The year 2005 brought devastation to many people. Luckily, in Fremont, we've so far escaped unscathed from Mother Nature's calamities. Fremont Chamber of Commerce members, however, have turned their thoughts to what could happen if disaster strikes - earthquake, tsunami, terrorist attack or large industrial accident.

Chamber Board member DeeDee Footer has taken the lead on this latest effort to prepare and educate our community about dealing with disaster. I spoke with DeeDee in October and heard about her frustration and difficulties. "The City doesn't have anything for businesses," she explained about the SDART (Seattle Disaster Aid & Response Teams) efforts to create a disaster management plan. DeeDee has spoken with other community leaders and been advised that whatever plans do get made, not to count on the City to rescue, or provide services like electricity or communications, in the immediate aftermath.

Interestingly enough the SDART plan so far says the same thing. They've built it on the premise that "regular emergency services will be unable to respond to most calls during the first 72 hours following a major disaster," according to their web site. Their "overall purpose is to enable Seattle neighborhoods to be self-sufficient".

Get Ready

DeeDee signed up for courses, provided by the American Red Cross and SDART, to teach her skills beyond those of the CPR/First Aid that businesses often already learn. Eventually she hopes to help businesses organize systems to get us through whatever catastrophe should befall.

The American Red Cross provides information about workplace disaster planning. According to their website, as much as 40 percent of small businesses do not reopen after major disasters such as floods, tornados and earthquakes. Considering the predominance of small businesses in Fremont, nearly half of our business district could close if we don't prepare.

The Red Cross website provides a Workplace Disaster Supplies Kit list, as well as the admonition that "no business should risk operating without a disaster plan." They recommend consideration of human resources, physical resources and business continuity when evaluating your plan. How can you do business if the area around your location is closed or streets are impassable? How can you serve customers if your location is suddenly closed? How will customers reach you should the phones at your location go down? How will employees reach you should a disaster occur?

Get Set

Any disaster preparation includes construction of an emergency supplies kit but on a business level, the scenario changes. Private homes often have food and water available in pantries, refrigerators and water heaters. Many small businesses don't routinely stock provisions. What happens if you or employees get trapped in your location for hours due to a situation outside your doors - a bad car accident, storm or fire?

If nothing else, the recent tragedies point to the necessity of good insurance. All businesses, and tenants, should have insurance - and know the limitations of their coverage. Many survivors of hurricanes in the Southeast U.S. were unaware that their mortgage continued after their building ceased to exist.

It is through careful thought and consideration of the problems faced by others that we can learn how to deal with tragedy here. The Northridge earthquake near Los Angeles, California January 17, 1994 spurred then FCC Board Member Charles Hadrann to action. He took the lessons learned there to heart and arranged educational meetings about how to secure buildings and contents during an earthquake. He also talked, for the first time that we'd heard, about the likelihood of business owners - who often spend more hours per day at work than in their homes - to be at work when a disaster strikes.

By the time Charles circulated informational packets on emergency supply kits, the Kobe earthquake struck Japan, on January 17, 1995. Charles' preparation proved prophetic - the Nisqually earthquake hit Seattle on the morning of Wednesday, February 28, 2001.

And Go?

Unfortunately, people often need to experience rookie mistakes before they take action and start thinking. During the Inaugural blast, a serious windstorm here in January 1993, I lost power in my building. I stayed open until dusk fell but when I started closing I found I'd grossly miscalculated. I had no flashlight or candle in my bookstore. I became intimately familiar with every surface as I hunted by feel for keys, phone and door locks in utter darkness.

"The consummate challenge for disaster educators is to motivate their audience beyond awareness to action," according to SDART. For a few years around 1995, Charles managed to get us all whipped into shape to face the challenges. "The ultimate success depends upon the neighborhood's own leadership and collective support in preparing for disasters." Hopefully we can rally behind DeeDee now and become pro-active participants in the future success of our neighborhood - no matter what may befall.

November 2005