Our Core Groups

Block Action Teams (BATs) are the “feet on the street.” These are small neighborhood groups led by a volunteer BAT leader who have come together to work as a team after a disaster. But BATs aren’t just about emergencies, they are about building stronger neighborhoods. This is accomplished by neighborhood get-togethers such as block parties, cookouts and other social events. They also hold neighborhood preparedness meetings where they exchange ideas such as building an emergency go-kit, developing a family plan and much more. Starting a BAT is easy: your neighborhood would need to come together with someone as the main focal point (called the BAT Leader). For more information, see the page at www.losaltosbat.org. It’s easy to get your BAT started.

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) are residents who have taken the next step in preparedness. The volunteers have taken training that educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. In Los Altos, CERT members will help their local BATs in performing damage assessments, performing light search and rescue as well as providing basic first aid. CERT training is available throughout the year at little or no cost to the participant. For more information see www.losaltoscert.org

Ham radio operators are licensed individuals who can provide communications services when other services such as telephone and text are unavailable. In Los Altos, hams help by transmitting neighborhood damage reports to the city so the city can effectively allocate their scarce resources (police, fire, medical). Hams also provide a communications path from the city to residents for local updates. Obtaining a ham license is easy to do. For more information refer to www.laares.org.