Friday, September 13, 2019

Redwood City Hosts First Responders

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Redwood City – an official FEMA-designated Federal Staging Area (FSA) for the South San Francisco Bay area – recently hosted more than 75 regional first responders for an annual emergency drill. The four-hour exercise – which simulated a post-7.9 magnitude earthquake scenario – tested the response of regional fire departments, Redwood City Police Department and city staff, as well as FEMA Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 3.

“Emergency drills like this are conducted annually to keep first responders ready and allow them to continuously learn new ways to better collaborate on recovery efforts,” said Ted Born, operational planner for FEMA Region 9 who attended the exercise as an observer.

“Last year’s exercise was influential in initiating development of the Bay Area Port Recovery Plan, post-earthquake,” said Born. “As the only deep-water port in the south Bay Area, (the Port of Redwood City) is a strategic location for the delivery of emergency provisions along the San Andreas Fault and a key part of the Bay Area’s earthquake recovery plans.”