The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph courtesy of San Jose Prepared

Damage Control: Members of San Jose Prepared find a 'disaster victim' in San Jose State University's Scheller House during an Aug. 1 crisis drill.

Sisters help get San Jose Prepared for emergencies

Volunteers train with SJSU team in emergency drill

By Mary Spicuzza

When longtime Willow Glen resident Rosemary Lazetera strolls through the community these days, she has a different take on its neighborhoods than she did even a year ago.

She may just be window-shopping or taking an evening walk, but all the while Lazetera is busily building a mental list of ways to prepare the community in the event of an emergency.

Rosemary Lazetera and her sister, Carol, are both members of San Jose Prepared, a 3-1/2-year-old emergency awareness group. Both women participated in an Aug. 1 crisis drill hosted by San Jose State University's Emergency Response Training program.

"It was wonderful. Some people practiced breaking down jammed doors with battering rams," the otherwise reserved Lazetera says gleefully. "We practiced checking for gas leaks and rescued victims [played by real people as well as dummies]. Our team worked with the college's, and we learned so much from one another."

Her sister Carol says that "the real smoke, live people playing victims with brains showing and bones sticking out of their arms" added a new touch of reality to her San Jose Prepared training.

Rosemary Lazetera, who has lived in Willow Glen since she was 2 years old, completed a four-week training program with San Jose Prepared last fall. She became intrigued after her sister took the course, and decided others in the family should also be ready for anything.

"We learn how to deal with hazardous chemical sites, search and rescue of victims and treating the wounded," she says. "You never know--you might be the only person in an emergency who knows what to do."

San Jose Prepared coordinator Angela Bowen joined San Jose Prepared three years ago after volunteer work with the Red Cross led her to the group. She says the Willow Glen community has not been especially responsive to getting involved as of yet.

"Many people hear about the group and associate us only with earthquakes," Bowen says. "But," she adds confidently, "We'll get 'em."

Each $10 class, usually held on Saturdays, focuses on different aspects of emergency preparedness--and tips for dealing with everyday hassles and inconveniences. Training programs also feature tours of NASA facilities and the San Jose Police Department and workshops about radio communication.

Bowen proudly says that the most recent drill was the most realistic training San Jose Prepared has experienced.

"We couldn't have done the training without San Jose State's group. There were 27 from our group and nine from theirs," Bowen boasts. She adds that the event included 12 live "victims" and numerous dummies.

All talk of battering rams and broken bones aside, as Rosemary Lazetera discusses the group, it becomes apparent that involvement in San Jose Prepared has shifted her outlook on everyday life.

"We keep adding to our emergency kits," Lazetera says. "I keep another emergency kit at work, and one for the car."

Her kits include snacks, water, first-aid kits, flashlights, gloves, goggles, a wrench, chalk--for marking houses in need of help--and petty cash in case ATMs shut down and she needs to buy supplies. Then there's the hard hat Lazetera received when she finished her training, altogether making her one of the best people in Willow Glen to know in an emergency situation.

Bowen's main message for the public is that emergency preparedness is for more than just natural disasters. She mentions that when her car broke down last week, her emergency kit made the highway wait a much more pleasant experience.

The Lazetera sisters and Bowen all say that emergency preparedness is all about teamwork. And Lazetera's vision for Willow Glen features more people becoming involved in San Jose Prepared.

"I'd like to see Willow Glen get more organized and coordinate programs with groups like the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association," Rosemary says. She says that other communities are extremely organized, having trained representatives living in each different neighborhood.

Lazetera says preparedness can be as simple as having a set of three flags--green, yellow, and red--to place in the window of a home after an emergency. The flags are used to indicate if inhabitants need help, or if trained professionals can quickly move on to assist others.

Simple things, but Rosemary explains little things volunteers do make an enormous difference in using the time of trained professionals.

No one likes to think about facing life-threatening emergencies, but Carol Lazetera explains, "You don't know for sure what you'd do in an emergency, but San Jose Prepared can train you to help someone if they need it. And in the back of your mind, that training always stays with you."

San Jose Prepared is currently looking for new members to participate in its fall training schedule, beginning Sept. 26. For more information call 277-4598.

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