Sleepy Hollow Neighborhood Preparedness Project 

After a major disaster such as wildfire, earthquake or severe weather, professional first responders will be overwhelmed and your neighborhood may be on its own for days. The primary objective of a neighborhood response program is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, and ensure assistance is available to those who need it most. This includes the injured, the housebound elderly couple, the young single mother with an infant, or the vet in a wheelchair. The Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District would like to initiate a Neighborhood Preparedness Coordinator Program based on the principle of neighbor helping neighbor in time of need. In cooperation with the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association, we propose to divide Sleepy Hollow into a number of individual neighborhoods based on size, geography, etc. We need a volunteer in each neighborhood to serve as a Preparedness Coordinator who will help their neighbors build disaster resilience. The SHFPD will support each neighborhood with training and basic emergency equipment.

Basic Elements of a Ready Neighborhood:

• Organize your neighborhood into groups of homes led by neighborhood preparedness coordinators (block captains). Whether by going door-to-door, social media or local events, organize your neighbors and build a response group.
• Know your neighbors. Share information among your neighbors so everyone knows who needs help and who can help. Neighborhood social events help build this sense of community.
• Improve preparedness by encouraging creation of Family Disaster Plans and Go Kits, signups for Alert Marin, purchase of battery operated radios, participation in safety classes and evacuation drills.
• Build a safe response capability. Identify the resources that already exist in your neighborhood such as knowing who is medically trained, who is a CERT member, who is a Red Cross volunteer, who has a generator, etc. to improve response capability in your neighborhood.
• Get trained. The skill level and training of your neighborhood group will be critical after a disaster. Whether its a Get Ready class, CERT training, radio skills, or First Aid/CPR training the more your group knows, the more resilient you’ll be. The SHFPD will help you get trained.

Sleepy Hollow Disaster Inventory

The purpose of developing a disaster inventory is to help the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District assess the potential needs and capabilities of residents during a disaster. How many people would be in need of assistance or a well-being check during an emergency? What resources are available to provide assistance? How well informed are residents regarding warning systems, evacuation, defensible space home hardening, etc. How prepared are residents to support themselves in place during an extended disaster? Are there any obvious areas of concern regarding defensible space?

Potential Questions

• How many homes in each Preparedness Coordinator District
• Which individuals might need assistance in an emergency
• What is the awareness level for evacuation protocols
• Who is signed up for Alert Marin and understands alerting/warning systems
• What is the awareness level regarding defensible space
• What is the awareness level regarding home hardening
• Who has a cache of food and water for 3=5 days
• Who needs to do some defensible space work and do they need financial assistance
• Who has special skills that might be valuable in an emergency: medical, construction, etc.