Volunteers encourage preparedness
Ben Godar
April is Earthquake Preparedness Month, and members of the Community
Disaster Volunteers are using it to encourage residents to learn to
be self-sufficient in the event of a disaster.
Those who volunteer receive Community Emergency Response Team
training, which teaches them how to care for themselves and their
neighborhood in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake,
program consultant Deborah Shane said.
“In this day and age, every member of the community can benefit by
getting involved, knowing the difference between fact and fiction and
what they can do,” she said.
Members meet once a month to discuss aspects of emergency response
and participate in drills, Shane said. While some members are part of
active response teams, she said others simply use the information to
prepare themselves and their families.
Mike Rogers, who serves on the group’s steering committee, said he
never realized how important the training was until he heard a tape
of the flood of 911 calls in the minutes after the Northridge
earthquake.
“If you’re not one of the first six people to call, there’s not
going to be a fire engine for you,” he said.
The more than 300 members serve as everything from emergency-radio
operators to arson watchers, Shane said. Members recently provided
support to the Fire Department following the MetroLink derailment in
January.
Shane said anyone interested in joining the group should call the
city’s human resources department at 238-5021. Volunteers must pass a
background check and are covered under the state’s Worker’s
Compensation Program while serving.
For more information on the Community Disaster Volunteers, call
238-3350 or check out the group’s Web site at www.burbankcdv.org.