Emergency preparedness
Emergency supply caches for Marin homes, built and stocked for your household. When the next big earthquake, wildfire or long power outage hits, help may not reach your street for days. We build, stock and install a lockable steel emergency cache at your home.
Typical: a home preparedness consultation, a stocked steel cache sized for your household, and a yearly refresh of its supplies.
Be ready to shelter in place
After a major disaster, emergency services are stretched thin. Roads may be blocked, stores closed, and water and power cut off. Emergency officials ask every household to be able to look after itself for at least 72 hours, and after a major Bay Area earthquake, to plan for up to two weeks.
Earthquake
The San Andreas fault runs through West Marin and the Hayward fault lies just across the bay. A major quake could cut off water, power and roads for days or weeks.
Wildfire and smoke
Evacuations, poor air quality and planned power shutoffs are a regular part of fire season.
Winter storms
Flooding, mudslides and downed trees can leave neighborhoods cut off and without power.
Shelter-in-place orders
Public health emergencies or hazardous spills can keep families at home with little warning.
A secure steel cache, stocked for your household
This is not just a three-day backpack of cheap items. Each cache is a hardened steel container with the essentials: a heavy-duty, lockable steel jobsite box that keeps supplies dry, secure and organized for years, with drinking water stored right next to it. Everything in it meets a very high standard and has been tried and tested by John himself. Each item in your cache is intentional, included for your family's safety and comfort at a time when access to services and food may be limited for an unknown period of time. We choose the supplies for your household's size, health needs, pets and home.
Water
- Long-shelf-life drinking water, rated for 5 years
- Hard plastic 5-gallon dispensers, brought in stacks of 30 or 60 gallons (no collapsible containers)
- Water purification tablets and a filter
Food
- Long-shelf-life food rations, rated for 20 years
- Supplies for special diets, infants and pets
- Camp stove, fuel and cooking kit
- A 4-liter stainless steel kettle for boiling water
First aid
- A first aid kit, with a trauma kit included
- Room for personal medications and copies of prescriptions
Light, power and radio
- A Jackery 1000 battery and USB-C cables
- Hand-crank and solar NOAA weather radio
- Flashlights, headlamps, lanterns and spare batteries
Shelter and warmth
- A 4 person, easy up tent
- Emergency blankets and sleeping bags
- Tarps, rope and duct tape
- Rain ponchos, work gloves, safety goggles and N95 masks
Tools and sanitation
- Gas and water shutoff wrench
- Sledgehammer, pry bar, multi-tool and fire extinguisher
- Emergency toilet, bags and hygiene supplies
The contents listed are typical. Every cache is planned for your household.
Priced for your household. Inquire for a written price.
How it works
- Home preparedness consultation. John visits your home and talks through your household: who lives there, medical needs, pets, and the hazards specific to your property.
- Custom supply plan. You receive a written list of what will go in your cache, sized for your household and how many days you want to be self-sufficient.
- Build, stock and install. We deliver the cache and place it where you can reach it after a disaster, often outside the house in case the home is unsafe to enter.
- Household walk-through. We show everyone what is inside, how to use it, and how to shut off the gas and water.
- Yearly refresh. Water, food, batteries and medications expire. We can come back each year to check and rotate supplies.
While we are there: a safer house
Supplies are one half of being ready. The other half is the house itself. At your consultation, John looks for simple fixes that help the house come through a quake or a fire season better, and we can quote and do the work:
- Earthquake straps on water heaters
- Latches on kitchen cabinets and drawers
- Automatic gas shutoff valves
- Ember-resistant vents
- Clearing and fire-safe changes close to the house
- Seismic retrofitting
- Interior safety assessments
Want the house itself ready for a quake? See our seismic retrofitting.
Planned by someone who has done this at county scale
Before he focused on building, John Leimer spent years planning for and responding to emergencies in Marin County and the South Bay. Every cache we build draws on that experience.
4
mobile field hospital trailers designed and outfitted
150
volunteer responders trained and led
14,000
employees on a 35-building campus
- FEMA Professional Development Series in emergency management (2000).
- Public Health Preparedness Coordinator, County of Marin. Designed, built and stocked the mobile field hospitals for the Marin County Medical Reserve Corps: two 24-foot and two 12-foot trailers stationed around the county for mass casualty events.
- Trained the Medical Reserve Corps volunteers to deploy the field hospitals and set them up to receive patients, and created and ran training drills with Marin County Fire, local police and Life Flight helicopter crews.
- Emergency Response Coordinator, Cisco Systems, San Jose. Led a team of 150 volunteer employees trained in emergency first aid, who answered medical calls across a 35-building campus of 14,000 employees and ran yearly drills with fire, police, ambulance and Life Flight crews.
Questions
Where should the cache go?
Somewhere you can reach even if the house is damaged: a side yard, a detached garage or a covered spot near an exit, away from anything that could fall on it, and in the shade. We recommend the best spot at your consultation.
How long will the supplies last?
The food in a cache is rated for 20 years and the water for 5 years. Batteries, medications and some first aid items need replacing sooner, which is why we offer a yearly refresh.
Can you plan for medical needs, babies or pets?
Yes. Every cache is planned around your household, including infants, older family members, medical needs and pets.
Can I add my own items?
Yes. We leave room for copies of important documents, cash, spare glasses, keys and personal items, and give you a checklist.
What does it cost?
Every cache is priced for your household's needs and budget: how many people, how many days you want to be covered, and any special needs. We give you a written price after the consultation.
A cache puts supplies on hand. It is not a substitute for emergency services, medical care or first aid training.
Also sign up for AlertMarin emergency alerts and look up your evacuation zone at emergency.marincounty.gov.
Get your household ready
Ask about a home preparedness consultation, a stocked emergency box, or both. We reply within 24 hours.
What clients say
We've use Leimer for several projects and have been really happy with their quality of work – plus the whole team is super nice. We had a large deck done, a shed built, and an entire bathroom remodel too. I'd highly recommend John and his team.
John and his crew recently completed a remodel of our outdated kitchen in Mill Valley to our complete satisfaction. After interviewing half a dozen contractors, we chose John because of his strong references, trust-inspiring personal style, competence and availability at the desired time.
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The project involved removing and replacing cabinets, counters, backsplash, appliances, painting, plumbing, windows and refinishing floors with more contemporary materials. John is very organized and efficient and is a great communicator. Happily, his team finished the project in 3 months, with little to no lags in between. They went out of their way to be accommodating and considerate, and followed through with every detail up to the very end. We have such a high regard for John and his right-hand man, Brad, whose professionalism, expertise, perfectionism, responsiveness and thoughtfulness surpassed our expectations; in fact, all the subs were terrific. We really enjoyed working with them; they actually made our remodel a pleasant experience. Thanks to John and his team, our kitchen transformed into a beautiful, contemporary gathering place. I highly recommend Leimer Construction!
We used Leimer Construction for a three floor home remodel and were very impressed with the craftsmanship, integrity and professionalism of John Leimer and the skilled trades he utilizes. His Foreman named Scott worked on difficult structural elements of our house, and he is a master carpenter who is very detailed yet works efficiently.
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John Leimer has excellent communication skills and works hard to keep projects on schedule, on budget, and meeting all expectations. We were lucky to find this company!