Earthquake Simulation Prepares Southern California neighborhood for the Big One

Feb. 28, 2013 - PRLog -- View Park, California:  The residents of View Park, a predominantly African American community in unincorporated Los Angeles, in partnership with Los Angeles County Emergency Responders will be conducting an Earthquake Simulation at Monteith Parkway located at 3680 Olympiad Drive and the immediate surrounding areas on Saturday, March 2, 2013, between 10:00 a.m. and Noon.  Los Angeles County Fire Captain Brent Burton will oversee the community-oriented simulation, the first of its kind in View Park in two decades, and provide a debriefing immediately following the event.  Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) members, residents of View Park, and Boys Scouts from Troop 999 will participate in the event.

It’s impossible to predict when a disaster will strike – whether natural or an act of terror. In catastrophic events, emergency responders are likely to secure infrastructure and may tend to more dense populations first. As a result, View Park residents are actively preparing to be self-sufficient for approximately 72 hours – the likely timeframe before outside help is likely to arrive.  Preparation activities include search and rescue in an urban residential area, administering first aid, suppressing small fires, and effectively organizing resources and manpower. Incident Commander Ramona LaFrance notes, “It is time for all of us to unite with our neighbors and prepare for any form of disaster. Typically, when someone is under stress, their subconscious relies upon training to help them successfully manage the situation. Therefore, it’s important for the community to have the proper training to reference in times of duress.”

The Earthquake Simulation is open to View Park residents and all Angelenos interested in emergency preparedness.

For more information, please contact Ramona LaFrance at 323.308.0693

About View Park-Windsor Hills, California

Nestled near the Baldwin Hills in unincorporated Los Angeles County, View Park-Windsor Hills is a predominantly African-American community home to approximately 11,000 residents.

About the CERT Program

The CERT Program educates citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, and light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.  Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.  CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community. (http://fire.lacounty.gov/ProgramsEvents/PECERT.asp)