Home > Areas of Focus > Emergency Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness & Disaster Response

The MSIC is working with local Montclair Organized Neighborhood (MON) groups to promote their participation in the Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies (CORE) program--in order to establish emergency preparedness knowledge and disaster response expertise within the Montclair community. It is currently focusing on being prepared for and responding to:

• Fires
• Earthquakes
• Mudslides
• Other natural or man-made disasters

Cypress overpass in Oakland, CA, after earthquake 1989.

The MSIC’s objectives are to:

• Help neighborhood groups in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides or other disasters in the Montclair area.
• Help neighborhood groups in the Montclair area have as many residents as possible trained at the CORE III level. CORE III personnel are trained for and are expected to participate in neighborhood disaster response and recovery activities in conjunction with Oakland emergency resources, including Oakland's Office of Emergency Services (OES), Oakland Police, Oakland Fire Department, and other authorized agencies.
• Help neighborhood groups build and manage their Neighborhood Incident Command Center (NICC)--a central neighborhood gathering place stocked with emergency and first aid supplies.
• Help with establishing and testing Montclair area emergency communication plans, including using two-way radios and other means of communicating during a disaster. Develop radio communications plans and procedures in conjunction with CORE/OES.
• Organize and promote emergency exercises in the Montclair area in conjunction with annual CORE citywide exercises.
• Provide information related to emergency preparedness and disaster planning, such as guides on home retrofitting, gas shut-off valves, emergency power generation, etc.

A brochure that outlines why and how to organize for emergency preparedness (or any other area of concern) is available. Please feel free to distribute this to your neighbors if you are wanting to organize, or to any other friends or acquaintances in the Montclair area. The more MONs that are created and CORE trained, the more we will all benefit by being prepared and self-sufficient.

Neighborhood CORE Team During an Emergency Exercise

For more information on how you can begin to organize your neighborhood, and how you can better prepare for an emergency, please contact the MSIC Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Team chair. MSIC representatives can come to your neighborhood meetings to present their ideas and tips for success. We are here to help you in any way possible, so that you can be better able to assist yourself and your neighbors in the event of a disaster. It's all about neighbors helping neighbors!