North Ranch emergency team conducts training exercise

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn PREPAREDNESS-Chris Bender, 13, tries out a portable fire pump during the fourth annual North Ranch Disaster Drill in Westlake Village on Sunday. More than 450 familes participated in the event.

More than 450 families participated in the fourth annual North Ranch disaster drill that took place last Sunday morning.

The North Ranch Homeowners’ Association sponsors the event every year to prepare residents for earthquakes or other disasters.

"In the event of a major earthquake, Los Robles Hospital will be really packed," said Randy Witt, director of the Disaster Preparedness Program. "Our goal is to be self-sufficient for three to five days, having medical supplies to treat minor injuries and enough food and water to get by."

Sunday’s drill ran well. The neighborhood alarm sounded at 9 a.m. and participating families made their way to three designated meeting spots to be "checked in." In the event of a real disaster, a volunteer search team would look for people unaccounted for.

Sunday’s drill also included a triage center, fire hose demonstration, and exhibit of disaster preparedness items, solar radios and safety demonstrations.

According to Mark Harwitz, disaster assistance response team executive boardmember, volunteers instructed North Ranch residents about turning off their utilities. Facilitators also shared, he said, other safety tips.

"Like a comfort pack for children," said Harwitz. "If you have children, it’s a good idea to use a backpack or lunch box to fill with a flashlight, candy, stuffed animals and games to keep the child’s mind occupied and the stress reduced."

Most importantly, according to Harwitz, is making sure that youngsters always have an emergency card with phone numbers of parents or friends to contact in the event of an emergency.

Experts also suggest having pictures of pets included in emergency kits because animals usually scatter during an earthquake and are eventually taken to the local shelter.

For most North Ranch citizens, earthquake preparation wasn’t taken seriously until the 1994 Northridge quake.

JoAnna Jocelyn said that after being shaken out of bed by the earth’s trembling, she and all the other neighbors ran out into the street. "A couple of days later, one neighbor sent around a notice inviting people over to have coffee and talk about the earthquake," said Jocelyn. "Surprisingly enough, 50 people showed up and that’s when we got organized."

Disaster preparedness around here doesn’t stop with just an annual drill; the North Ranch Homeowners’ Association offers free CPR and first aid courses to its members.

"We feel the more people that are trained to handle crisis situations, the safer we are," said Witt.

Other cities and communities also have organizations that offer disaster response training, including Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Oak Park.