I’m Wanda Vollmer, founder of Peace of Mind Preparedness in Carmel, California. I also serve as Captain of Carmel CERT (Community Emergency Repsonse Team) and have spent many years working and volunteering in emergency preparedness and community resilience.
But for me, preparedness came knocking on my door as a wildfire. I grew up on a ranch in San Luis Obispo, California, where being prepared was simply part of life. Then, in 1994, the Highway 41 Fire swept through our area and destroyed a home on our family property. Experiencing a wildfire firsthand changed me forever and gave me a very personal understanding of how quickly an ordinary day can become anything but ordinary.
Today, through Peace of Mind Preparedness, I help individuals, families, businesses, and communities become better prepared through education, speaking engagements, preparedness sessions, and community programs.
I’m also proud to help lead Carmel Prepares, a community safety series that brings together Carmel CERT, the Carmel-by-the-Sea Police Department, the City, and Carmel Public Library. Through these programs, we connect residents with experts, first responders, practical information, and resources to help build a more prepared and resilient community.
Whether I’m working with a family, speaking to a group, leading a Carmel Prepares program, or serving alongside my Carmel CERT team, education is at the heart of what I do. And in 2027, I’ll be bringing preparedness to an entirely new audience with my upcoming children’s book, Pablo’s Preparedness Adventure.
My goal has always been simple: make preparedness practical, approachable, and empowering.
Safety, to me, means giving yourself options. We can’t predict when an earthquake, wildfire, storm, power outage, accident, or other emergency will happen. But we can take small steps ahead of time that give us more choices when something does go wrong. Preparedness isn’t about living in fear. It’s about having a plan, knowing what to do, and having the tools you may need to help yourself or someone else.
Don’t wait for the emergency to figure out what you need. Know your evacuation routes. Sign up for emergency alerts. Have disaster kits for your home, car, and pets. Make a family communication plan. Think about the emergencies most likely to occur where you live and travel.
And don’t feel as though you have to do everything at once. Start somewhere. One small preparedness step today can make a tremendous difference tomorrow.
During an emergency, the right tool can turn helplessness into action. That’s especially true in our vehicles. We spend so much time in our cars, yet car preparedness is often overlooked. A few small, thoughtfully chosen items can make an enormous difference if you are stranded, involved in an accident, or need to evacuate quickly.
Sometimes the simplest tools can be among the most important.
I discovered the resqme car escape tool through my preparedness work, and I immediately loved its simplicity. It combines two potentially lifesaving functions in one compact tool: a seatbelt cutter and a tempered-glass window breaker.
The seatbelt cutter is particularly important to me. In an accident, the seatbelt that protected you may suddenly become something you need to escape from quickly. Having a simple tool designed to cut through it gives you another option when seconds matter.
I also love that the resqme is small enough to keep within reach. An emergency tool doesn’t do much good if it’s buried in the trunk or somewhere you can’t access when you need it.
My connection to resqme became much more personal when I had the opportunity to meet its founder, Laurent Colasse, and tour the facility. I came away with an even greater appreciation for Laurent and his genuine passion for preparedness and safety. His belief that people should have simple, accessible tools that allow them to act in an emergency closely mirrors my own philosophy.
That shared passion is one of the reasons my relationship with resqme has meant so much to me. The company itself was founded on Laurent’s belief that in an emergency, every second counts and safety should always be within reach.
The Highway 41 Fire was certainly one of the defining experiences of my life, but the years since have reinforced that lesson again and again, and even more as I have connected with resqme. Through my work with the American Red Cross, Carmel CERT, Peace of Mind Preparedness, first responders, and communities affected by disaster, I’ve seen what happens when people suddenly have to make important decisions under tremendous stress.
I’ve also seen the difference preparedness can make: someone who knew where to go, had a plan, had practiced, or simply had the right tool available when they needed it. Those experiences are why I believe so strongly in helping people prepare before the emergency.
I want people to understand that preparedness doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. Start small. Put a few essentials in your car. Make a disaster kit. Talk with your family about where you would meet. Know your evacuation routes. Keep a rescue tool within reach. Every step counts.
Whether I’m speaking to a room full of people, working with a family, leading a community program, serving alongside my CERT team, or soon sharing preparedness through the pages of Pablo’s Preparedness Adventure, I want people to walk away feeling more confident about what they can do. Because preparedness isn’t about fearing what might happen. It’s about knowing you’ve taken steps to be ready.
That is what preparedness means to me.
