That 6.5 earthquake you won't feel Saturday morning is a test. When the Community Alert Notification System (CANS) siren at the corner of East Second and Rose goes off Saturday morning, that will be part of the test. And when you see people in green vests and green hard hats walking around Water's End, it will part of the same test.
Benicia will be conducting on Aug. 20, with numerous agencies will be participating. Since it will involve two map quadrants where BERT has very few members, the will use the CANS with siren and announcements on 1610 AM and Channel 27 to call for B.E.R.T. team members from all over the city to report to Skillman Park and support the Water’s End B.E.R.T. members in responding to the events.
The drill will be centered in the Waters End neighborhood near Rose and McAllister Drives, with coordination and staging at Skillman Park. The Red Cross will set an evacuation center at Matthew Turner School. BERT members will search for trapped or injured residents and evacuate the injured and assess quake damage in the mock event.
members are citizen volunteers who receive training in survival skills most commonly used in a disaster. The goal of the team is to educate citizens about major disaster preparedness. Using the training, BERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available.
BERT classes are usually held three or four times a year between September and May. Information about classes can be found here.
