March 2 – 30, Mondays & Thursdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m. • Groverman Hall, Petaluma Valley Hospital
Bill Paxton, our certified CERT Instructor, has confirmed the following dates and times for the next CERT Course - #10 – for the greater Petaluma area.
March 2 – 30, Mondays & Thursdays, 6:30-9:30 p.m. March 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30 Groverman Hall, Petaluma Valley Hospital, 400 N. McDowell Ave.
Although there isn’t any instructional fee, there is a $25 material fee for the CERT Manual and Supply Kit that is provided at the first class session.
All CERT grads are encouraged to help spread the word about this opportunity to their friends and neighbors.
Some of the topics covered include: disaster preparedness, fire safety, disaster medical operations, light search & rescue, CERT organization, disaster psychology, terrorism, disaster communications, plus a course review and simulated disaster exercise. Some of the practical exercises will take place at Fire Station #2.
For additional information, contact Bill Paxton at
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or phone 763-4421 if you are interested.
Cell/Digital Phone Emergency Number
In Petaluma, from a traditional landline, dial 9-1-1 (Emergencies Only) or with cell phones and digital phone service (VOIP) dial 707 -762 -2727. Contact your phone carrier for details on whether your phone plan has local or regional emergency access.
Remember, in major event normal communications may be delayed. Have an emergency plan that includes communications. Have someone outside the area (at least 100 miles away) that can be the emergency check in point for your family. As with the 2007 San Jose earthquake, phones were down for a short period of time. It will be easier to call outside the event zone shortly after an emergency. Program your family members' cell phones with your emergency check in contact and practice calling that contact as a family.
Another way to be cared for in an emergency is to program a phone number in your contact list called "I.C.E." (In Case of Emergency). Some first responders now check cell phone contact lists in situations where the victim is unable to respond. Having an I.C.E. number can help them locate family more efficiently.
Petaluma Weather Event Hotline & Webpage
City of Petaluma:
The Fire Department updates the Event Hotline as needed. Call the number below for further updates that may happen in significant weather conditions.
There is a link to their emergency notifications messages.
What's your RQ?
What's Your Readiness Quotient?
In recent years, the American people have been urged to “get ready” and to prepare for emergencies – from natural disasters to terrorist attacks. But no one has ever given the public a simple, comprehensive and consistent tool to actually measure how prepared they are. No one has ever provided individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole with a practical “gauge” to assess their preparedness, recognize their successes and identify gaps where more work needs to be done.
Until now.
The Readiness Quotient – or RQ – is a first of its kind tool for individuals, families and communities to determine and evaluate their readiness.
See how you stack up against the national average and learn specific steps you can take to better prepare yourself and your family, as well as things you can do to encourage your community, schools and workplace to be better prepared.
Your first important step is to learn your RQ score. This simple test takes less than one minute to complete.
Mission – To promote public events and training opportunities for local neighborhoods to learn how to organize volunteers into a Neighborhood Emergency Response Team or NERT, capable of helping neighbors cope with survival needs following a disaster.
Goal - To develop an emergency preparedness model that will enable neighborhoods to mobilize local resources in order to be prepared in the event of a disaster; such as an earthquake, flood, or wildfire.
Objective – To create STAR Neighborhoods that are safe, trained, alert and ready to assist family and neighbors during a disaster and prepared to make decisions that result in the most good for the greatest number of people.
To Join — Please use the NERT Forums link to connect with a local neighborhood project.
