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NEWS FEMA helps
[] The goal is to make By Lisa Coffey Mahoney Oakland, designated a "disaster resistant" community by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will be one of seven cities in the nation take part in Project Impact. Project Impact is a national effort to change way America deals with major emergencies. Its p pose is to shift the focus of emergency management from responding to disasters to reducing hazard beforehand and thereby to minimize potential damage. As part of the program, Oakland will receive s money, support and resources from FEMA for two-year pilot program. "It's a great opportunity for the city of Oakland be one of the seven communities chosen," s Renee Domingo, assistant manager of the city Office of Emergency Services. Most Oakland residents were unaware that city even had an Office of Emergency Services until the earthquake struck in 1989, Domingo said. "We've come a long way," she said, adding that the Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergency (CORE) neighborhood program, instituted after the earthquake, was expanded after the 1991 hills fire. Communications systems have since been upgraded, and an Emergency Operations Center will soon be built. "We've also worked with the Office of Information and Technology on an automated response system," Domingo said. "This (FEMA) program makes us a mentor. It lets us show other people how to do things." The six other communities in the pilot program are Alameda County, Md.; Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Pascagoula, Miss.; Seattle, Wash.; Tucker and Randolph counties, W. Va.; and Wilmington, N.C. Oakland's program is known as Project SAFE (Safety And Future Empowerment), and is a collaboration between residents, business owners and government agencies. "We want to reduce hazards so when we have natural disasters, we're not. at their mercy," said Domingo. Many local companies didn't survive the 1989 earthquake because of the huge amounts of damage sustained. "That really impacts the local economy," she added. Grants and loans The city will provide grants or low interest loans, or both, to eligible homeowners or businesses which agree to use the funds to make their property more resistant to natural disasters. Hazard reduction measures that would qualify for such aid include: strapping water heaters; building retaining walls; upgrading security bar releases; installing fire-resistant landscaping ; u grading downspouts, guting foundations.. Businesses of all sizes can' participate in Project SAFE. The first step is to consult with the OES staff to develop hazard reduction strategies for property and emergency preparedness training for employees. Business partners are also encouraged to provide technical assistance, financial resources or in-kind services to other members of the community. Small businesses may qualify for low-interest loans to pay for hazard reduction measures like seismic retrofitting, earthquake kits and employee training. SAFE hopes to retrofit a minimum of 25 buildings this year, and at least 100 next year. Larger businesses can receive national recognition and special designation from the city through participation in the BEST (Businesses Ensuring a Safer Tomorrow) of Business program. Project SAFE business partners currently total nearly 50; they include Chevron, Pacific Bell, the Peralta Community College District, the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Home Depot, Mills College, Bank of America, the Catholic Diocese of Oakland and the East Bay Conservation Corps. During the initial year of the program, says Domingo, a hazard analysis and risk assessment will be made of all single-family dwellings and commercial buildings in the city. "We'll then establish a priority of which areas to address first," she said. Domingo says a goal for Project SAFE is to retrofit a minimum of 25 buildings this year, and at least 100 buildings next year. In addition to offering residents low-interest loans and rants for library for those who feel they can tackle retrofitting projects on their own. "We'd also like to offer incentives to people who have already done it on their own," she said, adding that disaster kits, cash rebates and special acknowledgement from the mayor are being considered as incentives. Domingo says that one of the biggest accomplishments made thus far through Project SAFE was a collaboration with Project Spring Break. "Project Spring Break is a collective of youth volunteers," explained Domingo. "We trained them and had them do non-structural retrofitting on over 150 low income apartment units during spring break." Project SAFE provided the administration for the project and negotiated with local vendors, such as Home Depot, to buy supplies at a reduced cost. Free training for contractors The Oakland Fire Services Agency will be sponsoring a free training course, which will put building contractors, and inspectors on a preferred list to be hired by Oakland's Project SAFE participants. The course, which will be presented by FEMA, has been developed to train building contractors and inspectors in seismic retrofitting work on light wood frame, houses. By the end of the training, participants will know how earthquakes typically damage structurally weak houses, the KC components of a retrofit and h0* they connect together to form I proper seismic retrofit, the different types of materials available for each retrofit components installation steps for these components, how to avoid co errors during installation, bracing techniques for "natural" items, and safety and ' it issues related to this type work. Time and location for the ing course has not yet been determined. For more information about Project SAFE, call 238-3938.
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