If you happen to move into Michael Ramirez’s neighborhood, it won’t be a basket of muffins he welcomes you with, but an emergency gas shut-off wrench.

The Southern California Edison Business Resiliency advisor has worked in emergency management for 25 years, and some would say he tends to take his work home with him.

“I bring new neighbors the wrench and ask if they know how to shut off the gas,” Ramirez said. “I say, ‘I'm excited you’re here, but I want to be honest, I don’t want my neighborhood to burn down.’”

Teaching people how to be prepared for an emergency has become second nature. It has been his job for the last two decades. He’s trained for worst-case scenarios and worked through it all: fires, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, he supports SCE’s emergency preparedness, on the team that implements full-scale exercises training team members on FEMA emergency response protocol.

“We have the planning team that develops all the disaster response plans for everything bad that could happen and impact the system and our customers,” said Steve Nunez, SCE’s lead training advisor. “We take those plans and develop training for them. We use a standard training that all responding agencies across the state and across the nation use.”

This ensures all response organizations are trained in the same protocols, and have the ability to integrate quickly and effectively during a disaster.

In an emergency, trained SCE employees will respond to assess the situation, develop a plan, work with neighboring agencies, collaborate to stabilize the community and ensure the necessary resources are available to keep the lights on.

SCE began using FEMA’s Incident Command Structure in 2011. Last year, 1,765 employees were trained for incident command teams and are now ready to respond to a disaster.

“The Incident Command Structure gives us the tools to prepare before a disaster happens, during a disaster and clean up the mess after — that’s what we do,” said Nunez.

For Ramirez, preparing for the worst doesn't stop at work, or even with a welcome wrench.

When it comes to his own home, those who have been inside describe it as earthquake proof. The picture frames are secured, bookshelves are strapped down and the television is bolted to the wall.

“In earthquakes, most injuries are from what are called nonstructural hazards,” he said. “You are more likely to get hit by a falling item and cut your feet on glass from little knickknacks falling.”

September is National Preparedness Month and there are simple steps everyone can take to be better equipped to face an emergency.

“All of this does not need to be done overnight,” Ramirez said. “The next time you go to the supermarket, buy a couple extra cans of soup and then rotate them out. When you go to Costco, buy an extra package of batteries. Pack it away and you will slowly become more prepared.”

For more information on emergency preparedness, visit sce.com/beprepared.