A New Face At OEM

S M O A I D September 2013

S a n t a M o n i c a O r g a n i z a t i o n s A c t i v e I n D i s a s t e r

Click here for the SMOAID story:

http://www.smgov.net/Departments/OEM/Programs/SMOAID.aspx

This past July, City Manager Rod Gould appointed Lieutenant Robert Almada to the position of Emergency

Services Manager for the Office of Emergency Management.

Lieutenant Almada brings a wealth of experience to the OEM Team from his 20+ years of serving in the Santa

Monica Police Department.

Several significant emergency events provided Lieutenant Almada with an opportunity to lead during his

career including: the July 4th 2000 Pier Shooting, the 2003 Farmers’ Market Tragedy, and the 2011 Synagogue

Bombing. Lieutenant Almada led the criminal investigative efforts for these and numerous other major

incidents.

When asked about his goals for OEM, Lieutenant Almada stated, “The Office of Emergency Management has

done an excellent job of laying the groundwork that

will allow the City of Santa Monica to withstand and

quickly respond to the initial impact of a disaster.

Our challenge moving forward is to build upon that

solid foundation of emergency preparedness and to

increase our ability to quickly recover. We will

embrace this challenge by working to increase

community and business resiliency which will give us

the ability to quickly bounce back after a disaster and

to return to normal as soon as possible.”

In This Issue:

New At OEM 1

CERT In Action 2

Shakeout Santa Monica 3

Businesses Get Ready 4

Lieutenant Almada can be reached at

Robert.Almada@smgov.net

Santa Monica CERT In Action by John Cyrus Smith

It started with the kind of loud CRASH you just KNOW is a bad accident. I ran out of my house and saw three mangled cars at Broadway and Harvard, but it was a young woman in her teens who quickly drew my attention. Her hands were covering her bleeding face as she stumbled from CAR ONE, her boyfriend kept circling her. He appeared really agitated. More on that in a second. A crowd quickly gathered. I sat the woman down on a short wall in the shade, saying, "My name's John. I'm a member of Santa Monica's Community Emergency Response Team." Tried to calm her, asked her if anything else hurt, if she felt dizzy. She was talking pretty clearly. Someone gave me a towel for her face. At that point, a car pulled up and a guy jumped out saying, "I'm an off-duty firefighter!" Told him I was with CERT and I'd check on the

others.

Two guys were helping an older teen out of CAR ONE through a shattered window (I remember thinking, "I hope his neck isn't hurt"). He was already out of the car, bleeding from the head, very woozy. Looked him in the eyes and sat him down right away on a front porch stoop. A woman came out and I asked her to bring me a towel. Told the teen to press it to his head and keep it there, that help was on the way. Checked for shock by squeezing his finger. His response rate seemed a little slow. I asked a bystander to stay with him while I checked on anyone else. Saw a young woman crying. She was driving CAR TWO and was just upset,

not hurt. A neighbor comforted her. The driver of CAR THREE was also okay.

Just a couple of minutes went by, and I mean just a couple, then sirens were everywhere. I looked around at the crowd. Went to each corner and asked, "did anyone actually see the accident?" One teen saw the whole thing. At this point paramedics and officers were everywhere. I identified myself as a CERT member, told

them about the injured, the off-duty firefighter, the cars and the witness.

Later, one officer interviewed me and I told him everything I knew. Turns out the boyfriend was arrested. Neighbors say CAR ONE had been stolen and blew the stop sign heading north on Harvard, and was hit by

CAR TWO heading west on Broadway. CAR THREE had minor damage.

I think I did pretty well. I focused on the most seriously hurt first, one by one, then sought information and let the pros take over. One thing really sticks with me...it seemed as if many people in the crowd were just

watching and didn't really know how to help.

That's why we need CERT.

It helped me know how to help.

John C. Smith

CERT Team# 1

Scene where CERT member

John C. Smith assisted with response

to a three car accident.

Shakeout Santa Monica by Paul Weinberg

As we know all too well, the Los Angeles area is highly susceptible to earthquakes and earthquake related

effects. Numerous earthquake faults crisscross southern California and no one within the area resides more

than 10 miles from an active fault. Every Fall, millions of Californians participate in the Great California

Shakeout, the largest disaster drill in the world. This year on Thursday October 17th, at 10:17am is an

opportunity for all of us to review our disaster preparedness supplies, emergency plans, and to practice

proper earthquake response.

On that day, schools, businesses, individuals, and government agencies will be participating in the exercise

by dropping, covering, and holding on as they would in an actual earthquake.

Between now and October 17th, 2013 we encourage all Santa Monica residents to plan your own drill. Below

are a few simple steps to assist you in your efforts.

Consider what may happen when an earthquake shakes your area. Plan what you will do now to prepare, so that when it happens you will be able to protect yourself and then recover quickly.

Talk to other people about what they have done, and encourage them to join you in getting more prepared.

Create a personal or family disaster-preparedness plan Plan for specific needs of seniors, children, those with Access and Functional Needs, and pets Update important contact information of family members, friends, and others

Organize or refresh your emergency supply kits. Be sure to have at least seven days of emergency supplies in your home, car, and place of work

Practice the proper “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” earthquake response

Enroll in an upcoming Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class with the Santa Monica Office

of Emergency Management. This is a free, three day training program that teaches people how to

respond to an emergency and provide basic assistance to themselves and those in their community. The

classes are held on three consecutive Saturdays in Santa Monica. The next class is scheduled for

November 2, 9 & 16.

For additional information on the Great California Shakeout, please visit http://www.shakeout.org/

Businesses Gets Ready This October

This October the City of Santa Monica and its partners will host a free one-day emergency prepared-ness event for local businesses. Keynote Speaker Richard Riordan will kick off the event filled with presentations aimed at getting your business prepared to survive and recover from a disaster. Other presentation topics will include: Southern California Earthquake Threat, Public & Private Partner-

ships, Active Shooter in the Workplace, IT Disaster Preparedness & Recovery.

Monday, October 14, 2013

8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

RAND Corporation – 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica CA 90401

Register for this free event, click here "Silicon Beach Gets Ready"