Early fire danger raises concerns
Juana Diego
Staff Writer
Ben Young / Photo Editor
Typically, fire season hits Malibu in October and November. This year, fire fighters have seen an early hit, with fires breaking out locally over the past couple of weeks.
Robert McKelvy, deputy director of the Department of Public Safety and deputy chief of the Pepperdine Fire Department, said Pepperdine might be due for a year of big fires.
“It has been nine years since our last major fire campaign, which means that there is much heavier fuel in our area, which causes more destruction,” McKelvy said.
Andre Mayis, a volunteer for the Pepperdine Fire Department, said he remembers that the last major fire was in 1996. Mayis said rumors that this year may be the worst fire season ever have been circulating throughout the area, but that no one can be sure.
“Every year is always the worst to everybody,” Mayis said.
Director of Housing Jim Brock also acknowledged the concerns.
“I don’t think this may be the worst year, but due to dry conditions, there is a concern that it could be a difficult year,” Brock said. “This has been true for the last couple of years.”
Another Pep Fire Dept. volunteer, Sean Caples, said that the dryness is the perfect condition for wildfires. “Everything is dry and needs to burn,” he said.
Mayis said the conditions needed to ignite a fire are low humidity, heat and strong winds.
“In conditions like this, things are unpredictable,” Mayis said.
The Santa Ana winds contributed to the nearby fires last year. With the strong winds, flames were carried quickly, making it harder to extinguish them.
Students and many others were scared of the unexpected last year. There were two small fires in Malibu and larger flames in Simi Valley, which had ashes flying over the campus.
Actions are being taken by University members to help keep the campus and its surrounding neighbors safe. The University has an Emergency Response Team and the office of Housing and Community Living has a program called the Residential Emergency Response Team.
“We are starting the process now of getting volunteers for this year’s RERT,” Brock said. “We ask faculty, staff and students to volunteer to be a part of the team. Our main priority is communicating to residents during any emergency, not just fires.
“We go out in to the community to inform residents what is happening and what precautions need to be taken,” he added.
Also, DPS plays a part in doing annual emergency response training and campus-wide evacuation drills. Others who help out when the Emergency Operation Center is activated are the departments of Risk Management, Facilities Management and Planning, Public Relations and Mark Davis, dean of Student Affairs.
“I would say the main responsibility is to take seriously any situation that is happening in the area and to follow instructions given to them by RERT members,” Brock said.
McKelvy agreed.
During an emergency do not vary from the instruction given by emergency personnel, he said.
“If you are asked to stay on campus by DPS, leaving may put unnecessary traffic on congested roadways possibly delaying emergency responders and placing your own life at risk during a brush fire,” McKelvy continued.
Reading the University Disaster Awareness informational booklet is sent out to the campus’ boxes and being aware of the potential problems that come in association with living in this region are both good ways to prepare for a fire, DPS officials said.
In case of a fire emergency or any other emergency, students are advised to dial the DPS emergency ext. 4441.
“When in doubt, call our department to report an incident,” said McKelvy. “Many times, your first instinct is the right one — call for help immediately.”
Brock said he wanted to emphasize that their No. 1 priority is looking out for the safety of students.
“We want our students to know that we will do whatever we can to make sure that they are safe during an emergency ,” Brock said.
“Through Pepperdine’s history of dealing with emergencies we have been fortunate that we haven’t had any major damage or any injury, but each time we have learned something. The university is very prepared and we want students to know that.”
09-30-2004