Our experiences in life play a vital role in who we are today.

As a southern California resident earthquakes and fire play a big role in how I think and plan.

Shortly after the 2003 “Old Fire” in the San Bernardino mountains, I was easily recruited to volunteer with the San Bernardino County Fire Departments ECS service, specifically the ARES unit. Chief Dennen jokingly referred to us as his paratroopers. Until the fall of 2018 my wife and I volunteered with ARES on various wild fires, mudslides, annual community events, and also a couple explosive threats. We have also volunteered in communication support for the sheriffs departments “Baker to Vegas” team. More than half of the events and emergencies we have been called to were here in Highland or directly impacted the Highland community.

Our emergency management training and certifications included:

• Federal Emergency Management Administration
  • IS100 – Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • ICS – 300 Unified Command
  • ICS – 400 Area Command
  • IS700.a – NIMS, An Introduction
  • IS800.b – National Response Framework
  • IS802 -ESF Communications
  • IS804 -ESF Firefighting
  • IS808 -ESF Public Health and Medical Services
  • IRTB – Incident Response to terrorist bombings
• San Bernardino County Fire Department
  • Hazardous Materials Response – FRA
  • S-190 / S-130 Wildland Fire Behavior
  • High volume Traffic control and Safety

My emergency preparedness training includes:

• Stop the Bleed
• First Aid / CPR / AED
• Administering field injections, Epinephrine / Glucogon
• Active shooter planning and response
• And various other firearms instruction certifications…