City cancels disaster prep program sponsorship after volunteer sued

In the aftermath of the Aug. 24 earthquake that rocked Napa, Petaluma residents who seek emergency preparedness training will have to look outside city limits. For four years, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) taught local residents the best practices for preparation, but Petaluma severed ties with the program after a volunteer caused an accident that sparked a seven-figure lawsuit against the city.

“There is a significant amount of liability related to these things,” said City Manager John Brown. “The city has no problem with CERT continuing in town. But the city is not going to step up and provide sponsorship.”

Launched in Petaluma in 2006, CERT was an all-volunteer program created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and adopted by the county that was spearheaded locally by Bill Paxton, a volunteer firefighter with the Rancho Adobe Fire District.

“We told the city, ‘We don’t need your money and we don’t need your people, we’ve got all of that. All we need is your sponsorship,’” Paxton said, adding that in four years, the program trained 150 residents.

FEMA will only certify the class if the program is sponsored by local first responders, so initially the program aligned with the Petaluma Fire Department.

The relationship was mutually beneficial until 2010, when an elderly, longtime volunteer driving home from a CERT class struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk on Petaluma Boulevard, severely injuring the woman. The woman retained a lawyer who learned the driver was carrying city-issued radio equipment that had been used in the CERT class, and thus named the city as a co-defendant in a lawsuit seeking damages after the accident.

“The city had deeper pockets for the lawsuit,” Brown said, explaining that the city’s legal counsel recommended that they settle the case rather than risk a larger judgment and additional attorney’s fees by going to court.

“I know (the settlement) was more than a million dollars, I think it was $1.3 million,” Brown said, adding that the city was responsible for $500,000, while the rest was covered by insurance.

Paxton, who spent 12 years as a litigation claims supervisor, said the city made a mistake by settling the case, because existing legal precedent does not hold an employer or municipality responsible for accidents that occur while an employee is simply driving to or from work.

“I’ve handled cases exactly like this. If (the defendant) is just coming or going from work, there is no liability to the employer,” Paxton lamented, adding that he wasn’t even a city employee but a volunteer. “(The city) didn’t avail themselves of a legal defense that’s been well established in ‘coming and going lawsuits.’”

But the damage had been done, and the city quickly terminated its relationship with CERT. “We had to pull away and draw a clear line of separation,” said Larry Anderson, chief of the Petaluma Fire Department. “With our best wishes, we’d like to see CERT operate in Sonoma County, but we cannot be a deep pocket for them.”

Paxton said without the city’s sponsorship, “the program can’t exist” because FEMA will not certify graduates of the class. Anderson countered that the program could still operate without graduation certificates, asking, “How important is a card from FEMA?”

Paxton said only certified participants can apply to join the statewide disaster service worker program, which encourages trained volunteers to assist in providing emergency services following a crisis. In return, they are protected under the state’s worker’s compensation benefits, meaning the state will cover medical bills if a volunteer is injured during a disaster.

“We had a good program and it pained me to see it cut,” he said, explaining that the course not only taught the basics, such as what supplies to keep at home and how to provide rudimentary first aid, it also helped fill voids such as connecting all of the city’s 32 certified amateur “ham” radio operators who will be critical in coordinating emergency services if other communication systems are down.

He said he received dozens of calls from people eager to take the CERT class, but now must refer them to Marin County, where the nearest CERT classes are offered. Anderson said the fire department does not offer any disaster preparedness workshops, but does keep an active website with tips for residents at cityofpetaluma.net/firedept/disaster.html.

Paxton said informational websites are useful, but classes are needed to help residents form a larger network of disaster preparedness, which leads to a more effective response in time of crisis. He said he is willing to volunteer his time to get the program going, should the city decide to sponsor it.

“These are facts: an earthquake is coming. And when it does, you’re going to be on your own and you need to know how to handle it,” Paxton said. “We’re not doing this to scare people, we’re doing this so people can prepare.”

(Contact Emily Charrier at emily.charrier@argus courier.com)