Local agencies evaluate disaster plans Local agencies evaluate disaster plans (September 16, 2005)

Hospital district, fire department seek to avoid dependence on the feds

By Molly Tanenbaum and Katie Vaughn

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, countless groups around the country have begun reevaluating their own communities' emergency plans. Their goal is to predict how they would fare in a natural disaster and whether they could survive without outside help. Mountain View is no different, and many of its officials are now examining how their agencies would respond to a major earthquake.

One of the most immediate and devastating effects of the flooding in New Orleans was the evacuation of its hospitals. So the question arises: How would El Camino Hospital serve local residents in the wake of a disaster here? At its Sept. 7 board meeting, the hospital's CEO, Lee Domanico, said his district will review its emergency plan to determine how it could be less reliant on help from the federal government.

"We're going to take a very critical look at our disaster plan here," Domanico said.

Jon Friedenberg, vice president of resource development at El Camino, said a multi-departmental group meets regularly to update the hospital's disaster plan, and works with other agencies on the local and national level to coordinate services in the event of an emergency. The group is scheduled to meet in the coming weeks.

Friedenberg said the hospital counts on outside sources to assist in a major disaster, but may try to wean its reliance after aid was slow to come to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. At the very least, he said, the hospital wants to know what services are guaranteed to come and when they would arrive.

"We want to make sure we don't assume anything, that we have a clear understanding of what their preparedness is and what their response timeline is," Friedenberg said.

Meanwhile, one major element is putting hospital officials at ease: construction of the new, seismically safe campus. Set to be completed by December 2008, the new hospital "is designed to the strictest standards in seismic safety," said Ken King, vice president of facilities services.

The greatest improvement in the new campus will be its ability to withstand a significant earthquake without having to shut down or be rebuilt afterward, Friedenberg said. Staying operational during and after a natural disaster is a major achievement, he said, adding that many hospitals near Los Angeles had to be evacuated following the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake in 1994.

If power were lost in a disaster, the hospital currently has 4,000 watts of power in back-up generators; the new building's generators will offer an additional 2,000 watts. Steam from the building's boilers could also produce 1,500 watts of heat -- half of what's needed to run the hospital, King said.

"It's designed for a lot of flexibility," King said. "There's more than one way to route power."

The hospital has an emergency water supply as well. Water tanks currently hold roughly 160,000 gallons, while the new campus will store 210,000 gallons.

On the city level, emergency plans are substantial -- a nearly four-inch stack of instructions, according to Mountain View fire chief Mark Revere.

While the city can handle a wide range of emergencies, a larger disaster could overwhelm its 20-person firefighting staff and require outside help. Lynn Brown, the fire department's public information officer and director of emergency services, said a strict hierarchy is in place for who to call and when, moving from county to state to federal agencies.

"We can't just get on the horn and call the governor or the feds," he said.

The city's emergency plan will come before the Mountain View City Council in October for a routine update. However, officials said Mountain View is generally prepared for a natural disaster. While flooding submerged the entire city of New Orleans, an earthquake would likely bring more localized damage. Also, Brown said, earthquakes offer less warning time than other natural disasters, which means Californians must always be prepared.

"At least in California, because we have to be ready all the time, I think we're at a higher state of readiness than other states," Brown said. "I certainly hope we are in Mountain View."

To help ensure as many Mountain View residents as possible could survive and help out in a disaster, the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, teaches free classes in English and Spanish through the fire department to instruct the public on emergency preparedness.

The course teaches regular citizens to be first responders, a vital service during a major disaster when city resources become overwhelmed, Brown said. Graduates may go on to participate in their own neighborhoods' CERT groups. So far, 600 Mountain View residents have taken the course and Monta Loma, Old Mountain View and Cuesta Park neighborhoods have organized CERT groups. Brown said they are a valuable emergency resource to the community.

"If there's a major disaster, we'll rely on citizens to help each other," he said.

E-mail Molly Tanenbaum at mtanenbaum@mv-voice.com and Katie Vaughn at kvaughn@mv-voice.com

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