The City of Goleta is now offering a one-hour disaster preparedness course to residents, community groups, and businesses.
Talking about and preparing for disaster — whether it's fire, flood, or other emergency — is not exactly pleasant. But it’s extremely important, according to Goleta’s Emergency Services Coordinator Michael Baris.
“Disaster preparedness – it’s a scary thought and my whole job is to make that approachable,” Baris said.
This area has unique threats as experienced in the Thomas fire and debris flow, as well as the more recent Alisal Fire.
To help residents prepare, the City now offers a one-hour disaster preparedness course free of charge. Baris brings the course to the Goleta community. He said he’s already been to retirement communities and a mobile home park. The course, he said, covers the basics and gets the conversation started.
“How does a notification system work, what do you need to think about, have you considered pets and family and documents,” he said.
Baris said making an evacuation plan with family members and having a go-bag ready before a disaster happens, can save time and reduce confusion. He says a go-bag should include essentials to get you through the first 72 hours of a disaster.
“It is a bag that is ready to go – a backpack, something to throw old clothes into, water, some protein bars, contact information, potentially medications that you know you might need,” he said.
Baris said signing up to receive emergency notifications is something everyone should do as an easy first step.
The community disaster education course is available to groups of ten or more and is arranged using a request form on the City of Goleta website. The course will soon be offered in Spanish, too.