By Lauren McSherry

Los Altos Police Officer Rod Sayre spoke to Kiwanis Club members recently about self-preparedness during long-term emergencies.

The question of a major earthquake in the Bay Area is not if, but when, officers of the Los Altos Police Department told the Kiwanis Club March 22.

Officers are concerned that when an earthquake strikes, not enough residents in Los Altos will have the skills to offer basic first aid, assess damage, suppress or avert fires and organize neighborhoods.

The problem of providing disaster relief is compounded in Los Altos, which does not have its own fire department, they said. Only four police officers and a handful of first responders would be immediately available were a disaster to occur.

In fact, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills are two of eight cities in Santa Clara County to contract with the Santa Clara County Fire Department for emergency response.

If an earthquake occurs, “when are you going to get help? It could be quite a while,” said Los Altos Police Officer Rod Sayre said.

You can expect an earthquake every 30 years, said Bob Lacey, acting police chief. “It’s been 16 years, folks. We’re running close,” he added, referring to the 1989 Loma Prieta quake.

Lacey and Sayre encourage residents to take the department’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course. The course is also open to Los Altos Hills residents.

Los Altos is only one of two cities on the Peninsula where a police department, not a fire department, runs the CERT program. Belmont is the other.

About 10 Hills residents have attended the course so far, said Steve Garcia, the city’s public safety officer, who encourages more residents to sign up.

Those who receive training are sworn in by the city as disaster service workers, he said.

Since 2002, when the program was launched, 112 Los Altos residents have been trained. The youngest trainee is 10, the oldest 84.

But that’s not enough. The city’s weakest areas - those lacking enough CERT volunteers - include the downtown and Loyola Corners business communities, northwest Los Altos and central Los Altos along El Camino Real, Sayre said. All community members - residents, business owners and employees - in those areas should sign up for training.

“Our problem is we have too few of these people,” he said.

Two CERT training courses are held each year, and the department would schedule more, Lacey said. But not enough people have shown interest or signed up.

The course offers training in first aid, proper storage of necessary supplies and communications. Residents can then use these skills to help others in their neighborhood in an emergency.

The 20-hour course, held over four weeks, costs $90, which covers supplies such as a helmet, gloves and a surgical mask. It includes an all-day Saturday drill at the city’s corporation yard. The course is taught by Sayre and Special Agent John Korges.

For more information, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills residents can call the Los Altos Police Department at 947-2770.