Safety

Emergency Response

Why This is Important

Public safety agencies (fire, emergency medical services, and law enforcement) are typically funded and staffed to meet the demands of  "normal" emergencies and number of 911 calls.   A disaster can overwhelm local resources.  Traditionally, the  shortfall is made up first through reserves (retirees, volunteers, overtime), and then assistance from neighboring departments.  If the disaster is very large, state and possibly federal assistance is requested.

Pandemic flu will challenge this way of doing things. Emergency service providers are not immune to the flu virus - no one is.  Neighboring departments will be overwhelmed with their own problems, as will state and federal agencies.

This means:

• We are on our own.
  
  
• Communities AND individuals will be forced to cope with this with whatever resources they already have at the time.

Impact on Public Safety Agencies

During a pandemic, public safety agencies can anticipate:

• Reduced staffing because of sickness and death. Staffing may be augmented with retired and reserve personnel, but this cannot be assured.
  
  
• Long hours in a stressful environment.

We do NOT expect the National Guard to be available to assist at the local level.  The National Guard will have competing requirements such as protecting the country and guarding vaccine facilities and supplies.  They will NOT have the manpower to go door-to-door to help with feeding and injuries and law enforcement.

What You Can Expect

Mild Pandemic:  Public safety agencies will identify and prioritize essential services.  The following are EXAMPLES ONLY of how a controlled reduction of services could be implemented.  Each jurisdiction will be making its own plans, based on its unique needs and resources.

• Law enforcement.  Suspend certain services such as fingerprinting and vehicle registration checks.  Focus on the core, essential public safety activities of dispatch and patrol, intervention/interdiction, enforcement, and arrest/detention.
  
  
• Fire Services.  Suspend routine inspections; suspend education and awareness presentations.
  
  
• Emergency Medical Services.  Cancel non-emergency transfers.

Severe Pandemic:  You can expect public safety agencies to seriously degrade or fail.  The default position will be to do the most good for the most people, with resources and personnel available.  Do not expect law enforcement response to a burglary.  Do not expect timely response to a kitchen fire.  Do not expect ambulance transfer to a hospital that has been closed.

What You Can Do: 

1. Support your public safety agencies.  Contact them to see how you can help now, before a pandemic.
   
   
2. Adjust your expectations to what is truly essential. Limit 911 calls to true emergencies- for example, anything that might result in loss of life, limb or eyesight.


3. Work on making your home more accident-proof by observing important home safety recommendations.  For example:
   

• Prevent fires:  Get fire extinguishers for every floor, as well as extra extinguishers for the kitchen, garage, workshop, in each car, and by any open heat sources such as fireplaces. Have a service person check heaters, stoves, and fireplaces every year. Clean dryer lint traps as recommended by.  Have smoke detectors in every bedroom and on every level of the house.  Have carbon monoxide detectors. Check batteries once a month and replace twice a year, such as at the daylight savings time change.  Removed batteries can be used in non-critical devices, like electronic games.
  
  
• Prevent falls:   According to the Home Safety Council , the #1 way people get hurt in the home is by falling. Use good lighting and handrails on stairs. Install non-slip grips and a grab bar in the bathtub or shower.
  
  
• Prevent poisoning:   Keep medications and chemicals in child-resistant packaging, and lock them up.

Visit the Home Safety Council web site to create your own home-safety checklist with many more ideas for making your home as accident proof as possible. 

Community Resilience

Why This is Important

Pandemic flu will be personal.  It will affect our communities, our neighborhoods, and ourselves.  We believe the best answer to the potential devastation of a pandemic is individual/household preparation plus community sustainability.

There is no one right way to get involved: people have different skills, interests and abilities. Following are some suggestions.

Start at Home

A resilient community is based on secure individuals and families.

1. Get your house in order.  Have at least three months of food, water (or purification capability), medications and basic supplies.

2. Build relationships with your neighbors.  Know your neighbors.  Share dinner, have block parties. Learn whom you can trust and who you can’t.  Establish or join “neighbor to neighbor” emergency programs, such as Neighborhood Watch.  Contact your local law enforcement for more information.  

3. Build your personal skill set.   As you work towards increased resilience, you will learn new skills.   Ask neighbors who are knowledgeable in different areas to teach those to you.   Reciprocate with a favor to them, of course.  This helps you help them and builds trust and connections in your neighborhood.

Expand to Your Community  

A resilient community plans together.

1. Get involved in pandemic planning.  Our critical infrastructure is at risk.  Backup systems need to be identified and checked out.  Ask your local government officials how their plans address the following:
   
   • overwhelmed healthcare system
   • uncertain supply of chemicals for good drinking water
   • interruptions to food supply
   • degraded/failed electricity
   • identifying households in need during a pandemic


2. Expand community skill set.  Use your skills to strengthen your community.   An example could be starting a community garden.

Example Programs to Build Community Sustainability

Official programs are directed from the top down and have their place.  However, for community resilience, we also need grassroots groups of informed neighbors.   Even socializing with people on your street and in your immediate area may bring lasting benefits and build ties that you will count on in an emergency.   While few people take the time to know their neighbors, by working on tasks together, planning activities and socializing, you can build relationships that will help you and your neighbors fare better in a disaster.

How can this connection be built?  It can't be forced, but it can be encouraged.

• have block parties and pot luck suppers with your neighbors
• learn who can share tools and childcare
• gather together with neighbors to create welcome baskets and/or meals to new families
• establish community gardens
• share work days (I help you build your wall, you help me chop a tree up)

In addition, there are official groups which help communities in a disaster.  Many of these organizations are recruiting volunteers, and adding to their number benefits the community.  

If you volunteer for any program with a community role in pandemic flu response, you MUST ensure that you have personal protective equipment.  If you do not have it, or it is not provided to your standards, then you should not participate.  

This is a tough reality when there is overwhelming need.  BUT…if you become sick, you are now part of the problem, not part of the solution.  TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST. 

Example Organizations

1.  Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).  This program educates people about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations. Using their training, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event and can take a more active role in preparing their community. 




2. Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).  This program strengthens communities by helping medical, public health and other volunteers offer their expertise throughout the year, as well as during local emergencies and other times of community need. MRC volunteers work in coordination with existing local emergency response programs.  They also supplement existing community public health initiatives, such as outreach and prevention, immunization programs, blood drives, case management, care planning, and other efforts.
   



3. American Red Cross (ARC).  The  American Red Cross provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. They also provide a variety of health and safety education and services. 



4.  The Salvation Army.  The Salvation Army has a variety of programs such as disaster relief services, day care centers, summer camps, holiday assistance, services for the aging, AIDS education and residential services, medical facilities, shelters for battered women and children, family and career counseling, vocational training, correction services, and substance abuse rehabilitation. 
   



5. Amateur radio.  The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) was started by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. The ARRL also has several emergency communications courses available on line. 

Home Security

Why This Is Important

This is a broad topic.  If people get frightened or hungry, or if there are criminals in the area, they might want to come into homes and see if the people in there have valuables or food. What actually will happen is unknown.  Your personal preparation, home security measures and the community you live in all affect the outcome.  Most of the security measures following are easily done at minimal cost.

The most effective approach is protection in depth.  We’ll start from the outside and work in, but these three areas can be done at the same time.

Work With Your Neighbors

A cooperative neighborhood can increase everyone's collective home security with very little individual effort or time.  Get to know your neighbors and their habits. This will help you recognize unusual things going on.  

• There is strength and safety in numbers.  If you've laid the groundwork for neighborhood cooperation, you can later organize neighborhood patrols to the benefit and security of all.
  
  
• There is strength and security in prior preparation.   The more prepared your neighbors are for extended emergencies in general and a pandemic in particular, the better off your community will be.  However, you need to strike a balance between being discreet about your own preparations (keeping a low profile) and trying to alert your neighbors.  This is a personal decision.  How you handle it depends on you - and your neighbors. 
  

Harden Your Home

The University of Oklahoma Police Department has an excellent notebook, "Hardening Your Home for Home Owners."   Some of the following are discussed in this notebook.  

NOTE:  If you are renting your home, consult with your landlord about security concerns.

1. Outside the home.  You will want to consider the perimeter of your property as well as the home itself.  Consider the following:
   
   
   • Plant vegetation that discourages intruders.  This could be thorny blackberries or wild rose bushes, for example.
     
     
   • Remove or trim vegetation that affords a hiding place for intruders.  Walk around your home both in daylight and low light conditions and become aware of hiding spots or blind spots created by trees, bushes, hedges, sheds, vehicles, etc.
     
     
   • Install a security fence and post "no trespassing" signs.
   
   
2. Inside the home.  There are many things you can do to increase the overall security of your home and make it more difficult for intruders to gain access. 
   

Consider these ideas:

• Install strong, quality locks on all doors and windows.
  
  
• Make sure doors, windows, garage, and any other outdoor openings are made of strong materials.
  
  
• Install a wide-angle peephole on exterior doors.
  
  
• If you enjoy pets, consider a dog, but only if you will prepare for the dog as well  as  yourself.
  

Develop a Security Mindset