Disaster Preparedness

The Inverness Foundation is working with the Inverness Disaster Council, the Volunteer Inverness Fire Department and other agencies and community members to improve Inverness' ability to respond to earthquakes, fires, and other natural disasters.

1. Tomales Bay State Park Forest Inventory (PDF download)
2. An Introduction to the Inverness Disaster Council 
3. The Inverness Disaster Council is Here to Help
4. Inverness Neighborhood Liaisons Map and Contact List! (Updates underway!)
5. A List of Fire Safe Plants
6. The 2018 Wildfire Preparedness Symposium Audio Recording (available from KWMR). 
7. Links to Helpful Websites 
8. Preparing for Wildfire powerpoint presentation (download)

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Inverness Disaster Council

The Inverness Disaster Council was created in response to the 1982 floods and mudslides which ruined property and damaged lives. The 1995 Mt. Vision Fire on the Inverness Ridge, which destroyed 45 homes, and the 2005-2006 winter storms are part of the recent history of area emergencies.

The IDC is organized under and takes direction from the Inverness Volunteer Fire and Marin County Fire Departments. The Disaster Council’s volunteers promote disaster preparedness through communication and education so that community members are trained and organized to assist the local First Responders.

Out here, away from the urban parts of Marin County, we’re both self-reliant and more dependent on each other for our safety. While we have a Sheriff’s substation in Point Reyes Station, health care centers, and three close firehouses (Point Reyes Station, Tomales, and Inverness), community members work together for everyone’s welfare. We know that many county services might take a while to get here in a regional disaster.

Communications are vital. During an emergency, neighborhood liaisons are the immediate “eyes and ears” to alert First Responders to changing conditions (e.g., neighbor or house in trouble, downed trees, power lines, flooding, etc.). They convey essential information via a two-way radio network within our neighborhoods to help the professionals prioritize their response. We encourage residents to volunteer for this community role. You’ll receive training and practice. No special expertise is required. The IDC two-way radio system was created and implemented by Richard Dillman of KWMR (90.5 in PRS, 89.9 Bolinas, and 92.3 Valley), who continues its development in other communities throughout West Marin.

The Inverness Disaster Council asks you to join us by getting in contact with your Neighborhood Liaison whether you live here full- or part-time. Whether or not you volunteer, let your Liaison know where you live. Your safety may depend on it. All information stays within the IDC.

We also would like you to consider assisting with any of the Specialist teams. Bilingual English-Spanish volunteers also are very welcome.

And we suggest you sign up for a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training, which is taught by firefighting personnel.

Please contact either:
Connie Morse or Sally Fairfax/ Interim Inverness Disaster Council Coordinators or
Volunteer Fire Dept. Chief Jim Fox at 415/669-7151, jim.fox@invernesspud.org

Thank you very much for taking the time to “help us help you” and your neighbors.

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The Inverness Disaster Council is Here to Help

A Letter from Jairemarie Pomo, Previous Coordinator, Inverness Disaster Council

In 1982, after catastrophic floods destroyed many homes and businesses in Inverness, a small group of Inverness residents, lead by Marj Stone and directed by the Inverness Volunteer Fire Department, formed the Inverness Disaster Council (IDC). This network of volunteers is organized to respond to a disaster by checking on neighbors, radioing status updates, staffing our local shelter, and providing on-the-ground information to our first responders. The IDC is led by a coordinator who works under the direction of the fire department and IPUD. I am the current IDC Coordinator.

The eyes and ears, the shoes on the ground, the essential volunteers, are called Neighborhood Liaisons. They go door-to-door in their neighborhoods, gathering basic and confidential information about their neighbors and holding neighborhood meetings to talk about fire safety and disaster preparedness. The IDC’s Jairemarie Pomo and Jim Fox, Inverness Volunteer Fire Department chief, are available to attend the neighborhood meetings and provide support to the liaisons and community members. Inverness has 35 distinct neighborhoods, but only 19 currently have Neighborhood Liaisons. We need volunteers in the other 16 neighborhoods.  If you’re interested in this very important volunteer position with a minimal time commitment, please contact me. 

The IDC uses a network of radios to communicate with each other and the fire department, as well as with its own radio headquarters in Point Reyes. This radio network is vital to our communication efforts since a disaster could result in the loss of telephone, mobile, or internet services.

Once a month, the Neighborhood Liaisons have radio drills to keep everyone sharp and on their toes. IDC also works closely with the Point Reyes Disaster Council so that communications to volunteers and the communities of Inverness and Point Reyes get consistent information. This summer, the two disaster councils will have a shared booth at the Point Reyes Farmers Market to educate the community about disaster preparedness and volunteering. Please contact me if you would like to help out at the booth.

Being prepared with supplies following a disaster is just as important as knowing your neighbors. Supply lists and other preparedness information are found at readymarin.org. If all you can manage now is a “grab-and-go” bag, then make that a priority while you plan for longer-term food and water supplies. The Ready Marin site also has information about CERT training (Community Emergency Response Team).  CERT training includes fire suppression, light urban search and rescue, basic first aid, and other post-disaster skills. The course is taught throughout Marin over two consecutive Saturdays. The cost is $50 with scholarships available. Sign up online or call Maggie Lang, Marin County CERT Coordinator at (415) 961-0907.

Being prepared eases the worry of an impending disaster. Thankfully, the Inverness Disaster Council and our network of volunteers are here to help you get ready and stay connected. Want to volunteer or find out who your Neighborhood Liaison is? Contact me at:  (415) 215-9992 or jairemarie@ gmail.com.

— Jairemarie Pomo, Coordinator, Inverness Disaster Council

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Marin Wildfire Symposium
Recorded March 11, 2018 at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station.  

The edited audio is available courtesy of KWMR and can be accessed via the KWMR archives: http://kwmr.org/post/7491

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Links to Helpful Websites 
AlertMarin.org - Register phone number(s) to receive emergency notifications
ReadyMarin.org - Templates and trainings for emergency planning 
FIRESafeMARIN.org - Includes information on defensible space

Tune in to KWMR on your FM dial or go to kwmr.org.  KWMR will keep you abreast of vital information during an emergency.
90.5  Pt Reyes
99.9. Bolinas
92.3 The Valley

Keep a battery-operated radio for emergencies & extra batteries!