Continuing in our Speaker Series that recently featured the Mayor of Belmont, Belmont Police Chief and SMC Fire Department Fire Marshal, this month’s speaker is Jim Yoke, manager of SMCFD’s Office of Emergency Services, that includes CERT.

Jim will discuss multi-agency cooperation and response (whether CERT is activated or not), how agencies train and coordinate together, escalation procedures (formal, informal), etc. This includes SMCFD, Belmont PD, SMC Sheriff, other FDs and PDs, City, County, federal agencies like the FBI, etc. Jim will present examples and types of drills and actual emergencies that have or could impact our Belmont Heights and Belcrest neighborhoods, as well as all of San Mateo County.

Jim has been a professional emergency manager for twenty-five years. He started out with the American Red Cross in San Diego, and has worked in the K-12 education system and for cities, counties, and in higher education. While still a Red Cross volunteer he now manages the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department’s Office Of Emergency Services (OES) which serves Belmont, Foster City, and San Mateo. He is an amateur radio (ham) operator, and he teaches emergency communications and CERT
locally and nationally both in English and in Spanish.