But at the kickoff of the first-ever Community Emergency Response Team program for Los Gatos and Monte Sereno on July 15, three generations of the Chiala family were able to participate.

Chiala joined the CERT program to better arm herself, her family and her neighbors with the skills to respond to an emergency.

"I'm scared and excited," Chiala said. "I'm thinking, 'Am I qualified to do this?' "

Her grandson, an Explorer Scout with the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department, has aspirations of becoming a police officer, and she said he jumped at the chance to participate with Chiala and his aunt, Jackie Rose, the town's deputy clerk. Chiala added that it's a "double bonus" to be participating with her family while gaining more self-confidence about how to respond to a range of situations, whether it be turning off the utilities properly or knowing what to do if a chemical were to spill on the highway.

"The more people know, the less they panic, and the more in control they can be," Chiala said.

The program will be held on Tuesdays over the next four weeks, including 20 hours of training and hands-on instruction about topics such as disaster preparedness, basic medical aid, light search and rescue and putting out small fires.

The program is being led by 11 instructors and six administrative support staff members, who are all volunteering their time and experience to the CERT program. They come from backgrounds as firefighters, search and rescue team members, emergency medical technicians, American Red Cross instructors and Disaster Aid Response Team members.

The program will culminate with a graduation ceremony on Aug. 16 at De Anza College after the 33 local participants complete a disaster simulation exercise where they put into practice all that they have learned. CERT teams from Campbell, Cupertino, Saratoga and Los Gatos will all graduate the same day, said Sgt. Kerry Harris, public information officer with the Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department.

A second session of the program will begin Sept. 2 for those who didn't enroll in the first session, and a total of four sessions are planned for the year. Harris said he hopes to have between 35 and 40 participants in the sessions, and anyone over age 16 can enroll.

Harris said the CERT program was started in 1985 in Los Angeles in order to give volunteers the skills necessary to assist emergency service personnel during natural disasters such as earthquakes. The program is now available to communities nationwide, with more than 65 CERT courses offered in California. The program is federally supported, but not funded, through the Department of Homeland Security's hazard mitigation organization—the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration.

"Most of us assume that in the event of a disaster, people will be able to call 911 and emergency services will arrive," Harris said. "But in the event of a serious emergency, calling 911 may not work. Roadways may be impassible, and cell circuits may be overloaded. People in the neighborhoods will have to be able to step up and take care of themselves."

Harris added that the CERT program creates unity and identity within a neighborhood, changing the perspective of people who may not normally interact with those who live next door.

"We think this is the beginning of a long tradition of growing community involvement in the town of Los Gatos," said Bill Mercer, a CERT coordinator and longtime volunteer and manager of the town's emergency operations center.

During his opening remarks to CERT participants at the kickoff, Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Chief Scott Seaman told the group that while there was a lot to learn by the end of the course they would see themselves as heroes.

"Every three, four, seven years something big happens in a community. We don't know what it's going to be ... but you're going to be our first link," Seaman said.

Gail Boroi, a 34-year resident of the Belgatos neighborhood, said she's participating in the CERT program to gain a better awareness of those around her in the community.

"I've always been interested in having an earthquake kit, but this is the capper. This is the hands-on," she said.

Florence Shuster, a CERT participant and Los Gatos resident, said the program has good intentions in training community members to respond to an emergency, but without a communications link from participants to emergency personnel there's still a "hole in the doughnut." She said communication lines are currently only set up in Los Gatos for police, fire and emergency personnel, not the average person.

Harris said not all CERT programs have a direct communications link from community members to emergency personnel at their respective civic centers. But he said it's the police department's plan in the long term to develop that link in the community so CERT participants can provide emergency personnel with disaster assessment should the need to do so arise.

Eventually, Harris said, he'd like to have all the neighborhoods in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno participating in the program. Harris said there is already one neighborhood that has taken the initiative in getting involved. A handful of CERT participants this session are from the Belgatos neighborhood, and he said this would be a logical place to put a communications link such as lockboxes containing walkie talkies.

"There's no money budgeted through the town budget or grant money with which to purchase communications equipment to effect that plan," Harris said.

Donations can be made to the program by contacting Capt. Duino Giordano at 408.354.6845. For more information about CERT or to enroll in the next session, call the CERT hotline at 408.399.5722 or email CERT@town.los-gatos.ca.us.