After flooding in 1982 cut Inverness off from the rest of the county, Marj Stone led an effort to create a disaster council for the village: a network of volunteers who foster relationships with their neighbors and are ready to act in the event of an emergency. Over the years, the Inverness Disaster Council—like its sister council in Point Reyes Station—has helped in times of need, keeping people away from a downed power line or helping to evacuate residents during the heavy rains of 2005. Over the last decade, however, the council has lacked a lead coordinator, and membership has dwindled. Now Jairemarie Pomo, a digital strategist from Inverness, is injecting life into the group. She’s hoping to recruit 15 neighborhood liaisons who, with the existing 18 liaisons, will help ensure that every person is accounted for in the case of an earthquake, a fire or a tsunami. These volunteers act as the eyes and ears for the fire department during a disaster, checking in with every neighbor and relaying information by radio to one of three area coordinators split between Seahaven and First and Second Valleys who, in turn, communicate with the Inverness Volunteer Fire Department. Ms. Pomo hopes to have a liaison for every street, avenue and cranny in Inverness. “It’s so important to have neighborhood liaisons because they’re the first response if the fire department can’t respond. They’re the boots on the ground,” she said. Neighborhood liaisons go door to door or sponsor meetings to get to know their neighbors and fill out confidential household information sheets for each individual residence. This allows them to learn how many people live there, where the utility shutoffs are located, whether there are pets or whether it’s an Airbnb or short-term rental. Ms. Romo is presenting free American Red Cross trainings on shelter fundamentals and management next Tuesday and Wednesday at St. Columba’s Church, which the Inverness council has reactivated as the area’s designated Red Cross Center. (Among other updated inventory are 50 new cots.) The training is not a prerequisite for liaisons. Jim Fox, the fire chief for the Inverness Volunteer Fire Department who has been involved with the disaster council since its formation, said it was natural for it to be dormant for a time. “Disaster councils will wax and wane depending on the people involved and if there was a disaster recently,” he said. To learn more about the Inverness Disaster Council, visit the Inverness Public Utility District’s website, invernesspud.org. To sign up for the American Red Cross shelter training, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30, email Ms. Pomo at [email protected] or call (415) 215.9992. Participants in the shelter training may also take part in a shelter management workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 31.