Crime & Safety

Loma Linda Emergency Plan to Get Update After Seven Years

The city and San Bernardino County Fire provides tips on how to be prepared in the event of a natural disaster.

Loma Linda’s Emergency Preparedness Plan is scheduled to be updated after seven years.

The plan was developed and implemented in 2004, said Debra Kreske, emergency services coordinator with the Loma Linda Fire Department.

“The plan we have right now is good,” Kreske said. “It’s effective.”

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But since 2004, equipment and procedures have improved, Kreske said.

“We’ve learned a lot since that plan,” she said.

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The city hopes to take from the state plan, which itself was recently updated. They have not yet set a date for when the work will start.

Updating the city’s plan is a six-month process, Kreske said. Officials had planned to make changes before the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

But the tragedy has brought the issue to the forefront for most residents, Kreske said. It’s presented the city with the opportunity to impress that California also has its share of earthquakes.

“People really want to be ready, but they procrastinate because they have so much they have to deal with,” Kreske said.

And it’s easy to become complacent since the state has not seen anything near the magnitude of what hit Japan, she said.

But Kreske and Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman with San Bernardino County Fire, urge people to take some time to prepare.

“Look at the USGS site,” Martinez said. “It’s just amazing how many earthquakes we have daily. Most we don’t feel. Some you only feel slightly. You just have to be prepared.”

To prepare, Loma Linda Fire invites people to participate in a Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. Residents and businesses are trained on disaster preparedness, Kreske said.

The course teaches residents and business owners how to turn off utilities and how to make a plan for families. They also discuss disaster psychology and learn basic first aid and how to use fire extinguishers, Kreske said.

“People have to remember that firefighters will be busy,” Kreske said. And they may also be digging themselves out, Kreske said.

“What we do now, before the earthquake, will determine what our lives will be like after,” Martinez said.

County fire officials offer the following steps to prepare. These tips can be found at www.daretoprepare.org:

  • Do a "hazard hunt" for items that might fall in your home during earthquakes and secure them.
  • Create a personal or family disaster-preparedness plan.
  • Plan for your family's specific needs (seniors, disabled, children, pets.)
  • Teach all household members how to use a fire extinguisher.
  • Create wallet cards for each family member with essential contact information.
  • Organize or refresh your emergency supply kits.
  • Store at least one gallon of water per person, per day, for 3 days and ideally for 2 weeks.

Also:

  • Ask yourself what else would you need to be on your own for up to 2 weeks?
  • What would you need if you were in your car or office when the earthquake strikes? 
  • Identify your building's weaknesses. Ask a local earthquake retrofitting contractor for a free structural inspection of your home or building.
  • Review your insurance coverage, whether home-owner or renter.  Consider whether earthquake insurance is right for you. 
  • Create a game where everyone responds to a signal by practicing Drop Cover and Hold On.
  • Talk to your children about what to expect during and after an earthquake.
  • Enroll in a local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training to learn more about how to take care of yourself and your family  when you are "on your own" after a disaster.
  • Provide non-English speaking members of your family, neighborhood or community with written information in their language.     

Residents can download a copy of the Family Disaster Plan, and other earthquake preparedness tips from www.sbcfire.org/oes and clicking on the Disaster Preparedness link.


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