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RED CROSS
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM ABOUT RED
CROSS, TOWN AND SCHOOL
PLANS
The
Livingston Township Emergency Management
Committee hosted a presentation by the
Metropolitan New Jersey Chapter of the Red
Cross on emergency preparedness in the
community on April 23 at Heritage Middle
school.
Walter
Grahamm, an instructor for the Red Cross,
described the work of the Red Cross in
preventing, preparing for and responding
to disasters, both natural and man-made
and gave a slide show presentation on how
to prepare for disasters on an individual
level.
Grahamm
outlined the following steps:
1. Make a
plan of what to do in an emergency:
Establish a communication plan and meeting
places, both near home and away from it;
coordinate who to call in case of an
emergency; teach children how and when to
dial 9-1-1 for police and fire; learn the
community's evacuation routes and
emergency plans put in place by schools or
day care centers; learn how to turn off
their home's water, gas and electrical
power but do not do so unless instructed
to by police or fire
2. Build a
disaster supplies kit in case of an
evacuation: Store in an easy to
carry container such as a backpack;
include a supply of water, nonperishable
or canned food, a manual can opener,
change of clothing, rain gear, sturdy
shoes; blankets or sleeping bags; first
aid kit and prescription medications;
extra pair of glasses; battery-powered
radio and flashlight and extra batteries;
credit cards and cash; extra car keys and
maps; list of physicians, copies of birth
certificates and passports; sanitary
supplies; special items for infants,
elderly or disabled.
An at home
disaster kit should also include tools,
duct tape and plastic sheeting.
3. Respond
to evacuation or "invacuation"
instructions: follow all official
instructions, lock homes, take disaster
supplies kits, and use approved travel
routes. If instructed to stat inside home
during a n emergency, seal cracks around
doors and vents with plastic sheeting and
duct tape.
4. Get
trained: learn basic first aid, CPR and
how to use defibrillators
5.
Volunteer: members are needed for the
Red Cross Disaster Action Team as well as
instructors and volunteers to package
supplies for the military
6. Give
Blood: especially in northern New
Jersey, and do so regularly. Call
1-800-GIVE-LIFE or
1-800-NJ-BLOOD
Graham
concluded that "the state of New Jersey,
and particularly Essex County, are
among the best prepared in the nation for
terrorist, biological and chemical
attacks. . .We're way out in front of
everyone else. But we still need to be
ready to respond at an time.
Livingston's
Plans
Township
manager Charles Tahaney noted that
Livingston has an emergency response plan
in place and that these plans are reviewed
and revised on a regular basis. Since
Sept. 11, plans now include training for
biological, chemical and terrorist
attacks. First responders -- fire, police
and auxiliary police, public works
employees, the townshp engineer and
municipal administrative employees -- are
trained on an annual basis, he said.
Specific procedures were once available to
the public, but since Sept. 11 and the
establishment of Homeland Security,
emergency response plans are no longer
open to the public for security
purposes.
Residents
will be alerted by the town's sirens, he
said. Upon hearing the emergency signal -
one long siren blast - residents should
call the police or fire departments or
turn on radio station 94.7 WFME or TV34
for further instructions. Police cars are
equipped with loudspeakers to notify
residents street by street if
necessary.
School
Emergency Plans
Superintendent
of Schools Dr. Mark Mongon addressed
emergency plans in the district's schools.
Every school has several emergency plans
in place to meet different kinds of
disasters, he said. Lock down procedures
have been created in case of intruders in
schools, while pans to move the children
to interior rooms with no windows, such as
auditoriums or gymnasiums, will be
implemented in case of a chemical or
biological attack. In addition, the
district's schools each have their own
evacuation plans, including "on premises"
and "off premises" should it become
necessary to leave not just the school
buildings but the grounds as
well.
Throughout
the year, staff and students participate
in drills. Emergency plans are reviewed
and updated on a regular basis. "We are as
prepared as we can be," he said, adding
that, like the township's emergency
response plans, the details cannot be made
public in advance for security
reasons.
As a rule
of thumb, he said, in the event of an
emergency during the school day, parents
should leave children at school unless
otherwise instructed. Parents scrambling
to retrieve children from schools only
create additional traffic and safety
concerns, he said, and can add to the
number of individuals in danger at a
particular location.
Tahaney
concluded the presentation by noting that
since Sept. 11 the county, state and
federal governments have been far more
open about sharing information in case of
disasters. This open communication, he
said, "works for all of us, so local
communities can be as prepared as possible
for any emergency." He concluded that "we
in Livingston are as up to date as we can
be."
(with
appreciation to article in the May 1 West
Essex Tribune)
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