MURRIETA: Moms prepare for emergencies

Women create survival kits in preparation for 'the big one'

By NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 26, 2008 10:51 PM PDT ∞

MURRIETA ---- No matter how many times they heard that they should be prepared for an emergency, Linda Walker and Kathleen Byrne still weren't.

At least not the way they realized they should be.

"I actually had an earthquake kit from 15 years ago," Walker said. "Everything was expired ---- the food, the water, everything."

Transfixed by news coverage of the conditions in which Hurricane Katrina victims were forced to live at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Byrne and Walker realized they too would have to leave their homes with empty hands if a situation ever forced them to evacuate.

So the two Murrieta women created Stellar Jay Emergency Kits, personalized emergency preparedness packs that contain just about anything that could be needed in a disaster: flashlights and batteries, ponchos, blankets, food and water supplies, duct tape, water purification tablets, first aid kits, even toilet seat covers and a detachable toilet seat.

"It's an insurance policy," Byrne said, adding that Southwest County lies near the Elsinore and San Andreas faults. "Hopefully, you never have to use it, but every week there's an article about the 'big one' coming, so this is very much a peace of mind."

Most disturbing to the women was the deplorable bathroom situation at the stadium that housed about 14,000 people while large portions of New Orleans and surrounding areas were submerged in water. With thousands crammed into the unventilated, un-maintained quarters, sanitary conditions disappeared.

Their solution was the creation of the Honey Bucket, a bucket filled with necessities. On their Web site, www.stellarjaysurvivalkits.com, a two-person kit sells for $75 and a four-person kits sells for $89. The bucket is topped with a removable toilet seat.

"That's the one thing you don't think about until you don't have it," Walker said. "You could camp with (the Honey Bucket), basically."

After the women sold emergency kits to some neighbors, the business began to expand. Walker and Byrne began doing business with private companies and schools, creating custom-made kits with items suitable for bankers and older and younger students. One bank in Texas, which had felt the effects of the Katrina tragedy, custom-ordered kits so specific that they included thick wool blankets and calculators.

Monique Lambert, branch manager of Pacific Trust Bank in Temecula, which bought kits for its employees, said that while calculators may seem like a superfluous item for an emergency kit, they would actually be a necessity for bankers.

"It would really depend on the extent of the situation," Lambert said. "As rapidly as we can, we would try to resume business and (calculators) would be helpful if we were having transactions down the line."

Lambert also purchased a Honey Bucket kit for her home, saying it added to her sense of comfort.

"I thought, 'Wow, that's a good idea to have everything combined,'" she said. "And they had some good options on the different types of things you could put in there."

The women sold easy-to-carry emergency kits for about 500 students who attend Calvary Chapel Elementary School in Murrieta. The children in higher grades each have a box kit of their own, while the kits for children in lower grades are kept in a cart that teachers can wheel out in the event of an emergency. The kits contain pouches of water, ponchos, a dust mask, Band-Aids and light sticks, among other items, said Irma Navarro, special projects coordinator for the school.

"It's just become second nature," Navarro said of keeping the school prepared for anything. "We pray we never have to use them, but I'm confident that we would be able to handle any emergency that comes our way."

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.