September is National Preparedness Month

This month’s blog is not going to highlight a part of the department. Instead this month we are going to focus on preparation and preparedness for you and your family!

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). It is a time to prepare yourself and those in your care for emergencies and disasters. If you’ve seen the news recently, you know that emergencies can happen unexpectedly in communities just like ours! We have seen the devastation first hand and the impact on local resources with Hurricane Irene, Super Storm Sandy and the Blizzard of 2013. Now is the time to prepare yourself and family!

As with the storms mentioned above police, fire and rescue services may not always be able to reach you quickly in an emergency or disaster. The most important step you can take in helping your local responders is being able to take care of yourself and those in your care; the more people who are prepared, the quicker the community will recover.

This September, please prepare and plan in the event you must go for three days without electricity, water service, access to a supermarket, or local services for several days.

Three Steps To Follow:

Stay Informed: Information is available; Access http://ready.gov/ to learn what to do before, during, and after an emergency. Here in East Haven there are many avenues that the officials utilize to get information to you. Utilizing local TV, radio, social media, the town’s website, the fire department web site along with a mass phone calling system called Everbridge (more commonly called reverse 911) gives us multiple avenues to get the message out to you. However, each of these methods requires you to have the ability to receive them. Will you have power, internet service, or cell phone service? Those services we cannot depend on in time of devastation. That is why it is extremely to prepare today!

Make a Plan: Discuss, agree on, and document an emergency plan with those in your care. For Sample plans, see http://ready.gov/. Work together with neighbors, colleagues, and others to build Community resilience.

During a declared state of emergency if the mayor orders an evacuation, it is very important that the public complies immediately. An order for people to leave their homes will not be issued unless it has been determined to be absolutely necessary. Anyone living in flood-prone areas should monitor weather events as conditions can change rapidly and often with little time for notification. If an order is issued to evacuate and citizens fail to comply, during the height of the event it may not be possible to provide assistance to these citizens. Officials must take into account the safety of the town’s limited number of personnel and resources and balance this against the dangerous conditions that would be encountered during a rescue. Make yourself familiar with at least 2 relocation routes to be used in the event that an evacuation order is given. Your standard route of travel and an alternate route if the primary one is blocked (for example, by a fallen tree or downed wires).

The town officials have designated 35 WheelBarrow Lane as the shelter for all residents of East Haven. This location is the East Haven High School located off of RT 80 (Foxon Road).

Build a Kit: Keep enough emergency supplies - water, nonperishable food, first aid, prescriptions, flashlight, and a battery-powered radio on hand - for you and those in your care.  

            Evacuation kits - If you evacuate, take the following items: a travel kit with personal identification for all family members, cash, credit cards, car keys, prescription medications, pet supplies, flashlights, spare batteries, important family documents (insurance policies). Make sure family members know who to contact if you are separated when the event occurs; this contact person will become the key to re-establishing contact.

            Household kits - In many cases, even during an emergency, you will be asked to stay in your home unless you are in an area deemed to be unsafe. As a town, East Haven must be self reliant for the first 72 hours after an incident occurs. This is possible if every household has enough water and food to maintain itself and its pets. Some options for doing so include canned goods, freeze-dried foods (back packing supplies), MREs (meals ready to eat, available on-line or at Army Navy stores). The shelf life of these items must be noted and a hand operated can opener must be kept in the home.

The Town of East Haven, its residents and emergency services have been tested time and time again, year after year. We have seen our fair share of tragedy and natural disasters. Each and every time we have been tested we have proved the town and its residents can handle whatever is thrown our way. However we must be prepared! We must have a plan and we must have the supplies and resources necessary to protect and sustain ourselves and our families.

Take the time today to begin making a plan, building a kit and learning more about what you should be doing before, during and after any natural disaster.

East Haven Town Websites

Official Town Municipal Site (links to other town sites) - www.townofeasthavenct.org

Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr. - eh.mayor@att.net

EH Fire Department - www.easthavenfire.com

EH Police Department - www.easthavenpolice.com

EH Recreation Department - www.easthavenrec.com

EH Chamber of Commerce - www.easthavenchamber.com

Hagaman Memorial Library - www.leaplibraries.org/ehaven

EH Public Schools - www.east-haven.k12.ct.u