Members of the Ridgecrest neighborhood on Education Hill in Redmond are taking the initiative to get to know each other and become disaster-ready, and they are encouraging other residents around town to do the same.

Led by Ann-Marie Archer, the neighborhood held an event last Saturday called Code R.E.D. (Ready, Educated, Dedicated), which brought in about 40 residents as well as first responders and others who spoke to the crowd about disaster preparedness in various situations such as in the car, while traveling and when with children.

“Our neighborhood is going to be very well trained,” Archer said.

In addition to the speakers, Code R.E.D. was also a potluck and opportunity for the neighbors to meet and get to know each other.

Archer, who has lived in Redmond for about 15 years, got the idea for the event while she was enrolled in a leadership program through Landmark Education in Seattle. She said the program included a project in which they could affect change and Archer decided to do something that would bring her neighbors together.

“I wanted to create a community where my neighbors know each other,” she said.

Archer said meeting neighbors will also help in an emergency situation such as an earthquake because people will know who lives where and how many people (and animals) are in each household — making it easier to keep track of everyone.

“In the face of a disaster,” she said, “you don’t want to not know your neighbors.”

Archer said her neighbors have also begun creating a contact list and will create a map for the Ridgecrest neighborhood.

In addition to Code R.E.D., Archer and a few other neighbors will enroll in the City of Redmond’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program in January. CERT is an eight-week national program, which the city offers for $35 to cover material costs.

CERT program manager Janeen Olson runs and teaches the program and said their goal is to have “lay-responders” in the neighborhoods who can take immediate action in an emergency situation because the city’s first responders will be spread thin trying to covering all areas of Redmond. She said the CERT program teaches people not just first aid skills, but other things including how to sort through rubble, pull people out of burning buildings, keep a person in stable condition and how to report their neighborhood’s status to first responders.

“And do it safely so they don’t become victims themselves,” Olson said.

CERT began in Redmond in 2006 and there have been 17 classes. Olson said each class usually has 25 students.

“We’re going strong and it’s a valuable program,” she said.

The class meets once a week — Olson said usually on Tuesdays — for three hours with a final, practical drill held on a Saturday.

Archer said having the city provide CERT training has made things much easier for her and her neighborhood as they work to prepare for a disaster.

“We’re not reinventing everything,” she said. “It’s already there.”

Archer added that with all the resources in place, “anyone can do this” for their neighborhood. They just need to know what’s available to them.

While Archer said organizing things for her neighborhood was smooth because of the city’s programming, Olson said she is grateful for Archer’s initiative.

“I am so thankful for her passion,” Olson said.