. Everything we can do ahead of time in training, education, and setting up response teams will pay off in a disaster, thereby freeing up the time of our police, fire, and emergency medical people so they can cope with more pressing things.

2.   GET ACQUAINTED   Even though most neighbors may already know each other, go around the room, ask each neighbor how long they've lived in their home, and ask them to give a brief summary of the skills they could offer during a disaster, as well as any problems they would encounter during an emergency, such as elderly persons, those with special needs, or language problems. Indicate if household members are generally home during the day, at school, business, etc. Additionally, if you have any home care centers on your block, ask if someone can speak with the owner or manager about participating in the EP of their patients. Please note - for blocks with few houses or few residents, it is perfectly acceptable to double up EP teams with adjacent streets.

3.   CHOOSE THE EP TEAM   The EP system will be patterned after our already existing and efficient Neighborhood Watch system, and will consist of the following. Please ask for volunteers to handle these jobs. Please note, these are not time-consuming jobs and require little effort beyond setting up the initial operation. Unlike the Neighborhood Watch e-mail crime network, there will be little e-mail communication except between Neighborhood Watch, Sheriff's Dept., EP Area Coordinators, and EP Block Captains, who will filter it down to their response teams.

EP AREA COORDINATOR   Every area (such as Strathmore, Longhill, etc.) should have an EP Area Coordinator, whose only job is to:

(1) Act as a liaison between EP Block Captains and Neighborhood Watch, or the Sheriff's Dept., Fire Dept., and City as necessary.
(2) Make a spread sheet (or get a computer person to do so), available to first responders if necessary, showing pertinent information from the Household Surveys such as PERT/CERT training, amateur radio training, essential equipment, language skills, etc. A PERT or CERT trained person, if available, would be an excellent candidate for this position, not only as a communicator, but as a trainer of others. A regular Area Coordinator could also handle this job as it is essentially doing the same as he/she does now.

EP BLOCK CAPTAIN   This job, which should be taken by someone other than the Block Captain, involves communication and management duties within the block itself. A PERT or CERT trained person, amateur radio operator or a manager-type person would be a good candidate for this job. The duties would include:

(1) Overseeing the EP operation for your block and acting as liaison between the Response Teams and the AREA EP person.


(2) Keeping up to date the EP Block File which includes the individual Household Disaster Preparedness Surveys and a list of the Response Team members.
(3) Either make up a spread sheet of the residents' skills, equipment, etc. or ask a computer person to do it.

4.   CHOOSE A PLACE FOR AN ASSEMBLY AREA IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AFTER A DISASTER   This will be the meeting place where all neighbors will assemble after a disaster. After they have checked their own home for damage and injuries, they should place a placard in the window to indicate OK or HELP. The assembly area should be an open place hopefully not near power lines or trees. It will become the command post where emergency operation assignments will be made.

5.   CHOOSE RESPONSE TEAMS   Ideally, every block should have a PERT or CERT trained member. Realistically, there are only 50 PERT trained people in our city of 15,000 residences. Therefore, every able-bodied neighbor should sign up for one of the following teams. Why? Because many neighbors will be gone during a disaster, so whoever is there must take charge. How large your teams are depends on the number of residents and participants.

LOGISTICS TEAM.   This team will be responsible for search and rescue. They will check every home. Make up a list of missing or trapped persons. Assess damage - fallen trees, items blocking streets, damaged homes. Check for damaged pipes, gas lines, electrical lines. Mark each home that has been checked with a symbol that the team has agreed upon beforehand. Remember - it is important for each residence to make up ahead of time, and display during a disaster, a brightly colored sign (use poster paper) which says "OK" on one side and "HELP" on the other side. Knowing ahead of time if people need help saves much time in the rescue efforts. PERT or CERT trained people, engineers, contractors, architects, carpenters, plumbers, etc. would be good candidates for this team.

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM   This team is responsible for communicating between teams, to amateur radio operators, and to the AREA EP Coordinator. Know the dial locations of Emergency Broadcast Systems, and monitor battery-powered radio or TV for news. Know the out-of-town contacts for each neighbor. If necessary, direct runners, cyclists and other mobile people to adjacent areas to communicate with other nearby blocks. Radio operators, runners, cyclists, or other active people would be good for this team.

SPECIAL NEEDS TEAM   This team will provide First Aid, Medical and Psychological needs. Be responsible for checking on, working with, watching and being with the elderly, disabled, small children, people who are not proficient in English. (Know ahead of time from the Household Survey who speaks other languages). Medical or emergency trained people as well as people who are care givers should sign up for this group.

6.   TRAINING   Encourage neighbors to get PERT, CERT, CPR or Red Cross Training. Ask experienced active or retired first responders, or PERT or CERT graduates to help train others in their area or block. Every household should know the location of utility valves and switches and how to turn them off. They should know how to use a Fire Extinguisher. For anyone that doesn't know how, ask if someone can show them.

7.   Remind residents that they are responsible for their own disaster files, emergency kits, and individual household planning as indicated in the City and Neighborhood Watch newsletters, available on both web sites. They should know who are on the individual response teams. As new neighbors move in they should be apprised of the EP on their street, and included on one of the teams. Remind each resident - do not use your telephone after a disaster. Overloading the telephone system will shut it down and hamper emergency services!