WESTLAKE VILLAGE : Basic Training Ends for Disaster Team

Westlake Village’s first-ever disaster response team is one step closer to reality, now that about 35 volunteers have completed basic training in disaster preparedness, city officials said Monday.

Meanwhile, the city’s emergency preparedness and disaster response committee will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 4373 Park Terrace Drive, said Mike Mathews, assistant to the city manager.

The team is modeled after the Agoura Hills Disaster Response Team, which helped train the Westlake Village volunteers, Mathews said.

The Westlake Village volunteers are “a very dedicated and enthusiastic group,” said Scott Brewer, director of the 6-year-old Agoura Hills team.

The basic training consisted of six classes spread out over six weeks, Brewer said. Topics were earthquake preparedness, first aid and basic life-saving techniques, hazardous materials safety, urban search-and-rescue techniques and fire safety and suppression.

Because of fires last year and the Northridge earthquake this year, Brewer said, many residents now want to learn how to prepare for disaster.

On the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting in Westlake Village will be the status of a disaster response handbook put together by the committee, Mathews said.

The committee will also discuss its ongoing work on a disaster response plan, Mathews said. Under California law, each city must write its own plan that complies with state guidelines.

City staffers have been doing much of the writing of the roughly 350-page document, Mathews said. Citizen input also has been sought throughout, he said.