Sharing safety tips across the ocean

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Spring cherry blossoms and Japanese battalion chiefs

will welcome six of the city’s firefighters who are leaving for Okazaki

today as part of an exchange program.

During their 10-day stay in Okazaki -- a Newport Beach sister city

since 1984 -- the firefighters will learn about Japanese firefighting

techniques and their preparedness for emergency situations, such as

earthquakes.

This will be the first time a team from the city’s Fire Department

will visit the Land of the Rising Sun. Two battalion chiefs from Okazaki

visited Newport Beach three years ago.

Capt. Steve Bunting said their trip will include visits to fire

stations, a communications center and training facilities.

“We especially hope to talk to them about community preparedness and

fire prevention,” he said. “Those are areas where they are highly

advanced.”

The Okazaki fire department’s communications system is also efficient

and uses fewer dispatch employees, Bunting said.

“Also, all buildings in Japan have sprinklers,” he said. “So they

don’t have to fight huge fires like we do. They also don’t have as many

fires. That gives them a lot of time to focus on fire prevention.”

Okazaki, a city of 340,000 people, is inland but near Japan’s Pacific

coast, midway between Kyoto and Tokyo.

Even fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell are

equipped with fire extinguishers that are visibly placed in a compartment

near the trash can, Bunting said.

The six members of the team volunteered for the trip and will pay for

the entire trip -- about $2,000 per person. Those trekking to Japan are

Tim Harlan, William Trinkl, Jim Garvey, Les Wall, Brian Roche and

Bunting.

What motivates them?

“Firemen are naturally curious about how other firemen do their job,”

Bunting said. “It’s very exciting for us.”

He added that the team will take a book about the Sept. 11 tragedy.

“We expect to get a lot of questions from them about Sept. 11,”

Bunting said.

The city’s Sister City Assn. provides people an opportunity to

experience a different culture and meet new people, said Wendell Fish,

chairman of the association.

“Japan is considered the best equipped to deal with catastrophes such

as earthquakes,” he said. “Our firefighters should be able to learn a lot

from them.”

Nine Newport Beach residents who are members of the association will

also leave for Okazaki on April 3 on a friendly visit as part of the

exchange program, Fish said.

The trip, more than anything else, is simply a “brotherhood of

firefighters wanting to share ideas,” said Newport Beach Fire Capt. John

Blauer.

“It helps us open up our minds to other people’s expertise,” he said.

“It prevents us from getting stagnant.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .