|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monthly Safety Message: October is Disaster Preparedness Month | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
We need only look at the news stories of the recent fires in Southern California to see how quickly a disaster can wreak inconceivable havoc: 600,000 people evacuated; hundreds of homes burned to the ground; thousands of people left with nothing and nowhere to call home. In the event of the unthinkable, is your family prepared? If you’re away from home when disaster strikes, will you have a degree of peace of mind, knowing your family is prepared and knows what to do? Why It is Essential Look at what happened after Hurricane Katrina, which everyone knew was imminent, allowing time to prepare or evacuate. We in California will never experience a hurricane. But it is a matter of time until some of us experience our equivalent of a Class V hurricane: “The Big One,” the devastating earthquake we know will arrive some day. And our Big One will occur without the forewarning that accompanies a hurricane. The Rodgers Creek Fault runs right through Windsor. It has been cited as the most likely source of a 7.0 magnitude or greater quake during the next 30 years. In other words, we could be at the epicenter of The Big One. Disaster Response in Windsor—The Cold, Hard Facts Half of the fire department’s volunteers live west of Highway 101. With Station 2 out of service, those volunteers would have to be able to get to Station 1 in order to help. Getting from one side of town to the other will be very difficult, if not impossible. In addition, 99 percent of our volunteers work outside of Windsor; they will not be here if The Big One comes during the day. The on-duty battalion chief—the chief who directs firefighter and rescue operations and who is typically the incident commander in disasters—will be responsible for close to 55,000 people and 160 square miles because his responsibility will include our neighboring Rincon Valley Fire Protection District. A 7.0 earthquake is projected to do extensive damage to all County freeways and highways, causing nearly 400 complete road closures. It will be very difficult for rescue equipment to reach us. It could take days for help to arrive. Our neighboring communities will also sustain severe damage, so they will be unable to help. 9-1-1 will be swamped. In spite of everyone’s best efforts, there will be no emergency assistance available to most of the population for 2 or 3 days, maybe longer. What Should YOU Do? So where do you begin? The most important disaster preparedness step is for every family to make a plan. Review the plan once a year. Make sure everyone knows who to contact if your family members are separated—choose someone who lives in another part of California or in another state. Put together survival kits. Make sure everyone knows where they are kept. Carry some basic survival items in your car: water, food, flashlights, bandages, etc. After an earthquake, the floor is likely to be littered with broken glass. Put a spare pair of shoes and a flashlight—basic necessities should the earthquake occur in the middle of the night—in a plastic grocery bag and tie it to the headboard of each family member’s bed. Remember that without electricity there is no gasoline, no ATM machine, no way to buy groceries, no way to charge your cell or cordless phone battery. Keep an emergency supply of cash on hand. Have a “wired” land line phone available. Keep the gas tank in your car at least half full at all times. These are just a few suggestions. Click here to access the Windsor Fire Protection District disaster preparedness web page. In addition each of the following is an excellent resource: the phone book Click here for Safety Tips. Past Monthly Safety Messages:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Send mail to
webmaster@windsorfire.net
with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2003 - 2007 Windsor Fire Protection District. Last modified: 01/14/08. Website Design: Graphicsmiths |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
October is Disaster
Preparedness Month