Oak Park beefs up emergency preparedness
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

HARPER SMITH/Acorn Newspapers READY FOR DISASTER- Alicia Hair of the Oak Park Community Emergency Response Team listens while fireman Woody Harward discusses points of readiness during a disaster medical demonstration at Station 36 off of Deerhill Road in Oak Park.

Oak Park is better prepared for a major emergency. An amateur radio system has been purchased by the Community Emergency Response Team to help in the event cellphones and other communication systems fail.

"We're kind of isolated here in Oak Park. In a catastrophic event where phones are down the amateur radio will be up and running," said Diane Starzak, who heads Oak Park's CERT team. "It is still the fail-safe form of communication."

The radio will allow CERT members to immediately access the emergency operations headquarters at the Ventura County government center in Ventura and provide and receive information about resource needs and damage. Six CERT team members have undergone training to earn operator licenses to use the equipment.

In a demonstration at the April 24 Oak Park Municpal Advisory Council meeting, a CERT member radioed in to the police station on Olsen Road in Thousand Oaks. A police officer responded, indicating the equipment was working.

Starzak also requested support for forming a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). The designation would provide photo identification for members, some insurance coverage, and oversight by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

"In order to maintain the credibility of our (CERT) team we need to be a professional emergency response team," Starzak said. "In this day and age you can't knock on doors at 3 a.m. without credentials."

Sheriff's Capt. Bill Flannigan, who oversees Oak Park, said the department would have to assume liability for such a team. "It's something we would have to look into," Flannigan said.

More than 100 people have been trained through Oak Park's CERT team; 39 are currently active members. The group meets monthly at the Deerhill Road fire station to keep skills fresh.

A stash of emergency supplies and equipment is housed at the station. Those supplies would not last the community more than 24 hours, Starzak said.

"I don't want people to get false reassurance that their needs are going to be taken care of," Starzak said. "What we have is a drop in the bucket. Everyone has to take responsibility and do everything within their power to be prepared."

She encouraged residents to learn CPR and first aid skills and keep homes, offices and cars stocked with emergency supplies such as water, medical items and nonperishable foods.

Residents interested in becoming part of the CERT team may take the Ventura County Fire District's seven week course beginning in the fall. Participants will meet one night a week from 6:309:30 p.m. at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Among the topics to be taught are basic first aid, search and rescue techniques, simple fire suppression, and how to turn off utilities.

"I urge citizens to take CERT training. It's very empowering. Anybody might end up being at home alone with kids and they need to know what to do if there is no 911," Starzak said. "Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call. We can't expect others to take care of us."

For more information, call Starzak at (818) 889-2361.