Burlingame hosts largest drill ever

More than 400 Burlingame residents participated in the Citywide Emergency Drill, which was conducted on Saturday, October 13, on 23 neighborhood blocks throughout Burlingame. They learned how to self-organize and support one another during a disaster, and how to send requests for help and receive official notifications via a volunteer Ham radio network

The drill was featured on NBC Bay Area here.

Organized by the Burlingame Neighborhood Network (BNN), the drill was supported by Burlingame CERTs, local Ham radio operators stationed at local elementary schools and the Emergency Operations Center. The exercise was also supported by the Central County Fire Department and Burlingame Police Department, whose teams visited all sites. During the drill, participants searched for “incident tags” staked on neighbors’ lawns describing emergencies, and practiced reporting and responding to the various incidents.

BNN Chair Holly Daley said about 100 more residents participated than last year at nearly twice as many locations. She said, “With the recent hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires, our neighbors want to know how we can best help each other in the immediate aftermath following an emergency. This annual drill allows us to practice and apply a basic framework to help neighbors organize their response efforts and access communications options.”