HOT TOPICS
PLANNING FOR YOUR NEXT DISASTER...BEFORE IT'S HERE!
BY Mark Mankin
In mid-February, during a break between the snow emergencies that plagued the State that month, The Delaware Chapter of IFMA sponsored a Disaster Preparedness Seminar at the Community Services Building in Wilmington. The event, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) workshop, was organized by Scott Stilley of IFMA Delaware and the Programs Committee of the Chapter, and was developed by Marny McLee and Bob George of DEMA, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency. Marny serves as the Citizens Corps Training and Outreach Coordinator and Bob George is the Citizens Corp Program Manager for DEMA. As Bob noted to kick off the program for the afternoon, “we'd like to ask what you are doing to help yourself, as we think there are things you could do.”
Marny and Bob addressed the group previously at a Chapter Meeting, but this time offered the opportunity to take a few hours to expand on the concept of citizens getting involved in the “safety of our own community,” so that if response from 911 is delayed or not available at all, you can “do some things for yourself.” The first guest speaker they introduced was Dave Young, retired from Delmarva Power and a Professor of Engineering at the University of Delaware. Dave mentioned in his remarks that “preparing for disaster is like buying insurance.” Dave went on to talk about his experiences setting up a field hospital and going through exercises that differentiate between what is necessary versus what is not essential.
Another speaker was Marcia Nickle, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator for the University of Delaware, who spoke about the challenges for anyone in her role as, “disasters are so multi-faceted and relatively unexpected.” However, there are some big success stories in our area that reflect back on the planning part, including the fact that United Electric had a business continuity plan in place that allowed them to stay in business as they recovered from the severe tornado damage a few years ago. One of the key components of any contingency plan has to be how to deal with our reliance on electricity, as power outages frequently come with an emergency and “how much we are dependent on electricity.” The good news is that before a disaster strikes, no matter how unexpected, we can make plans that at least begin to consider all those unknowns.
In addition to Marny, Bob, Dave and Marcia; Colonel Dallas Wingate, Director of Military Support, Delaware National Guard; gave participants another angle to the preparedness matrix by discussing the threats that are out there from terrorists and planning that is underway to confront those challenges. Colonel Wingate started his remarks by warning the group that they probably “have more questions than I have answers.” He talked about how terrorists seek to create and exploit a “power vacuum,” in your government and erode confidence in its ability to respond. The government has to develop different “levels of emergency plans,” to deal with the different potential scenarios. The range of threats includes the “B-NICE” acronym, which stands for Nuclear, Biological, Incendiary, Chemical, and Explosives.
In wrapping up the afternoon's discussion, Marny and Dave demonstrated how gas could be shut off from outside a home before attempting to enter and look for survivors. In addition to the critical information covered in the presentations, each participant received a “Certificate of Completion” from DEMA and a backpack full of survival supplies for getting folks started on putting together a personal home emergency response plan. Additional information and resources are available from DEMA by visiting their web site at www.delawarecitizencorps.org
