Earlier this month San Bruno California became a household name because of the horrific PG&E gas explosion in the Crestmoor area of the city. We know there were 8 confirmed dead and many dealing with severe burns that are life altering. The people who lost their homes, and were fortunate also to escape with their lives, have lost everything. When this type of disaster happens it makes one stop and think about what you might do in the same situation. Besides having a safety plan for your family, you might consider duplicating your most precious documents and storing them virtually, in the cloud. Just in case you’re not familiar with “the cloud”, it’s a way to store documents online and often for free.

Pictures are often stored online today, so many of us have some of them there, but likely not all. If you have lots of pictures that are printed, it becomes a challenge about what to do. You can scan them, and then upload them to Google Docs, Apple’s Me, or Drop Box or any one of the other free clouds available to us today. Obviously if you have hundreds and hundreds of them, it means you decide which are the most precious. Take some time and go through them and then scan them, upload them, and keep them safe and accessible by you and others you might choose to have access.

The same thing goes for important papers you have. It’s very easy to turn printed documents into PDF files and then upload them to the cloud. It’s as easy as dragging them into a file on your desktop, and voila, they’re stored. If you don’t have access to a scanner through your workplace, take your documents to your local UPS-Kinko Store where they can do it for a slight charge.

This is the kind of thing you should do while this disaster is still fresh in our minds and hitting the local news channels. PG&E has pipelines all over the bay area and one may be near your home. Don’t let this disaster happen again and you be the family who loses everything including birth certificates, copies of  your passports, marriage and death certificates, etc.  While you’re at it, make a photo journal of your home and its contents and store them in the cloud, too.  It’s better to be safe than sorry.  After all, the Boy Scout’s motto, Be Prepared, certainly has meaning in times of disaster.

Back in 2005, the California State Legislature pass a bill making it manditory to put your headlight on when it is raining during daylight hours.  If you’re out and about this week, make it a point to do this.  Your life, my life and anyone else’s life is at stake.

It’s really easy to do, too.  So why isn’t it being done and why hasn’t this been publicized more?   Beats me, but I am telling you this.  So do it!

Just in case you think this is another urban ledgend, here’s the law.

The homes in the Burlingame area are generally older and one of the real estate forms we are required to have buyers and sellers sign has to do with the likely use of asbestos in these homes.  This form is part of the Disclosure Package.   This natural product was considered to be somewhat safe until about 40 or so years ago. It was used everywhere in the building industry, from wrapping furnace vents to floor tiles. Not today. The evidence of the health risks involved with asbestos existed almost a century ago, but it really wasn’t until 1990 when the California Air Resources Board began regulating the amount of asbestos in building applications. Asbestos had been highly regarded throughout most of the 20th century, gaining widespread use due to its fire, heat and weather resistant qualities.

Many types of asbestos occur naturally in California because of its location and geologic history. Asbestos deposits are found naturally in 44 of California’s 58 counties. Homes and buildings built before 1980 could likely still contain asbestos-materials. Potential home buyers and people re-modeling their homes today are shown many healthy options replacing the need for asbestos entirely.

The people who were exposed to asbestos in many industries years ago are now suffering from it their in later life. Asbestos exposure can cause a severe lung ailment known as mesothelioma. This aggressive form of asbestos cancer accounts for nearly three percent of all cancer diagnoses in the country. Mesothelioma treatment is unfortunately almost always unsuccessful and physician prognosis is poor.

The California Department of Industrial Relations administers a number of programs which are aimed at preventing asbestos exposure in public facilities, workplaces and homes. The removal of asbestos must be performed by licensed abatement contractors who are specially trained in handling hazardous materials. It is highly recommended that those who believe they live or work in an area where asbestos are found to leave it alone. Contractors come equipped with protective gear in case its fibers become airborne immediately after it is broken up. Once the remove is finished, healthy alternatives should be considered as replacements.  So if you have those popcorn ceilings so many of us have in our homes have it checked before you have it removed.

We’re obligated to nurture and sustain this planet of ours and to try to use as many Green products as we can. Some of these products include the use of recycled building materials like cotton fiber, cellulose and lcynene.
Implementing eco-friendly materials will also result in a decrease in energy costs and help maintain Californiaís beautiful environment. The United States Environmental Program states that that cotton fiber insulation can reduce costs anywhere from 25 to 35 percent annually. Not only do these alternatives save you money, they allow a lifestyle free of health corroding materials.

Burlingame

It appears that the City of Burlingame is having a spat of house break-ins
and the Police are working hard at finding the culprit.  Burlingame has a low crime rate so it’s unusual to hear about more than one or two break-ins.  This time there have been about 10 of them and the last ones are in a neighborhood close to 101 making it easy for the robber to make his get away.

What should you do to help secure your home and belongings?

1. Lock all doors and windows when you are not at home.  In fact, keep the doors locked even if you are home, just as a safe precaution.
2. It’s easy to engrave your ID, driver’s licence is a good one, on your most valuable items.  This makes it hard for them to be sold quickly.
3. Itemize your household. It’s a good idea to do this just for fire safety, but even more so for robbery.
4. Get your camera out and take pictures of everything of value and upload those pictures to one of the many websites there for pictures.
5. Keep your jewelry hidden if it’s valuable.  Or, buy a small safe and store your jewelry in it.
6. Write down your serial numbers for your
   televisions, iPods, computers, and sound equipment and put that list in
   a safe place.  Just in case. Don’t forget to include a picture of
   your camera, even if you have to use one from the internet to show what
   it is.
7. Make sure you have deadbolt locks in place on all doors.  If you bought your house and did not change the locks, now is a good time to do it.  Call a locksmith to do it.  It’s quick and easy to do and you can key all locks with one key making life easier, and safer.

Get to know your neighbors.  Do you know who lives next door to you?  If not, introduce yourself and trade phone numbers.  If that neighbor is home during the day, you are fortunate as they can become the eyes and ears for the neighborhood!  But more important, we have lost a feeling of a neighborhood today where we can take a walk down the street and say hello to our neighbors on a first name basis.  Why not start this in your neighborhood?  It could help keep your neighborhood safe and begin some new friendships!

Finally, if you see something that doesn’t look right, call the police.  Get a description of the person, their car and license, if possible.  Don’t put yourself into harm’s way, but be a good citizen and pay attention to details.  They could matter.

Burlingame prides itself in being a safe place to live, shop and do business.  Saturday nights are generally pretty busy around here.  My office, which is right across the street from Dirty Laundry , often finds us working late.  So, this is not something to take lightly. This is a major crime for our town.  Did this show up in the papers?  No.  In the printed police reports?  No.  We hear about  this from one of the women beaten.  It was a miracle she didn’t suffer a concussion.

Women of Burlingame, watch where you go.  Watch who’s around you.  If you are out alone in the evening, keep your keys in your hand, with the point of the key between your fingers pointing outward.  Aim for the bridge of the nose, and jam the keys hard if someone starts to come up to you in a threatening manner.

We don’t see our police patrolling downtown.  Perhaps they should have more of a presence. Perhaps they could stop by the many real estate offices within a block of Dirty Laundry and give us some tips on personal safety.  Okay Burlingame.  What do you think?