Costa Mesa firefighters to run emergency drill

Deepa Bharath

The city’s fire department will conduct a special three-hour drill

today to teach residents how to prepare for an emergency situation.

This drill is another step the department is taking to get the

community geared up for disaster, said Costa Mesa Fire Chief Jim

Ellis said.

The chief, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has been putting

together a comprehensive plan for emergency preparedness as well as

for fire prevention.

In March, the chief formed a Citizens Corps Council -- a group of

community leaders that will help distribute information about the

city’s programs that prepare residents for emergency situations.

Costa Mesa’s program is only the fourth such in the county, after

Placentia’s, Laguna Niguel’s and the Orange County Sheriff’s

Department’s, Ellis said at the time.

Apart from this drill, Ellis said he is also looking forward to

putting together a fire prevention education trailer that would

travel to various communities and educate the public about how to

keep their homes and neighborhoods safe.

“We also hope to do safety checks and inspections by visiting

people’s homes,” he said. “We believe this trailer will be a powerful

tool to help educate the public.”

Emergency response is critical for residents in an area that is

prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, resident Diane Hill

said, who is an active member of the fire department’s Citizens

Emergency Response Training team.

The drill will teach people the basics, she said.

“If they’ve never actually used a fire extinguisher, if they’d

like to know how to get someone from under a book case they’re

trapped under, those are some of the kind of things they’ll learn in

this drill,” Hill said.

It will serve as a “refresher” course for those who have already

been through the Citizens Fire Academy or emergency response

training, she said.

“For others who are interested in finding out what this is about,

they’ll learn about disaster preparedness within a condensed period

of time,” Hill said.

Today’s drill will also include exercises in radio communications,

said Gordon West, a city volunteer who operates an emergency van near

Costa Mesa City Hall. He runs a test every Monday to ensure the

network is connected and working.

He will communicate with the participants from the Bay Area

through a long-distance ham radio.

“I’m going to be talking to them as if Costa Mesa has had a

disaster and has been isolated,” said West, who is also a member of

the Mesa Emergency Services Amateur Communications, which is made up

of volunteers who respond to natural disasters. “It’s a good

opportunity to test and exercise our long-range capabilities.”

And, he added, “It will be quite a day for citizens.”