Local emergency responders are offering disaster preparation training priced just right for small-business owners: It costs little or nothing.
They hope the lifesaving skills they teach will help more people cope with a major disaster when help from police, fire or medical personnel may be unavailable for hours or days.
"If you can be prepared, then when disaster hits you are not going to be a victim, you are going to be part of the solution," said Capt. Jeff Vrooman of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who coordinates Community Emergency Response Team training for the department.
That message is getting a boost during September, which is National Disaster Preparedness Month. Disaster preparation is getting even more attention because of the recent hurricanes, the Chino Hills earthquake and the Midwest flooding.
Small-business owner Jeff Edelstein took the training in the early 1990s and has taken the recommended twice-a-year refresher courses since then. Edelstein credits the classes with helping him organize a safe evacuation of his neighborhood during the Chatsworth fire three years ago.
"You don't want to practice when a disaster happens," said Edelstein, who employs 14 people at SOS Survival Products Inc. in Van Nuys. "Make your mistakes in a drill and learn from those mistakes."
Still, for busy small-business owners, committing time to prepare for a potential problem can take a back seat to dealing with more immediate concerns.
Disaster preparation can seem overwhelming. Trying to help small-business owners and other citizens get a handle on how to prepare and what to do during and after an emergency is the goal of the Community Emergency Response Team program.
"The people that go through our program deal much better with disasters," said Capt. Stacy Gerlich of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, which developed the program in the mid-1980s. "There is less anxiety; they feel better able to handle themselves than other people."
Training usually is free through fire departments, including those in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. Others, including some cities, may charge a small fee, often $30 to $50, to cover the cost of the manual and emergency supply kits. For-profit companies also perform the training.
Instructors, often firefighters, teach the classes, which stretch over 20 hours. County firefighters lead the seven-week training program that started Thursday at Rowland Heights' Schabarum Regional Park, which volunteered its conference center for the 35-student class.
