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18 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | May 2016 | May's Tip: Interested in being better prepared for in home or community-wide emergencies? There are several resources available to you here in Four Seasons. They are Neighborhood Watch, Street Captains, C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team), and the EPC (Emergency Preparedness Committee). While not officially sponsored by the HOA, all residents should be involved in Neighborhood Watch. This is a totally voluntary organization. This would require only as much, or as little, effort on your part as you are willing to invest. There are no minimums of time, experience or training involved. And, recognizing that this is a senior community there are no real physical requirements--just a willingness to do what you can do, which is--observe and report. "If you see something, say something!" When you do, call both security roving patrol (951) 202-4603 and the Hemet Police Department (951) 765-2400. Some of you may be willing to take a slightly more active role by becoming a neighborhood watch street captain. As such you help our community by getting to know your neighbors and any of their special needs, and encouraging them to become better prepared and informed about safety in their household, and knowing their fellow neighbors. We have Street Captains that can help you learn more about Neighborhood Watch and its Street Captains program. Our C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) program is primarily responsible for responding to major community emergencies such as wild fires, severe weather phenomenon, earthquakes, chemical spills/fumes, aircraft crashes, and possible terrorist attacks. This might involve information gathering, responding to first aid needs, fire suppression, Search and Rescue, and evacuation efforts. The important aspect of this is this assistance might be all that is available until civil resources are available and may involve hours, days, or even weeks! Neighborhood Watch (including Street Captains) and C.E.R.T. are separate and distinct — yet share a common goal, which is: To promote safety for our residents. The clearest analogy is to compare them to the two community services they reflect (and are typically supported by), namely the police and fire departments. The police are primarily responsible for public security and safety (Neighborhood Watch). Firefighters and EMTs are primarily responsible for responding to emergencies and safety C.E.R.T.). The common service they share is safety (and disseminating information related to this) and supporting a sense of community. When a major emergency event occurs, Street Captains can augment and assist our CERT response. The EPC (Emergency Preparedness Committee) is sponsored by the HOA and provides development and direction to our emergency response plans and activities. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend meetings held at the Lodge on the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30 pm. We have presentations and training by Woody Lane, Sharon Schneider, Bud Piraino, Bob Hagen and Larry and Sharyn Hawkins. Emergency Preparedness Committee

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