By Catherine Spearnak

When Francisca Diaz’s six children were small and all living with her in City Heights, flames broke out in a pan on her stove.

She shooed the kids away, and was able to put out the fire with a kitchen towel. But what if the flames had spread? What if she and the six little ones needed to escape? This scenario did not happen only once to Diaz. She said it happened twice while her children were young.

It was those incidents that brought the mother, 52, to the Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Day at Monroe Clark Middle School in City Heights on March 14.

“I came here to become prepared because you never know when an emergency is going to happen,” she said through an interpreter, Red Cross volunteer Lisa Hoffman.

City Heights and University Heights notably high rates of home fires compared to the neighborhoods around them, according to the Red Cross. Thus, the organization held the event in City Heights to try and attract nearby residents who might be touched by fire. Fifty people attended. The two neighborhoods are the target of a four-year Red Cross San Diego initiative to help prepare San Diegans for emergencies and disasters.

In 2013 and 2014 combined, there were 38 home fires in the Uptown area, with six home fires in University Heights and 10 in City Heights. Thus far in 2015, there have been three in University Heights and none in City Heights, according to the Red Cross.

Below is the breakdown of home fires in the Uptown area in 2015 by zip code:

92102 – One fire

92103 – One fire

92104 – One fire

92105 – Zero fires

92110 – One fire

92116 – Three fires

“Preparedness Days are designed to empower community members with the training and resources to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies,” a Red Cross press release stated. “They consist of one-day events in targeted Prepare San Diego and Home Fire Campaign neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have been selected due to a high incidence of home fires as identified by National Red Cross statistics and/or qualify as a Prepare San Diego area with vulnerable populations that have been unable to take the three steps to preparedness due to economic or cultural barriers.”

Kili Marshall, a seventh grader at Monroe Clark Middle School, passed out flyers for the Red Cross Preparedness Day, then turned around and decided to go herself.

Kili said she had a specific goal in mind – she wanted to learn CPR.

“I came to learn how to be prepared in an emergency of collapsing so I don’t get all panicky and all that,” she said. “There are people of different ages all around us and you never know what’s going to happened based on their health and all.”

Participants in the one-day event learned the three main things the Red Cross says people need to know to be prepared for an emergency – get a disaster kit, make an escape plan and learn CPR. Attendees of all ages learned to do CPR on dummies, guided by an instructor. In making an escape plan, participants thought about the best routes out of their homes and a safe place to meet upon escape.

When making emergency kits, participants were told to have at least the following:

One gallon of water per day, per person

Canned food and a can opener

First-aid items and medication

A flashlight with extra batteries

A solar-powered radio

Emergency cash

Copies of important documents

Toys and games for children

Pets need food, a bowl, a leash and copies of vaccination documents

The Red Cross responds to help people in home fires, but it hopes all San Diego residents will make a point of preparing for an emergency. If participants learned that at Saturday, the event was a success, said press relations aide Brianna Shannon.

“We certainly hope it inspired people to go home and think a little bit more about how they can get their families ready.”

—Contact Catherine Spearnak at [email protected].