Notes from Emergency Preparedness Group Meeting May 23, 2015
Present: Dina, Mark, Lacey, Debra, Brandt, Steve

Feel free to correct to add anything I forgot.

We talked a little about how there is a community-level effort needed which includes applying for grant money for the town hall and other things, but we mostly talked about how to approach this on an individual level.

Gretchen will create a page on the GH web site for us to collect information on different preparedness topics. Our goal is to address specific monthly topics which will go out on the town email but also will show up on our preparedness web page. The town emails are snail mailed to people who do not use the internet.

We also may entice people to use the GH forum to ask questions or bring up other topics.

All along, we will offer various speakers, workshops, etc, and we want to work in the Family Communications Plan for October when Chrissy is teaching preparedness at the school to get the young families involved. At the end of the year, we’ll have a preparedness “fair” with information booths, etc, maybe in connection with a fund raiser.

There are 400 households in our area which includes the “normal GH boundaries and out to the peak-to-peak.

There is a small book about disasters that has good information we’ll make available for people to purchase.

Month 1: Introduction to what we’re doing and why
Month 2: Food
Month 3: Water
Month 3: Fire

Topics for the remaining months haven’t been assigned, but I attached notes from the education group with ideas for topics.

Ideas that came up at the meeting:
– how to freeze proof your house (water drain at low point, antifreeze in toilets,)
– how to get your water tested, types of filters
– grid alternatives for individuals
– how to deal with cisterns, how to make the water potable
– ham radios for everyone (can listen and can talk if emergency)
– smoke masks
– how to get your fire extinguisher re-filled
– some discussion about having a local broadcast radio station

Actions:
– Deb and Brandt will go to corporations to see if we can get free or heavily discounted water filters, smoke masks, and whatever else they come up with. All along the year we can hand out free stuff to people who attend the meetings.
– Dina will get the official county and state rules about collecting rainwater so we know where the legal boundaries are
– Dina will send Joe Callahan’s contact info to Deb so that she can request they remove the repeater in the fire barn
– Dina will write 1st draft of the Introduction to what we’re doing
– Lacey will write 1st draft of a proposal for the corporations about why they should give us free stuff
– Dina will dig up the mission statement that she suggested awhile back.

Twelve Months to Preparedness, May 22, 2015, from the Emergency Preparedness Group

1. Assess Actual Risks • Local to your house

• kitchen fire
• know how to put out different types of fires • where to get a fire extinguisher re-filled

• broken pipes
• know how to turn the water off
• know who to call & make sure they are on your contact list

• Lighting
• Heat
• Computer/Internet

• Hint: put info you might need during a power outage on paper • Propane

• You can get an adaptor to fill smaller propane tanks • medical emergency

• what to have on hand • identity theft

• how to protect yourself
• what to do if/when it happens • what about insurance?

• Insurance
• Inventory your house and property/ there are inventory apps • Do you have enough insurance?
• What do you need in order to file a claim?

• Important papers • Fire safe

• Regional
• wild fire
• flood
• snow/blizzard event • wind event

• mud slides/road outages • power outage
• communicable disease

• National
• Large grid outage
• droughts and water conflicts • Terror threats

2. Family and Community Communications Plan

3. Should you stay or should you go?

• Do you have enough water, food and other essentials to stay for an

  extended period if that is an option?

• Stay informed

  4. Water

• How much do you need?
• Cisterns: cost, what you need to consider
• Harvesting roof run-off
• Ways to conserve water

  5. Food

• How much do you need?
• How long can specific items be stored?
• Buy heirloom seeds

  6. First Aid Kit

• What do you need in your kit? (There are handouts.)
• Wilderness Medicine Class (maybe can offer a shorter version for

  community)

  7. Evacuation Plan

• Go Bag (home, school, work)

• Make a list of what is important to you ahead of an emergency
• Various ways to make it easy to pack up and leave – like Go Boxes

  8. Plan for pets

• Extra food
• Place for them to go if evacuated

  9. Contact List

• Friends and Family
• Services (Dr., vet, plumber, etc)
• Local support (hams, shared resources in the community?)
• Insurance agent
• What information does your family need if something happens to

  you?

  10.Travel Plan
  • Make sure someone knows your whereabouts

  11.Practice your Plan