Newport Fire Department holds emergency preparedness drills - Los Angeles Times
Advertisement

Newport Fire Department holds emergency preparedness drills

Gail Reisman, right, leads a group of Community Emergency Response Team volunteers at a command post on Lido Island during Newport Beach Fire Department's second annual neighborhood emergency preparedness drills on Saturday, April 25. The drill will simulate a 7.2 earthquake on the Newport-Inglewood fault.
Gail Reisman, right, leads a group of Community Emergency Response Team volunteers at a command post on Lido Island during Newport Beach Fire Department’s second annual neighborhood emergency preparedness drills on Saturday, April 25. The drill will simulate a 7.2 earthquake on the Newport-Inglewood fault.
(SCOTT SMELTZER / Daily Pilot)
Share via

What would a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on the Newport-Inglewood fault be like in Newport Beach, and how would residents respond?

The city Fire Department set out to get an idea on Saturday morning when it held its second annual neighborhood emergency preparedness drills.

Community Emergency Response Team volunteers in 13 neighborhoods set up command posts and responded to simulated disaster incidents. The drills tested radio communications within each neighborhood and at the Emergency Operations Center at City Hall, plus the use of Twitter to relay information.

Advertisement

The CERT program trains and certifies residents to help themselves and others in case of a disaster. Newport Beach holds six CERT classes each year, three in the spring and three in the fall. It has certified more than 1,100 residents.

—Rob Vardon
Advertisement