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Emergency Preparedness & Disaster Response

Mission

The Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Team’s mission is to work with local Montclair Organized Neighborhood (MON) groups to promote their participation in the Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies (CORE) program--in order to establish emergency preparedness knowledge and disaster response expertise within the Montclair community. It is currently focusing on being prepared for and responding to:

• Fires
• Earthquakes
• Mudslides
• Other natural or man-made disasters

Cypress overpass in Oakland, CA, after earthquake 1989.

The Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Team

Our community needs a dedicated network of trained and motivated neighbors who can spread the word about emergency preparedness and disaster response. In turn, this network, in conjunction with CORE, can help homeowner associations, MONs and Neighborhood Watch or alert groups, school PTA's, and religious, social, civic, and sports groups develop their own plans that can save lives and minimize injury when these public safety risks occur.

The MSIC Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response (EPDR) Team is such a network. It is responsible for providing information and assistance on neighborhood organization, emergency preparedness, setting up and leading emergency exercises, conducting radio communications tests, and other similar activities. If you are interested in participating on this team in any capacity, please contact us.

Objectives

The team’s objectives are to:

• Help neighborhood groups in the Montclair area have as many residents as possible trained at the CORE III level. CORE III personnel are trained for and are expected to participate in neighborhood disaster response and recovery activities in conjunction with Oakland emergency resources, including Oakland's Office of Emergency Services (OES), Oakland Police, Oakland Fire Department, and other authorized agencies.
• Help neighborhood groups build and manage their Neighborhood Incident Command Center (NICC)--a central neighborhood gathering place stocked with emergency and first aid supplies.
• Help neighborhood groups in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides or other disasters in the Montclair area.
• Help with establishing and testing Montclair area emergency communication plans, including using two-way radios and other means of communicating during a disaster.
• Provide information related to emergency preparedness and disaster planning, such as guides on home retrofitting, gas shut-off valves, emergency power generation, etc.

A brochure that outlines why and how to organize for emergency preparedness (or any other area of concern) is available. Please feel free to distribute this to your neighbors if you are wanting to organize, or to any other friends or acquaintances in the Montclair area. The more MONs that are created and CORE trained, the more we will all benefit by being prepared and self-sufficient.

Neighborhood CORE Team During an Emergency Exercise

Team Accomplishments

The Team’s accomplishments have included:

• Participating in open MSIC Community Meetings where the focus is on preparing for and responding to emergencies and disasters.
• Establishing and holding quarterly MON Leaders meetings, where neighborhood leaders discuss issues and provide their own tips and techniques.
• Conducting radio communications tests throughout the hills, to establish how best we can all communicate during an emergency.
• Developing radio communications plans and procedures, in conjunction with CORE/OES.
• Organizing and promoting emergency exercises in the Montclair area, in conjunction with annual CORE citywide exercises.
• Creating emergency evacuation plans and evacuation maps.
• Developing documents and guidelines on various emergency preparedness topics, such as emergency generators and Neighborhood Incident Command Center emergency supplies.

Useful Guides, Links and Emergency Response Tips

The Team has identified documents and Web sites that contain useful guides and tips around organized neighborhoods and emergency preparedness. If you have any requests for additional information, please let us know.

For more information on how you can begin to organize your neighborhood, and how you can better prepare for an emergency, please contact the MSIC Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Team chair. MSIC representatives can come to your neighborhood meetings to present their ideas and tips for success. We are here to help you in any way possible, so that you can be better able to assist yourself and your neighbors in the event of a disaster. It's all about neighbors helping neighbors!