Emergency Communications Trailer to Help During Natural Disasters


Trailer Developed Jointly by Marborg and Price Management

Jim Murray, NewsChannel 3 Reporter, jim.murray@keyt.com
POSTED: 09:36 PM PDT Oct 14, 2013    UPDATED: 10:36 PM PDT Oct 14, 2013 


The Central Coast is no stranger to natural disasters. In 2008, the
Tea Fire destroyed 210 homes and burned almost 2000 acres. And problems getting accurate emergency information during the fire was one of the biggest issues that people faced. That's where the Emergency Communications Trailer comes in.

Derek Carlson, Business Manager for Marborg, said "This trailer was first conceptually designed after the Gap and Tea and Jesusita fires. Mario Borgatello, the President of Marborg, and John Price of Price Management, sat down and came up with the idea of this Communications Trailer to increase our emergency preparedness footprint in the community."

The trailer is a joint venture between Marborg Industries and Price Management- it's designed with two 55-inch High Definition television's which can stream press conferences, weather conditions, and other valuable information.

Carlson added, "The trailer was designed to get information to people that otherwise couldn't get it."

Goleta is the first city in the area to have access to the technology because of their agreement with Marborg. Marborg also spent over $150,000 dollars on generators to keep the Price Management gas stations operating in case of a major catastrophe.

Roger Aceves, Mayor of Goleta, said "Goleta is the center as far as getting the message out. We only have 30,000 people here but we might have over 60,000 with people working here."

Improving the flow of information and devising ways to communicate in an emergency is the focus of these new tools. And it's never too early to start preparing.

Aceves says, "I always say, when it's raining you prepare for the drought. When it's a drought, you prepare for rain. So we are preparing for our next disaster so we can respond immediately so we can keep our people safe."