Tucked away in the hills of the Russian River Valley near Cloverdale, CA, the Northern Sonoma County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a shining example of effective use of cleaner energy in disaster response. The team of industrious firefighters stores, maintains, and frequently deploys one of Footprint Project’s solar trailers to emergency sites and shelters.
What makes this site unique is their training program for teaching firefighters how to use the trailer. When the trailer first arrived, only a small handful of firefighters on site were capable of using it. However, it was clear that using the trailer frequently for incidents would require many more trained staff and volunteers. They developed a short, one-hour training to train firefighters on how to hook the trailer up to a truck, tow it, position solar panels, complete pre-check lists, set up lights, and troubleshoot any issues. There are now over 20 first responders fully trained on using the trailer, with more to come.
Geoff Peters, the Program Manager at Northern Sonoma County CERT, emphasizes that it is not difficult to add the maintenance of a solar trailer to the regular routines of the department. “It’s not that much different from maintaining a fire truck,” he said, in that if it’s used daily, it needs to be checked periodically to ensure that it’s working, and requires much of the same mechanical knowledge for maintenance. Although there may be a fair amount of electrical knowledge required for building a generator, when it comes to use of the systems, you don’t need much technical background, he said.
Geoff Peters, Program Manager at Northern Sonoma County CERT
In his experience, Peters has also found that there are many practical benefits in addition to the sustainability of using the solar trailer. Many people don’t realize that when power is down from a fire, flood, or other emergency, most gas stations are out of service. They require power to operate their pumps, and unless they have their own generator, anyone relying on it will be unable to refill their gas or diesel generators.
The trailer has been deployed by Northern Sonoma County CERT many times during fires. Peters reports that when the smoke becomes thick and limits sunlight, the trailers have still been able to recharge themselves sufficiently to continue providing plenty of power. In addition, at shelters where county residents can stay while evacuated and find meals and resources, the light tower attached to the trailer “is like a beacon of light, it directs them where to go … it’s very, very useful under the circumstances.” Many people who come to shelters sleep in their cars outside or come for meals and resources but do not stay overnight. CERT members use the light towers to illuminate the parking lot, making it easier to find the temporary shelters and navigate to the bathrooms and unfamiliar buildings in the dark.
