ABOUT US

DISASTER AID REPONSE TEAM

Our History

For over 45 years, DART has been helping our community. Thank you to these community-focused volunteers under the leadership of Commander Steve Trolan and Deputy Commander Mark Katz.

This 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization was initially formed in 1978 by concerned citizens like Joe Pirzynski and Mike Wasserman (both of whom later became mayors of Los Gatos). As a valuable resource to the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department (LGMSPD), DART provides assistance to minimize the drain on police resources, like assisting with searches for missing children and seniors, evidence collection, crime scene security, and traffic control to name a few ways.

DART also supports town and city events as well as activities, including the Holiday Parade, Picnics, Halloween, Great Race, Fiesta De Artes, Girls on the Run, Eat Drink Los Gatos, and Cat’s Hill Bike Race. Throughout the year, the team is organized and trained to provide a myriad of services including first aid, safety, traffic control at events and major accidents, searches for lost people and evidence, and aid during disasters.

Here are a few of our past contributions to our community:

DART provided round the clock logistical and security assistance to the firefighters at the Vasona Fire Camp during the disastrous week of the Lexington Fire.
After the main shock of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, DART manned the emergency operations center and augmented the Police Department, contributing more than 1000 hours of support.
DART maintained an early warning network for Creekside residents and monitored potential flood damage during winter storms while packing Sand Bags.
Traffic Control has included protection to the public against downed, live electrical wires, downed trees and even accident safety.
DART has supported the LGMSPD in numerous searches for people and evidence.
The Dive Team assisted in the Search and Recovery efforts of drowning victims and evidence searches in Vasona Lake and other nearby water bodies.
DART members are prepared to provide support during natural disasters or other significant events, whether it is First Aid, Triage, Building Damage Assessment, Traffic Control, assisting in the Emergency Operations Center, or whatever else is needed. DART has employed our Specialty Teams when requested by the LGMSPD at an event or a disaster.
Providing Rescue and Medical Care for injured or ill victims at disasters, Technical Rescue Team aids injured victims or victims needing to get to safety.
Staging and prepping in a callout from LGMSPD. Our multiple teams support in various ways to customize our response to for the community in the best way possible.

What We Do

One of the services that our talented Volunteers provide, is teaching local communities, whether it is the Scouts, CERT, Soccer and Sports Teams, School or community members. DART worked with the LGMSPD to teach the initial CERT training. This required tailoring the course materials to fit the time constraints established for the classes.
In order to serve our community, we utilize a set of essential skills for both urban and rural environments. Skills are taught by DART Instructors. Some skills the whole team trains on; such as CPR/first aid, incident command, search theory and field skills such as land navigation. Other skills are for our specialized teams that train above and beyond the essential skills in order to perform our missions in more diverse environments.

DART Board Members

Commander

Steve Trolan
commander@lgmsdart.org
Steve joined DART in 2000. Although he has been with DART for over 20 years, this was not the start of his interest in Search and Rescue. While in college at Cal Poly he was a member of the San Luis Obispo County Search and Rescue as well as a Fireman with the Edna Valley Volunteer Fire Department. Following graduation, he was commissioned in the US Army and spent a total of 12 years in the service (both active and reserve). Following the Army, he worked as a Computer Security Engineer. He also ski patrols at Northstar at Tahoe. He is a National Ski Patrol Outdoor Emergency Care instructor as well basic CPR/First Aid Instructor with Industrial Emergency Council. He joined DART to give back to the community with skills that he has been developing most of his life.
Deputy Commander

Mark Katz
deputy@lgmsdart.org
Mark was drawn to Los Gatos in 2000, because of its small town feel, excellent schools, and strong sense of community. As the founder and broker at CM Property Management, he works with both residential and commercial rentals. Prior to property management, Mark was involved with international sales, finance, and commodities. He received a business degree from Boston University’s School of Management, and while living in Stamford, Connecticut, he served on the Board of Education for four years. Mark joined DART because he believes it is important to be prepared to assist one’s community not only in the good times but during disasters as well. Currently, Mark holds valid licenses/certificates in drones, diving, ham radio, and CPR/first aid.
Treasurer

Bob Jenkin
for donations: treasurer@lgmsdart.org
Secretary

Cory Tatum
secretary@lgmsdart.org
Cory joined DART in 2014, and became a Board Member in 2015. He has experience being a First Responder in triage, first aid, confined space, hazmat and running the Incident Command System. Cory believes strongly in the importance and value of giving back to the community.
Member at Large

Ken Gallaghan
mbralge@lgmsdart.org
Membership

info@lgmsdart.org
Contact for information on joining