CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and OMVNA have now activated and equipped 30 members as local coordinators with basic safety gear and 2-way radios. The OMVNA CERT team also includes a radio coordinator and a medical coordinator.

These volunteers will help their neighbors prepare for any local emergencies, and then act as coordinators and communication points during such an event. They will NOT provide water, food, or shelter! That is every households responsibility, and the volunteers can assist with information.

Our neighborhood CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) will have its summer radio drill on Sunday August 20, starting at 10am and finishing at noon. It is open to the public and will be held at Landels School. Based on last February's drill, teams of 3-5 members will have their own team radio channel and send their members at set times to designated nearby locations to collect and prioritize information, report back to the team coordinator, and determine proper actions. We will rotate the role of team coordinator to give more people an opportunity to practice.

To prepare for and provide to the Old Mountain View neighbor resident a broad range of immediate assistance for as much as seventy-two hours following a major earthquake or other disaster.  Such assistance includes search and rescue, damage assessment, first aid, shelter, security/comfort in time of need, coordination of resources, and communication within the neighborhood and with the City's Office of Emergency Services.

Integral to this is to encourage each household in the neighborhood to implement a family emergency preparedness plan.  Such a plan would require that each individual or family provide as much as possible for the food, water, and shelter needs of their own families in the event of a sudden emergency.

Excellent first aid instructions are included in every Pacific Bell Phone Book
(Chapter B near the front of the book)