Editor's Note: Jayson Johnson is a firefighter with the Los Angeles City Fire Department. He is currently assigned to the Disaster Preparedness Unit. His articles will be posted regularly here at MySafe:LA.

1992

As the verdicts from the infamous Rodney King vs. members of the LAPD trial was being read, the corner of Florence and Normandie began to heat up. Throughout the city of Los Angeles, the sparks of civil unrest gained momentum and like a veracious brush fire, these sparks exploded into city blocks of defiance and protest. The world watched as Los Angeles lived the adage…”if you do not know your history, you are doomed to repeat it”. Like its predecessor of 1965, Los Angeles was stumbling through another riot. Many in the area, then known as south-central Los Angeles had to shelter in place and survive on the food they had on hand for several days. Unable to find a grocery store for several miles that was unaffected by the “civil unrest”, essentials such as diapers, baby formula, water and sanitation supplies had to be rationed until calm was restored. I ask you, are you and your family ready for disaster?

1994

In the predawn hours of January 17, 1994, the citizens of Los Angeles rested peacefully until the soul jarring thrusting of a magnitude 6.4 earthquake lasting close to 20 seconds rocked the San Fernando Valley. This sudden, but predicted disaster known as the Northridge Earthquake caused the collapse of several freeways, close to 9,000 injuries and 57 recorded deaths (some say as many as 72 deaths can be directly attributed to the Northridge Earthquake). It is estimated that the Northridge Earthquake caused 20 billion dollars of damage and has forever changed how this firefighter sees the need for preparedness. I ask you, are you and your family prepared for disaster?

2001

Like many American citizens, I can clearly remember where I was and what I was doing as I first began to try and comprehend the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The sobering images of passenger jets being used as weapons, and flying into the Twin Towers of New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. are images that I will never forget. Like a deranged nightmare that continued to unfold, the subsequent collapse of the Twin Towers put an exclamation point on the day and again I ask you, are you and your family prepared for disaster?

2005

Known as The Big Easy, New Orleans has always been the image of fun, Cajun food and great music. A trip to the bayou for many meant going home, seeing family, safety and security. On August 28, 2005, the feeling of safety and security was ripped away like the roof of the Super Dome as a category five hurricane trampled on everything in its path and left a trail of destruction that to date still has not had anything close to a full recovery. The world watched as parts of the United States was reduced to the images of some third world countries. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the policies and procedures of how agencies handle disaster has been reviewed, retooled and reestablished. This review has been from top down….federal to local. Katrina claimed over 1,800 lives and the amount of lives affected can not be measured. The dollar amount of the cost of Hurricane Katrina is over 80 billion. I ask you, are you and your family prepared for disaster?

2008

The San Fernando Valley had a very tough 2008. In September the residents of Chatsworth witnessed one of the worst commuter train accidents in U.S. history. This accident saw a Metro link commuter train run into a Union Pacific freight train. As a result, Los Angeles and the rail operators are reviewing standard operating procedures as well as first responder safety. Because of the location, many injured passengers had to help themselves until first responders could get to them. I ask you, are you and your family ready for disaster?

In November of 2008, the northwest area of the San Fernando Valley had the Sylmar and Sayre fires. These fires saw the destruction of hundreds of homes and the displacement of thousands of residents, many of who are still trying to put their lives back together. The fury of fire that only slowed when weather conditions allowed burned everything in its path. In the blink of an eye, many saw their homes that contained priceless pictures, family treasures, important documents and prescription medicines destroyed. The fickle winds of disaster are not discriminating and the only way to defend and protect is to prepare. I ask you, are you and your family prepared for disaster?

Who Needs To Prepare?

As a citizen of Southern California who either lives, works, worships or visits the city of Los Angeles, you never know when the tentacles of disaster will touch you or a family member. The timeline that I have presented to you is an example of how at one time or another, all of us will be affected by a disaster of some sort at some level. If it is something as predictable as extreme weather conditions and earthquake patterns or as senseless and mind numbing as terrorist attacks or domestic assaults (Columbine High School shootings in Colorado or Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg Virginia). The time to prepare is now.

The Los Angeles Fire Department offers classes in several areas of preparedness. The most basic is known as a DAC (Disaster Awareness Course). The DAC can be tailored to the needs of your group. In general, a DAC can be from one hour, up to three hours. The basic DAC covers basic disaster preparedness, brief history of earthquakes in Southern California, tips to help prepare your home/office before the earthquake. The more detailed and complete training is our CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) class. The CERT class is a seven module class with eighteen hours of education that covers many topics from earthquake preparedness, fire suppression, first aid, search and rescue, team building and terrorism. These classes are offered free of charge and provide its students with tips, suggestions and materials which can assist in the increased preparedness of the students and their families. We also offer an additional class on the use and operation of fire extinguishers. This class covers the proper use and identification of the class A, B, C extinguisher as well as an opportunity to have practical/hands on application of the information and put out live fire. This class has some specific requirements and people seeking this class should call the Disaster Preparedness Section and ask for the Fire Extinguisher Demonstration/Presentation form.

Static Display/Booth

The DAC Unit also provides a static display or booth if you, your company, your community group, block club or your house of worship is sponsoring an event such as street fair, health and safety fair, picnic or gathering that will offer people a chance to come and ask one on one questions regarding disaster preparedness. Our goal is to reach as many citizens as we can, to afford Los Angeles the highest disaster preparedness IQ as possible. We are here for you now, because after the disaster, it may be up to you to mitigate the emergencies in your area.  The safest way to do that is to have some level of training in advance. The one thing that kills fear is knowledge.

No Cost to You

The classes offered are free of charge. We request that organizers have a minimum of 20 students, an area/room to accommodate the group and a slide/PowerPoint presentation, and come with an attitude for learning. Please also note that some classes, such as the first aid and search and rescue portions of CERT may require adequate space to practice the techniques.   

To learn more about what CERT and DAC have to offer, click on www.cert-la.com.
I also invite you to check out my blog spot at www.yourhouseinorder.blogspot.com. To contact the Los Angeles Fire Department/Disaster Preparedness Section office directly, call (818)756-9674 or email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You may also follow up to the moment activities and updates on Twitter: RescueJayLAFD
It has been said that “It takes a village to raise a child”, I say “It’s going to take a village to survive a disaster”. There is no excuse, the time is now…I ask you, are you and your family ready for a disaster?

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Firefighter Jayson Johnson is an experienced firefighter and EMT with the Los Angeles Fire Department. His current assignment with the Disaster Preparedness Unit puts him and his colleagues in front of seniors, children, and those at-risk on a daily basis. MySafe:LA is pleased with our collaborative relationship with Jayson and his team, including his partner Jeff Hudson and their skipper, Captain I Carlos Avina. Read Jayson's blog entries here and remember: Be safe out there.