If disaster ever descends on Dillon Beach, residents and visitors will have food for several days—dehydrated packets of pasta marinara, pinto bean stew, vegetarian chili—that Ted Melden, operations manager of the Dillon Beach Emergency Response Team, calls “a five-star restaurant without the five stars.”
The team, founded 11 years ago by a handful of residents concerned about the community’s vulnerability in a natural disaster, has a veritable treasure trove of emergency equipment: first-aid kits, pry bars, hammers, office supplies, tents, lanterns, stretchers, batteries and blankets. These items stock each of six sheds scattered across the beachside town.
“[The founders] realized we need to do something, because we have a two-lane road,” Mr. Melden said. “We are an isolated community: if an earthquake happens and that road goes out, we’re by ourselves. We’re not going to get fire services, police, medical assistance for a long time.”
Of the organization’s close to 60 members, most live in Dillon Beach part-time. Its 11 managers, including Mr. Melden, are all Community Emergency Response Team-certified. The main requirements for becoming a manager, Mr. Melden said, are “do you have a pulse” and being “willing to commit the time.” He said getting volunteers is difficult, especially in an isolated community.
Mr. Melden came on board two and a half years ago, after he moved to Dillon Beach from Modesto. As a former firefighter, sheriff and highway patrol sergeant, he was tapped as a successor by the organization’s outgoing operations manager.
The managers meet once a month to discuss preparedness scenarios and go through radio communication training. The team holds community-wide drills twice a year, when participants go through search and rescue scenarios, complete with live victims in full-injury makeup.
If an emergency occurs—Mr. Melden said earthquakes are the community’s top priority—DBERT could either be activated by the fire department or self-activate in a large event. Members could form search-and-rescue teams, do quick neighborhood scans and open up the sheds.
Though the team has never been activated for a disaster, members helped out last October when Dillon Beach was inundated with people seeking shelter during the Santa Rosa fires.
“One of the reasons they’re so important is it’s so isolated out there: there are not a lot of ways in and out of Dillon Beach, so having a volunteer group basically taking care of themselves in the event of a disaster is a huge help,” said Chris Reilly, an emergency services manager with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office. “Before resources can get out there and help people, [DBERT] bridges the gap.”
The town’s variable population is one of the team’s logistical challenges: Mr. Melden estimates that while the community’s population is 300 to 400 people on a given day, on a holiday weekend it can shoot up to 5,000.
“This is a tourist town, and there’s a lot of vacation rentals, campground, resort, the beach,” said Tammy Akers, a DBERT manager. “On a really nice day this place gets really crowded—traffic gets backed up to Tomales sometimes. If something were to happen, these users aren’t prepared for any kind of disaster. That’s a lot of the reason why we’ve gone so far to have so much stuff, equipment and supplies.” To date, DBERT has received roughly $20,000 from the county to build sheds and stock supplies.
Next Saturday, the organization will hold an open house intended to benefit residents and visitors alike. “We’d love to have all the community come out, hopefully raise awareness for some of the renters,” Mr. Melden said.
The open house will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 at Tahiti Way.