COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL June 8, 2016
9A
Are you ready?
D ISASTER P REPAREDNESS
How to insulate your home
against a deadly fi re
As fi re prevention awareness
efforts gear up across North
America, the National Fire Pro-
tection Association and insula-
tion company, Roxul Inc., are
spreading the word to Ameri-
cans from coast to coast about
the importance of fi re prepared-
ness.
Through the “Hear the BEEP
where you SLEEP” campaign
and Roxul’s “When Seconds
Count” initiative, Americans are
reminded that simple steps can
cut their chances of dying in a
fi re in half.
Here are some measures you
can take to dramatically reduce
your risk:
• Be sure to have a smoke
alarm on every story of your
home and outside sleeping ar-
eas.
• Develop a fi re escape plan
and practice it.
• Use non-combustible ma-
terials when renovating. The
choice of insulation can make a
big difference. Opt for a product
with the highest fi re resistance
possible, like Roxul mineral
wool insulation, which, in the
event of a fi re, will not produce
harmful gases, toxic smoke or
promote the spread of fl ames.
• Purchase a multi-use fi re
ladder for each bedroom in your
home and practise using it.
• Place fi re extinguishers
within reach throughout your
home.
• In the event of a fi re, leave
through the closest exit. Do not
stop to collect belongings and
never reenter a home once safe-
ly outside.
Additional fi re safety tips are
available at nfpa.org. You can
also improve your fi re safety
knowledge, with a contest in-
centive, by visiting roxul.com.
Ready Kids
None of us would consider
going on any kind of road trip
without a spare tire. Few wom-
en would entertain leaving the
house without their purse. Just
in case. If you are low on Band-
Aids at your house, you stock
up, just in case. Yet often the
same people can’t see the need
to prepare for a disaster, just in
case. Go fi gure.
A really great resource is FE-
MA’s “Fun For Kids” link. Go
to www.ready.gov/kids. There
are games, exercises, puzzles
and even a scavenger hunt to get
the kids involved in being pre-
pared. Even a section for par-
ents and another for teachers.
Every child needs their own kit
and this will help include them
in the conversation. Kids like
to be a part of what’s going on
with preparations. To them it’s
like getting ready to go camp-
ing. In fact when you do go
camping, take their kit along
as a sort of shake-down cruise
to see whether or not you’ve
missed anything.
Back to the FEMA page, a
couple of games will have your
kiddos sharpening their skills
in no time. “Disaster Master”
takes your kids through sev-
eral different types of disaster
with an interactive approach
to learning about preparing for
wildfi res, tornados, blackouts,
earthquakes and more. Then the
“Build a Kit” game provides the
kids with choices of what to put
in their kit. Lots of fun and very
educational for the kids.
Each child should have
their own backpack with extra
clothes, fl ashlight, games, and
other items they would need in
the event of a disaster. Use your
judgement in supplying age-ap-
propriate items such as a pocket
knife, hatchet or fi re-starting
implements. And remember to
keep it positive! Do your best to
keep out the fear-factor. Keep in
mind you don’t have a spare tire
because you’re afraid, you have
it “just in case.”
Finally there is a bit on WEAs.
Wireless Emergency Alerts are
emergency messages sent to cell
phones by authorized govern-
ment agencies to let you know
about dangerous weather condi-
tions, emergencies, and other lo-
cal hazards. Check out this fun
and very informative website.
Wildfi re evacuation
When it is no longer safe to
live in your home, then it’s time
to evacuate. Some evacuations
are middle-of-the-night, grab
what you can and run because
the water heater just set the
house on fi re. But more often
we think of evacuating in the
face of a hurricane, tornado, or
other cataclysmic event. Then
there are the times that you have
a little more warning. In past
columns, I haven’t dwelt too
much on evacuation because
in our region, hurricanes and
tornadoes are just not that com-
mon.
Recent wildland fi res in
northern Alberta, Canada, have
underscored the fact that evacu-
ation can be a reality. Accord-
ing to news reports, over 80,000
people have fl ed their homes as
a result of out-of-control fi res in
the region. When it comes to
wildland fi res, our local offi cials
tell us there are three levels of
evacuation notices. Level 1 is to
be ready. Residents are encour-
aged to move livestock and pets
out of the area. Check your plan
and begin to make preparations
to bug out. Gas up your car.
Evacuation is voluntary at this
point. Level 2. Residents are
ordered to leave soon! Roads
are usually closed and entry to
evacuated areas may be denied.
Residents may have time to
gather necessary items, but will
do so at their own risk. The time
for making a plan is past and it
is now time to gather your fam-
ily, supplies and head for safety.
A Level 3 notice is an order to
leave immediately, that immi-
nent danger exists and there is
no time to gather personal be-
longings. Jump in your car and
hit the road.
Fire offi cials noted some
folks were more “disaster-
ready” than others. Each family
was told to consider the 5 “P’s”
when making plans to evacuate.
The 5 “P’s” include (1) People
and Pets (and livestock too), (2)
Papers (important documents),
(3) Prescriptions, including
hearing aids, eyeglasses and
your medications, (4) Photo-
graphs, so your memories are
preserved and fi nally is (5) your
Personal Computer. There is
often invaluable, irreplaceable
data on your hard drive.
Of course, having a com-
plete 72 hour kit at the ready is
going to ease the task of decid-
ing what to take, and as always
having a plan in place will elim-
inate a whole lot of confusion
when the time comes to evacu-
ate. When you have a plan, the
panic factor, not to mention the
stress on the marriage and over-
all volume of the conversation,
is greatly diminished.
Get a Kit, Make a Plan,
and Be Informed is still the
theme for every disaster. The
best time to make ready is now,
before the fi re department comes
knocking.
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Mapping your neighborhood
Let’s play a little game
of pretend. A major disaster
has hit your neighborhood. The
electricity just went off all over
town. Maybe a tornado or earth-
quake or hurricane-force winds.
You’re pretty sure there’s dam-
age to your neighbor’s house so
you pick up the phone to call
9-1-1. The line is dead. Cell
phone, “Sorry all circuits are
busy try your call again later,”
in that irritating, metallic voice
you hate to hear. You can’t
reach anyone. But you feel a
responsibility to your neighbor,
an elderly lady who lives alone
and someone really should go
check on her. After all a big tree
just fell across her house. She
could be injured. You try the
cell phone again. Same answer.
Pick up the landline, still dead.
The reality is that during a
major catastrophic event, YOU
are often the fi rst responder.
Y.O.Y.O. (You’re on your own.)
The police, fi re and ambulance
personnel are probably not go-
ing to respond to your emergen-
cy. They are already stretched
beyond their resources. This is
why neighborhoods all across
the country are instituting a
program called ‘Mapping Your
Neighborhood’. In my opinion,
this is the most important and
effective thing you can do to
prepare for an emergency. And
it doesn’t cost a cent. Mapping
Your Neighborhood is a simple
grassroots plan that relies on
people organizing their own
neighborhoods and building a
network of contacts based on
who lives on your block or in
your immediate vicinity. Gen-
erally made up of fewer than
20 homes, a list is compiled
of who lives where. Do they
have natural gas or a propane
tank? Is there an elderly per-
son in the home, one who may
need assistance in the event of
a disaster. Are they on oxygen?
How about insulin? Does any-
one have a toddler or infant in
the home? On the other hand,
is anyone in your neighborhood
equipped with a backhoe, gen-
erator, chainsaw or other item
that could come in handy dur-
ing a crisis. How about skills?
Is anyone trained in medical
care, maybe a nurse or someone
who can give care to an elderly
person or a young child? Does
anyone have carpentry, electri-
cal or plumbing skills? Anyone
skilled in counseling, maybe a
minister?
All these questions will be
answered at your fi rst neighbor-
hood meeting. What is needed
is for someone to grasp the vi-
sion of seeing their neighbor-
hood come together and get
organized on a very local level.
Most groups also agree on a
plan to check on your neighbors
immediately after a disaster.
Remember Y.O.Y.O. Only one
meeting per year is really nec-
essary and only then to update
fi les. Some groups simply com-
pile a list of their neighbors and
make a basic plan while others
do fundraisers to buy needed
equipment like fi re extinguish-
ers, generators or community-
owned chainsaws. How far you
want to take it is strictly up to
your local neighborhood.
To begin, contact your local
offi ce of Emergency Manage-
ment or search online for “Map-
ping Your Neighborhood.” You
will fi nd information you can
print off to get you started. If
you want to contribute to your
neighborhood, this may be just
the opportunity for you. There
is no federal funding, but most
cities have someone who is des-
ignated to assist with disaster
preparedness. As always you
may contact me at disasterprep.
dave@gmail.com
Other in-
formation can be found on my
blog at www.disasterprepdave.
blogspot.com. Dave Robinson
is the Postmaster in Bandon, Or-
egon, and the author of “Disas-
ter Prep For The Rest Of Us.”
Ask us how we can help grow your business.
Cottage Grove Sentinel
Make sure all the pieces are in place to render you and your family prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
• Listen to radio or television newscasts for the latest weather information, and follow all evacuation directions and suggestions.
• Keep a stock of non-perishable food items as well as bottled water on hand inside your home.
• Keep a 72 Hour Kit on hand inside your home that is easy to get to in the event of a disaster.
For more information and tips on disaster response and preparedness, contact your local emergency services center.
South Lane Fire & Rescue • 233 Harrison Ave, Cottage Grove 541-942-4493 • 55 South 1st Street, Creswell 541-895-2506
Twitter: @southlanefi re
Facebook: southlanecountyfi reandrescue