Extra Hour to Prepare: APHA Reminds You to Check Emergency Stockpile Kits When Setting Your Clocks
Thursday, 29 October 2009 14:45
Darrell Benko
Washington, D.C., Oct. 20, 2009 – Setting the clocks on Nov. 1 because of daylight saving time gives us a little extra time to think about preparing for unexpected emergencies. Since Mother Nature is known to throw us a curveball when we least expect it, the American Public Health Association is urging Americans to be ready for any kind of emergency such as blizzards, floods, blackouts or influenza.If disaster strikes in your community or you are too sick to go out, you might not have access to food, water or electricity for a few days. Taking the time now to organize a stockpile of essential supplies can help you stay ahead of the game. “We already use daylight saving time as an opportunity to focus on preparedness by checking batteries in smoke alarms, so it’s a great time to ensure that we have supplies to fall back on in the event of an emergency,” said Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA. “Use the extra hour to create a new emergency kit or check your current stockpile for any perishable items that may have expired or canned goods that you may have used.” Here are tips on how best to use that extra hour to become prepared: - Check your stockpile and make sure that your supplies such as food, water and batteries are still good. If you don’t have a stockpile, take some time to create one.
- Re-familiarize yourself and your family with your community’s emergency preparedness plan, including evacuation routes, emergency shelters and the location of food banks.
- Update your family communication plan, which will spell out how you will get in touch with one another during an emergency.
- Gather extra supplies for your pets, which need their own stockpile of food and water.
- Collect your medications together in one place, and make sure you have enough supplies in case you or your family have to stay home with the flu for a few days.
APHA’s reminder to check your emergency supplies is part of Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks, the Association’s biannual campaign to raise awareness of the importance of having a stocked emergency preparedness kit complete with food, water and first aid supplies. Online at www.getreadyforflu.org/clocksstocks/, the Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks Web page includes free fact sheets on what to put in your emergency stockpile, budget stockpiling, stockpiling for pets and what you need to stockpile if you have to stay home with the flu. Some of the materials are also available in Spanish. About Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks is part of APHA’s larger Get Ready campaign, which is working to help Americans prepare themselves, their families and their communities for all hazards, including pandemic flu, disasters and other public health emergencies. The campaign, online at www.aphagetready.org, includes a blog, podcasts and free materials.
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U.S. Fire Administration Kicks off Public Fire Safety Campaign
Wednesday, 17 June 2009 15:28
Darrell Benko
Dear MRC Members, Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) today launched an effort to encourage everyone to install and maintain home smoke alarms and, if possible, sprinklers. More than 3,000 people die in home fires each year, and the majority of them have no working smoke alarm. To prevent these deaths, the USFA, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sponsoring the nationwide Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign, which emphasizes that “Smoke Alarms Save Lives.” “The U.S. Fire Administration tracks fatal home fires every day, and it is tragic to see how many deaths are linked to homes without working smoke alarms,” said Kelvin J. Cochran, U.S. Fire Administrator. “The USFA is committed to preventing the loss of life and we want residents and fire fighters to be safe.” He added, “Smoke alarms are inexpensive, easy to install, and easy to maintain. We are asking everyone to make sure they have working smoke alarms in their homes, and if possible, sprinklers.” When both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers are present in a home, the risk of dying in a fire is reduced by 82 percent, when compared to a residence without either. According to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2003-2006, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Cochran also emphasized that firefighters often die in the line of duty trying to rescue people who did not get out at the first sign of a fire. He added, “Smoke alarms and sprinklers give you and your family more time to get out, before firefighters have to come in to rescue you.” The Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign is promoting fire safety through a free Campaign Toolkit DVD; featuring English and Spanish educational materials; print, radio and television PSAs; children’s materials, a video demonstration of how quickly a home fire spreads, and on the USFA’s consumer-friendly Web site at www.usfa.dhs.gov/smokealarms. The USFA has always promoted fire safety and the use of smoke alarms through materials and in campaigns, such as “Tribute to Heroes” and “Prepare. Practice. Prevent the Unthinkable: A Parents’ Guide to Fire Safety for Babies and Toddlers,” to name a few. Now, emphasizing the importance of both smoke alarms and sprinklers, our PSAs --“My Dad” and “My Mom” – focus on the viewpoint of the child of a firefighter. The campaign materials include real stories of people whose lives have been saved because they had a working smoke alarm. The USFA offers a few helpful tips on smoke alarms and sprinklers: - Place properly installed and maintained smoke alarms both inside and outside of sleeping areas and on every level of your home.
- Interconnected smoke alarms are best, because if one sounds, they all sound.
- The U.S. Fire Administration recommends that every residence and place where people sleep be equipped with both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.
- Test smoke alarms monthly and change alkaline batteries at least once every year, or as instructed by the manufacturer. You can use a date you already know, like your birthday or when you change your clocks as a reminder.
- If possible, install residential fire sprinklers in your home.
- Avoid painting or covering the fire sprinkler, because that will affect the sensitivity to heat.
Organizations in partnership with the U.S. Fire Administration’s Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign include the American Fire Sprinkler Association, Burn Institute, Everyone Goes Home, Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association, Fire Department Safety Officers Association, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, Home Safety Council, International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Women in Fire & Emergency Services, National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) , NASFM Fire Research and Education Foundation, National Association of Hispanic Firefighters, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, National Fire Protection Association, National Fire Sprinkler Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, and Safe Kids Worldwide.
Last Updated on Thursday, 29 October 2009 14:43
Mission Statement
Tuesday, 24 February 2009 21:14
administrator
The mission of the West Texas Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to enhance the regional response capabilities in the event of an emergency, disaster or disease outbreak by providing a coordinated response using locally recruited medical, behavioral health, public health, and health support volunteers. The Medical Reserve Corps volunteers will also work to improve the overall health, preparedness, and well-being of the region. The rationale for the establishment of the MRC occurred during the hurricane events of 2005 and “Storm 2006”. For example in the flooding of 2006 El Paso received evacuees from both Katrina and Rita, during these incitements it became very apparent that El Paso and Southern New Mexico needed a plan to meet regional needs.
If our community is affected by a bioterrorist attack or a pandemic outbreak affecting hundreds to thousands of people, a reserve corps would help address those medical needs which would overwhelm our traditional ability to respond and provide mass care.
Last Updated on Monday, 02 March 2009 22:20
Ready El Paso
Monday, 30 March 2009 17:48
Marisela R Calvillo
Starting this month, you may begin to see billboards around El Paso city encouraging Texans to get ready and prepare for disasters. These billboard messages will be running through October 2009. The messages will be in english and spanish. Promoting personal preparedness is a top priority for our agency’s Community Preparedness section. Anyone can log on to the following websites at http://readyelpaso.com/ or http://readyelpaso.org/ take a few minutes to learn more on how you can make your community more prepared. The key is to help the public get ready and have information on how to volunteer. Volunteering is one of the greatest ways to give back. Donating your time shows your community and those who need you, that together we can make our world a better place. Wherever you can help, there is a need to be filled whether it's through training, disaster response, administration or special events, we need you.
Don't wait any longer to find out what you can accomplish and who you can help through the West Texas Medical Reserve Corps and other notable local charities.
Last Updated on Monday, 30 March 2009 20:31
Training for Members
Wednesday, 06 May 2009 19:51
administrator
MRC Unit Leaders should be aware of specific H1N1 (Swine flu) training and educational resources available on MRC-TRAIN. The Public Health Foundation has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make available the following CDC podcasts through MRC-TRAIN: New FEMA training for MRC members!!!
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 June 2009 15:04
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