Locals Launch Emergency Preparedness Firm Saturday

Natty threads and emergency preparedness might seem like odd bedfellows, but a launch party at Saturday afternoon promises to marry the two.

Store owner Larry “the Hat” Lautkzker is hosting the event for Prepare Us, a startup company founded by two local entrepreneurs hoping to sell what they call the “ultimate family go bag” for use in the event of a natural disaster or emergency.

Cary Schneider, a native of Tiburon who graduated from in 2004, teamed up with Mill Valley native Max Kwan-Rosenbush to create the bags, which include a variety of items, from first aid kits and flashlights to dehydrated food, water purification tablets and a flashlight

Schneider said he’s long been on the hunt for an emergency bag that was more than just what calls the “glorified first aid” kits that are available today.

Schneider said the bag’s linchpin is the guide he and Kwan-Rosenbush that features a slew of how-tos both in preparation for and in the aftermath of an emergency.

“It pulls from every relevant document that’s already out there but puts it in one place in Reader’s Digest form,” he said

Schneider, who’s known Lautzker since he was a kid, said he’s been interested in issues of emergency preparedness for most of his young life, as his family lost their home and many of their personal possessions in the infamous Oakland Hills fire in 1991. Though he was just six years old at the time, Schneider said he’s been focused on being prepared for such an event ever since.

The four-person bags are available on the company’s website for $495, but they’ll be selling them at the Famous 4 event for $395. They hope to get the bags into retail stores later this year.

The 411: Special Preparedness Event at Famous 4, 96 Throckmorton Ave., Saturday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.