September is National Preparedness Month [selfdefense 87.1]

Preparedness - September is National Preparedness Month (2320 views)

From:	EdGlaze	12/22/09 7:33 AM
To:	All	(1 of 22)

87.1

http://www.ready.gov/america/npm/index.htm

Welcome to the National Preparedness Month Web site. Thank you for your interest in this important initiative designed to promote family emergency preparedness. On this Web site you will learn how you can participate in National Preparedness Month and prepare yourself and your family for emergencies.

National Preparedness Month is a nationwide effort held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. National Preparedness Month 2006 is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The goal of the month is to increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and to encourage individuals to take action. Throughout September, Homeland Security will work with a wide variety of organizations, including local, state and federal government agencies and the private sector, to highlight the importance of family emergency preparedness and promote individual involvement through events and activities across the nation.

We invite you to review the National Preparedness Month information and to participate in this important effort.

Participate in National Preparedness Month
Individuals
Organizations
Frequently Asked Questions

The Ready Campaign

A national public service advertising campaign produced in partnership with The Advertising Council that is designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

The Campaign’s Web sites (Ready.gov and listo.gov) and toll-free numbers (1-800-BE-READY and 1-888-SE-LISTO) provide Americans with free emergency preparedness information.

National Preparedness Month Calendar

Citizen Corps has created an electronic calendar of National Preparedness Month events.

To view a calendar of National Preparedness Month events in your area and across the nation visit the National Preparedness Month Calendar.

You may also want to include your event on this calendar. To enter your event go to www.citizencorps.gov and click on "Citizen Corps Councils." Then click on "Calendar of Events." On the calendar page, you can submit your email address and enter your event information. You will receive an email to confirm your event entry and be provided with the opportunity to accept or edit the event listing.

Citizen Corps brings together community, emergency and government leaders to involve community members in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recovery. More than 2,200 state, local, tribal and territorial governments in all 56 states and U.S. territories have formed Citizen Corps Councils, and every day new Councils are formed in communities around the country. These Councils enable collaborative planning between government and civic leaders and provide localized support for: outreach and educational efforts to the public; training and exercises that effectively integrate emergency responders, volunteers with a response role, and the general public; and volunteer programs that augment the full range of emergency response services. For more information about Citizen Corps, visit citizencorps.gov.

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From:	EdGlaze	12/22/09 7:34 AM
To:	All	(2 of 22)

87.2 in reply to 87.1

HOMELAND RESPONDER - VIDEO BRIEF ARCHIVES

Free Video Library

September: National Preparedness Month 2006 - A Reminder To Be Prepared
Liz DiGregorio of Citizen Corps, and Kristen Gossel of The Ready Campaign remind all Americans to be prepared and note a few things often overlooked in personal preparedness plans. Transcript available

September: National Preparedness Month 2006-Part 2: Uniting for Preparedness
Liz DiGregorio of Citizen Corps, and Marc LaFountain, a volunteer for The American Red Cross, speak on the culture and importance of volunteerism. Transcript available

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From:	EdGlaze	12/22/09 7:34 AM
To:	All	(3 of 22)

87.3 in reply to 87.2

The Bottom Line:
The Fire Service Role in National Preparedness Month
by Chief Dennis Compton

Each September, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sponsors National Preparedness Month in a nationwide effort to encourage Americans to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. This year the Department’s goals are to increase public awareness about the importance of family emergency preparedness and to urge individuals to make themselves and their loved ones better prepared.

Because our Nation’s fire service plays such a vital role in community safety education, every fire department should embrace Home Preparedness Month locally and make it an active focal point for community outreach this fall.

You’ve already met with tremendous success in educating your constituents about the need for household smoke alarms and well planned and practiced fire drills. So it’s a natural extension for your department to help families also recognize the need to be prepared for any emergency — from home fires to natural disasters to terror threats.

No one is better prepared or more trusted than you to guide your community through this important planning process. With your help, children and adults alike can appreciate the need for emergency preparedness and accept the responsibility for taking personal action to improve their safety.

You have a wide range of resources at hand to help you communicate these important messages.

Start with Ready.gov where you can download checklists and brochures for individuals and families, and helpful materials for businesses.
For educational outreach to children, be sure to access Ready Kids, which presents non-threatening and informative preparedness activities online, along with helpful guidance for parents and teachers.
The Citizens Corps is another great asset to your department, both online and through Citizen Corps Councils and Partner Programs.

In addition to these valuable federal programs, you should be aware of two important private-sector programs that the Home Safety Council is spearheading: the Get Ready with Freddie middle school program and the Home Safety Literacy Project, both of which earned Fire Prevention and Safety Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Get Ready with Freddie is an exciting new family readiness program for third and fourth graders, with print and video components developed in both English and Spanish. HSC is distributing the curriculum and video at no charge to classrooms across the U.S. and to members of the HSC Expert Network.

As important as it is to communicate basic preparedness messages to our Nation’s youth we must ensure their parents and caregivers are also well prepared to take action.

You can increase your confidence in reaching more members of your community by using the new Home Safety Literacy Project emergency preparedness materials for adults. These innovative teaching tools are designed for non-English-speaking adults and those with low English literacy, but their Plain English text and carefully designed illustrations make them appealing for all adult audiences.

I hope you’ll get involved and use these great resources to help boost family emergency preparedness in your community. We need your help and so does your community.

___________

Chief Compton is a well-known speaker and the author of several books, including the When in Doubt, Lead three-part series and Mental Aspects of Performance for Firefighters and Fire Officers. He is Co-Editor of the current edition of the ICMA textbook Managing Fire and Rescue Services. He was the Fire Chief in Mesa, Arizona for five years and Assistant Fire Chief in Phoenix, Arizona, where he served for twenty-seven years. Chief Compton is Vice Chair of the Home Safety Council Board of Directors, a member of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors, and serves on the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute Steering Council.

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From:	EdGlaze	12/22/09 7:37 AM
To:	All	(4 of 22)

87.4 in reply to 87.3

It’s Only Natural
by Janet Wilmoth at 10:09 am, 09/12/2008

To me, September always feels more like the start of a new year than does January. Schools are back in session and fall conferences are scheduled. Typically this “new year” starts out slow for the fire service and ramps up in October with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend and Fire Prevention Week activities. This year is a little different, however.

Right now, hurricane season is in full swing. FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Task Forces from Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Missouri and Florida are pre-positioned for Hurricane Ike’s arrival in Texas. Illinois’ MABAS resources also have been deployed to secondary positions.

Last month, the U.S. Fire Administration offered fire and emergency response agencies a new special report, “Fire Department Preparedness for Extreme Weather Emergencies and Natural Disasters.” According to USFA spokesman Tom Olshanski, the report includes lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, Pennsylvania storms and flood incidents.

The report offers fire departments a comprehensive guideline on staffing assessments, notification and callouts, accommodations and food, and support from other public service agencies. The report offers case studies on blizzards, power outages, earthquakes, hurricanes and more. The report is good example of the USFA’s efforts to assist and educate fire and emergency services on disaster preparations.

And speaking of preparations, this September is the fifth National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign.

Admittedly, National Preparedness Month is not quite a Hallmark holiday, marked like the Halloween decorations you’ll soon be seeing. But why not campaign to convince Americans to take responsibility to prepare for disasters — natural or otherwise? We urge residents to check smoke alarm batteries during Fire Prevention Week or when they change their clocks. It’s definitely time to expand that effort and urge people to prepare for other possible disasters.

A couple months ago, I gave a talk to a local women’s organization about disaster preparedness for senior citizens. Many of the members are seniors or care for aging parents. I shared that my daughter made sure that her grandmother has a bag near her door with a list of things to take with her in the event of a disaster or emergency evacuation. The list includes eyeglasses, medications and her wallet with insurance cards and identification. I also distributed a brochure from Ready.gov that is designed to help senior citizens prepare for a disaster or emergency evacuation.

Natural disasters are going to happen, naturally. Doesn’t it make sense to be prepared? News reports said the evacuation plans for Galveston and New Orleans went well recently. Fire departments have a responsibility to be prepared, but also to educate their communities to work with them.

It’s sort of like educating the consumers.

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From:	EdGlaze	12/22/09 7:37 AM
To:	All	(5 of 22)

87.5 in reply to 87.4

National Preparedness Month

According to the Citizen Corps web site, their National Survey “Personal Preparedness in America: the Citizen Corps National Survey June 2009.” (PDF, 2.38MB) findings “have important implications for the development of more effective communication and outreach strategies to achieve greater levels of community preparedness, such as the relationship between risk perceptions and motivation to prepare, knowledge of emergency community preparedness procedures and resources, expectations of emergency responders, and how socio-economic factors affect preparedness.”

The Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) examined the findings of the survey that was done to evaluate the nation’s progress on personal preparedness and to measure the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors relative to preparing for a range of man-made and natural disasters. Survey questions addressed several critical areas in the field of disaster preparedness research including elements of personal preparedness such as stocked supplies, plans, knowledge of community protocols, and training; insights on barriers and motivators to preparedness; and social-behavior modeling on disaster preparedness.

An over-whelming 60% of respondents were unfamiliar about their local evacuation routes and 54% of respondents were unaware of the location of their local shelter. This uncertainty among community residents can potentially obstruct major response routes and seriously delay essential emergency services. Additionally, 57% of respondents expect to rely on their emergency personnel in the first 72 hours following a disaster.

The survey summary sheet (PDF, 64K) indicated that comprehension of respondents’ attitudes and expectations can be used to achieve greater community resilience when preparing for disasters. The results of this study can also be applied to bolster the survivability, continuity, and response-ability of responder organizations.

On a related matter, the National Preparedness Month (NPM) sponsored by FEMA's Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, will be held in September to raise awareness and promote action surrounding emergency preparedness among citizens, businesses, and communities. This year it will focus on changing perceptions about emergency preparedness and helping Americans understand what it truly means to be ready.

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From:	EdGlaze	9/2/10 2:34 PM
To:	All	(6 of 22)

87.6 in reply to 87.5

September is National Preparedness Month
http://www.ready.gov/america/npm10/index.html

September is National Preparedness Month! This awareness month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council. NPM is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities.

September 2010 is the seventh annual NPM. This year will focus on encouraging Americans to work together to take concrete actions toward emergency preparedness. We are encouraging all Americans to join the readiness team and truly help themselves, their neighbors, and their communities be ready.

• NPM Coalition membership is open to all public and private sector organizations. Groups can register to become an NPM Coalition Member by visiting ready.gov and clicking on the NPM banner.

• In 2009, nearly 2,700 organizations joined the Ready Campaign in promoting the readiness message across the country in homes, schools, businesses, and communities to highlight the importance of individual and community public emergency preparedness throughout September.

• During NPM, Coalition Members share preparedness information with their members, customers, employees, and communities. Members spearhead activities that encourage specific steps for individual, neighborhood, and community preparedness.

• Throughout the year, the Ready Campaign promotes individual emergency preparedness. Ready is a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign, produced in partnership with The Advertising Council, to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

• The Campaign’s Web sites (ready.gov and listo.gov) and toll-free numbers (800-BE-READY, TTY 1-800-462-7585, or 1-888-SE-LISTO) provide Americans with free emergency preparedness information.

• Citizen Corps is FEMA's grassroots strategy to bring together government and community leaders to involve citizens in all-hazards emergency preparedness and resilience. Local Citizen Corps Councils enable collaborative planning between government and civic leaders and provide localized support for: outreach and educational efforts to the public; training and exercises that effectively integrate all sectors of the community; and volunteer programs that augment the full range of emergency response services. For more information about Citizen Corps, visit www.citizencorps.gov.

Get A Kit

Click here for more information, including a printer-friendly list of supplies.

Click here for more information about preparing your business for an emergency.

Make A Plan

Make sure you have a family emergency plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations.

Click here for information, including a family emergency plan template.

Click here for more information about planning to stay in business.

Click here for more information about talking to your colleagues and employees about emergency preparedness.

Click here for more information about protecting your investment.

Be Informed

Being informed about the different types of emergencies that could happen where you live and the appropriate ways to respond to them will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take.

In addition, learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area by your state and local government.

Click here to find resources on preparedness in your community.

Get Involved

After preparing yourself and your family for possible emergencies by getting a kit, making a plan and being informed, take the next step and get involved in preparing your community. Learn more about Citizen Corps, which actively involves citizens in making our communities and our nation safer, stronger and better prepared.

We all have a role to play in keeping our hometowns secure from emergencies of all kinds. Citizen Corps works hard to help people prepare, train and volunteer in their communities. For more information, go to www.citizencorps.gov to get involved.

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From:	Joanne (spiesonline)	9/21/10 2:17 PM
To:	EdGlaze	(7 of 22)

87.7 in reply to 87.6

Great article!

Joanne

P.S. Any information contained in this posting is for discussion purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind. Use any information you read online at your own peril.

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From:	EdGlaze	9/4/11 3:47 AM
To:	All	(8 of 22)

87.8 in reply to 87.6

http://vigilprudence.com/national-preparedness-month/

September is National Preparedness Month. How do I know this? Last evening the White House released a proclamation that September is National Preparedness Month. Back in July, FEMA encouraged Americans to participate in National Preparedness Month.

Now I don’t like to post links from the government.& Primarily because I have no trust in them in any way especially when it comes to being able to help me in a real disaster. But for the average “Joe Sheeple” and that is who the government focuses on, some of the information they provide is “helpful” if you have zero knowledge in preparing and helping yourself.

It is very basic of information. Information that encourages you to be prepared with a 3-days of supplies. Three days? Really? That means what, at the end of three days the disaster will be over or the government will be there to give me and you the supplies we need? I suspect neither will occur.

Folks, every month should be a preparedness month. Anything could occur at any time. The government focuses primarily on natural disasters when they talk about preparedness. However, you could have a personal disaster like a job loss or serious car accident that would render you disabled for several months.

Yes, prepare continually for all kinds of disasters be it natural, man made, economic, personal, even pandemic’s.

Live a lifestyle that is debt free. One where you are healthy and in shape Clean living so you are not dependent on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or other stimulants. A life style where you are growing your own foods. Stocking up on foods. Have a large supply of water on hand at all times. Be armed to protect family and supplies.

The government says three days….Personally I think you should have at minimum three months worth of supplies for each family member with the goal of six months to a year on hand at all times.

Don’t be lulled into a false sense of safety by focusing on preparedness for one month, begin to change how you live and plan daily, every day, every month. That is real preparedness and self reliance.

Edited September 7, 2020 7:58 am by EdGlaze

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From:	Oso Negro (Cullagamhas)	9/10/11 11:33 PM
To:	All	(9 of 22)

87.9 in reply to 87.8

Ed's suggestion to be prepared is good but it's real easy to say "but I cant afford to buy and set aside a 3 months supply of emergency food and gear". Or, "where do I start"?

Answer to the first is, True enough. Answer to the second is, what do you eat?

The beautiful thing is, you buy what you already buy. Just buy a little extra and put it aside. Buy extra when its on sale. Use coupons.

Keep a spread sheet so you can track your Veggies, Meats, Fruits, Soups, etc.

Keep it balanced.

Keep in mind water.

Keep in mind alternative means of heating or cooking food. A month without power or gas can get old quick. A camping stove is essential.

Aim for 1 week, then 1 month, and then 3 months. It does not take very long and you will be there.

Of course there is much more to this topic. This is scratching the surface.

_______

[edited to remove sig]

Edited 9/11/2011 9:28 pm by EdGlaze

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From:	EdGlaze	9/4/12 8:50 PM
To:	All	(10 of 22)

87.10 in reply to 87.9

News about preparedness month

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/BeReady/

Edited September 7, 2020 7:59 am by EdGlaze

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