In the wake of Wine Country fires, first responders want residents to make survival is priority

Feb. 08--The Wine Country wildfires served as a deadly reminder that disasters can happen anywhere at any time, and almost always when you least expect it. To increase preparedness, the town, the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department and the Santa Clara County Fire Department held a forum Wednesday to teach residents how to prevent and prepare for wildfires.

"This is serious stuff, and it's not going to change," fire department Emergency Services Coordinator Kerry Harris said. "Emergency responders will be overwhelmed. It's what happened in the Oakland Hills in 1991 and last year in Santa Rosa, and it will happen again."

Harris encouraged people to notify authorities if they see people playing with fireworks or driving off-road vehicles in dry, grassy areas. Unsafe debris burning and trees encroaching on power lines also pose fire hazards.

The first thing people should do, Harris said, is develop an evacuation plan for family members and pets. Several evacuation routes should be identified in case one route is blocked.

"Get a plan and start figuring out what you're going to do and how you're going to do it," he said. "Involve your family. Discuss the plan and practice evacuating from your home and neighborhood in the daytime and at night. Also, identify a meeting location outside your home and neighborhood."

The firefighters encouraged residents to be ready to help their neighbors, too, especially the elderly and disabled.

"Talk to your neighbors and find out if there's going to be somebody who will need help," Harris said. "Let's work together as neighbors."

Fire Capt. Bill Murphy warned that evacuating your home is an "irrational process."

"If you're sitting at home and you're already worried about a fire, that should be your signal to evacuate," Murphy said.

Even so, first responders do want people to sign up for notification services such as alertscc.org and nixle.com.

They also want people to identify an out-of-state person who can receive phone calls from family members in case families are separated.

"It's often easier in a disaster to make out-of-area phone calls," Harris said.

"Hardening" your home is another important step. That means creating a fire-safe zone around your home, where dead vegetation and other flammable materials have been removed.

"Leaves in gutters are a catch basin for fires, and steer away from using wood on decks and fences," Harris said.

It's also important to have your address clearly visible from the street to help first responders find you in an emergency.

Filling a backpack or bin with a three-day supply of water and food and a seven-day supply of medications, plus a first aid kit, flashlights, a battery-powered radio and extra batteries is advised as well. Actually, emergency personnel want you to maintain two kits, one at home and another in your car. And each family member should have his or her own kit.

Also keep extra cash and credit cards on hand and try to keep your gas tank filled.

For insurance purposes, it's recommended that people take videos or photos of everything that would need to be replaced.

"Take your cell phone and go room by room and describe what's being photographed as you're doing it," Harris said. "After you've done the whole house, upload it or save it to a document that can be kept off-site."

Copies of insurance policies, wills, passports, drivers licenses and social security cards should also be kept off-site.

"If you jump out of bed in your jammies, you won't have that stuff and you won't have a flashlight or sturdy walking shoes, so keep those under your bed," Harris advised. "You may have to walk out if all the roads are closed."

The presentation included a question and answer session, with one resident asking if fire safes are a good idea.

"If your home burns, it's unlikely stuff stored in a fire safe will survive," Murphy replied.

Many of the suggestions that Murphy and Harris put forward were designed to help people weather other types of disasters like earthquakes and floods.

But whatever the disaster, the bottom line to preparedness is to "be an active participant in your survival," Harris said.

For help developing a personal wildfire action plan, visit tinyurl.com/ReadySetGoPlan. Or, plan to attend a free, three-hour Personal Emergency Preparedness class. The next class for Los Gatos and Monte Sereno residents is from 4-7 p.m. April 18 at Los Gatos Town Hall, 110 E. Main St.

Saratoga's next Personal Emergency Preparedness class is from 9 a.m. to noon April 28 at the Joan Pisani Community Center, 19655 Allendale Ave.

Cupertino's next Personal Emergency Preparedness class is Feb. 15 from 6-9 p.m. at Community Hall, 10350 Torre Ave.

To register, visit sccfd.org. The fire department website also has information on upcoming Community Emergency Response Team training academies.

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