About Us
Who We Are
Anderson Island Prepares is a volunteer-led disaster preparedness program. We use a connection-based approach to our disaster planning because we know that the more a community knows each other, the more resilient the community will be after a disaster.
Our steering committee includes representatives from AICAB, the AI fire department, the Riviera, Tanner Electric, AI Healthcare Advocates, the AI Amateur Radio Club, and other knowledgeable and experienced volunteers. In addition, we have dozens of volunteers who have offered to help coordinate neighborhood preparedness efforts in their own zone.
Anderson Island Prepares operates as a part of Anderson Island’s Quality of Life Committee (a 501c3 non-profit).
Our Values
We operate out of love for our neighbors, not fear
We run toward resilience, not away from danger.
We are better together
Although personal responsibility is the foundation of emergency preparedness, our strength is in our neighborhood connections, our volunteer base and our community engagement.
All of us have something to offer.
We partner to become stronger
The more we work together with other organizations and communities, the more resilient we will become. Our current partners include: Pierce County Emergency Management, Anderson Island Fire Department & Bainbridge Prepares.
Our Team Structure
Anderson Island Prepares has 6 teams:
1. Neighborhoods
The neighborhood team includes volunteer Zone Leaders, Neighborhood Coordinators and others who help with organization, connection and planning. They have neighborhood meetings/potlucks, radio training & practice sessions, and they talk together with their neighbors about each others’ skills, supplies and equipment that would be needed in various disaster scenarios.
2. Emergency Communication
Our AI Amateur Radio Club and GMRS experts are coordinating plans for meeting emergency communication needs between Pierce County and our Fire Station (our AI Emergency Operation Center – AIEOC) as well as between our neighborhoods and the fire station if our phones are down.
3. Hubs/Shelters
In the event of a disaster, we will set up Hubs/Shelters in various buildings on the island where residents & guests can go for higher levels of medical care, communication, and reunification. Some hubs will also offer food and shelter if homes are not usable.
4. Pet Shelter
Plans are being developed for sheltering pets if homes are destroyed.
5. Medical Volunteers
The AI Healthcare Advocates are collecting names and skills of medically trained AI residents who are willing to help with triage and non-life-threatening injuries after a disaster.
6. Water Evacuation (Flotilla)
Many of the islands in the Puget Sound are developing flotillas so we can offer assistance to each other if one of the islands needs to be evacuated. Our AI flotilla team needs to be developed.