Gilroy
– Don Macsuga watched the hurricane’s waters drown New Orleans
and decided: That wouldn’t be him.
Gilroy – Don Macsuga watched the hurricane’s waters drown New Orleans and decided: That wouldn’t be him.
“I’m 60 years old. My 86-year-old mother just moved in with us. I’ve got two grandchildren close by … ‘What if a disaster hits here?’ ” he asked himself in 2005, as Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast. “Am I prepared?”
Now, he’s not just prepared, he’s part of Gilroy’s Community Emergency Response Team, a cadre of community members equipped with the survival skills to navigate disaster, protect themselves, their families, and their community. After undergoing Gilroy Fire Department’s nine-week training last fall, he said, “My eyes are wide open.”
The course includes disaster planning, advanced first aid and even search and rescue, based on Federal Emergency Management Association guidelines. Once trained, team members are prepared to back up Gilroy’s first-responders, firefighters and police, in case of a crisis.
“Now, I buy the extra cans of beans,” Macsuga said. “I taught my wife where the shut-offs are for gas and electricity. I keep my car’s gas tank at least half-full, always. We talk about preparedness, for the whole family.”
Kevin Redman took the course to “be valuable to the community,” he said. Redman owns Redman’s Car Care on Monterey Road, but until he joined CERT, “I wasn’t in the community except in a business way.
“It’s a good heads-up,” Redman added. “Any citizen would be well-advised to take this course.”
The fire department has yet to set dates for this spring’s course, but registration is open, said Jennifer Ponce, a GFD public educator. Firefighters hope to run two classes each year, building a crew of savvy graduates.
“I’m a world-class procrastinator,” said Macsuga, “but Hurricane Katrina got my attention … Some say, ‘Oh, what are the odds?’ But do you want to take that chance?”
