New First Aid Smartphone app

Last month the American Red Cross launched its official first aid app, putting free and simple lifesaving information right in the hands of smart phone users.  It gives instant access to information on how to handle the most common first aid situations, and includes videos and interactive quizzes. Users who take quizzes can earn badges they can share with friends through social media to show off their lifesaving knowledge.

“The American Red Cross First Aid app is a free and easy way to get lifesaving first aid instruction and disaster preparedness information anytime, anywhere,” said Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council chair Dr. David Markenson. “Everyone should load this onto their smart phone as an important first step in learning what to do for medical emergencies and in creating a family preparedness plan.”

App features include:

• Simple step-by-step instructions for everyday first aid scenarios;
• Prioritized steps to take during an emergency, with 9-1-1 call button;
• Sharable badges to be unlocked through interactive quizzes;
• Videos and animations to make learning first aid fun and easy;
• Safety and preparedness tips for a range of conditions including severe winter weather, hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes;
• Preloaded content that gives instant access to all safety information at any time.

Find the app in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross

Make It Through

The state of Washington has launched a new preparedness website called "Make it Through" at http://makeitthrough.org/.  It begins with the traditional FEMA/Red Cross guidelines of "Make a Plan", and "Build a Kit" but changes the third step.  Instead of "Stay Informed" or "Get Involved", Washington state says, "Help Each Other".

The "Help Each Other" topic has three sub-points:
1. Get Involved (same as FEMA)
2. Participate in Training  (usually covered under "Get Involved"
3. Work Together

Here's the entire text of "Work Together"

No matter how much you and others plan, something may happen that you don’t expect and don’t have the tools to deal with on your own.  After a catastrophe, connecting with others to share information, identify those who need help, provide first aid and pool resources will increase your abilities to make it through until emergency services are available.

Bottom Line

What does it say about modern society that a state government has to encourage its population to work together and share?

Candle light?

"The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who'll get me a book I [haven't] read."
— Abraham Lincoln

During our power outage with the Halloween snowstorm, my wife & I were reminded of Lincoln reading by firelight. (See painting at right). We tried to read by candle light and found that very difficult to do.

We have a collection of pillar candles made by pouring wax into a milk carton with wick. Also a collection of wide candles made inside mason jars. We chose these types for safety since candle use in emergencies is discouraged. You don't want open flame if there's a chance of a gas leak and candles have started many home fires. The American Red Cross, which deals with those house fires, is opposed to candles and does not recommend them for 72-hour kits.

We use wide candles and glass jar candles to reduce the risk of tipping over. We have no large pet or kids so, fingers crossed, we think we're safe. And we take precautions like never burning a candle unattended.

So back to the original point, our candles did not put out much light! There are two problems with wide candles.
1. A depression is created down the center of the candle and the wick is hidden as it sinks into the cavity created.
2. The wick can drown in too much wax in the cavity it makes.

So my wife pulled out some taper candles - these are the tall skinny type - and wow the light was much brighter. To protect against tipping we put the taper candles in tall mason jars. It was not easy but reading was possible with a taper for each of us.

Website WSAC.com offers this advice for getting more use of candles:

• Try multi-wick candles. (We had one dual wick candle but it too suffered the wide candle problems mentioned above. Still they may be good for room lighting.)
• Use Reflection - place candles near mirrors or light colored walls to bounce back more light
• Light colored candles seem to emit brighter light than dark colored ones. (?)
• Cold candles (refrigerated prior to use) burn slower. Take care to ensure that they do not become moist. (I've never tried this)
• Air drafts cause candles to burn more quickly
• WSAC and other sites recommend 1/4" length for the candle wick. Higher wicks cause smoking and flickering.
• Try extinguishing the candle by pushing the wick into the liquid wax. When you restart it you'll burn wax instead of wick alone and the wick will last longer.

Bottom Line

Treat candles with respect. This is fire after all.

Free Preparedness Training

If you don't know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?
-Basil S. Walsh

Where there is no vision, the people perish.
-Proverbs 29:18

I recently got an e-mail from a person asking about Preparedness training.

Where to begin? There are so many different things to consider and it all depends on what you are Preparing for.

The FEMA site covering preparation for natural disasters is at http://www.ready.gov/
See also http://allreadystl.com/types-of-emergencies/ for a list of emergency prep documents by disaster type.

The LDS church has an excellent introduction to the basics at http://www.providentliving.org/

If you're worried about TEOTWAWKI (The end of the world as we know it) see http://www.survivalblog.com/ which covers surviving on your own - raising your own food, caring for medical needs, protecting yourself, etc.

You can receive free training by volunteering for the American Red Cross or a local CERT team:
http://www.redcross.org/  (drill down to Preparing & Training, then Preparedness Fast Facts).
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/

FEMA offers free online training which are required for emergency workers, in particular IS100 and IS700:
http://training.fema.gov/IS/NIMS.asp

To learn more about 72-hour kits see my blog, 72-hour Kits, with links to resources.

Bottom Line

There is no shortage of information online. The hard part is knowing where to begin. Both the Red Cross and FEMA endorse:

Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed.

Which translates to

• make or buy 72-hour kits for your home, office and car. (see 72-hour Kits and Pet Go-Kits )
• make family plans for how you will respond to house fire and other emergencies. Where to evacuate to, whom to call, etc. (see Family Communication Plan)
• follow blogs like mine and check out the resources above. (see also FEMA tip of the week) 

If you Rent, get Renters insurance

“I installed a skylight in my apartment... The people who live above me are furious!”
- Stephen Wright

A co-worker recently experienced a fire in the apartment he rents. He did not have renter's insurance and must pay out of his own pocket the expense of a hotel room while looking for a new place to live and out-of-pocket to replace his belongings.

You might be thinking you could afford that if your belongings are few and/or modest. But there is another important component of Renters Insurance that no renter should be without - Liability protection. If a fire starts in your apartment and it looks like your fault (smoking in bed, a candle, a stove fire, etc) the landlord can sue you for damages and the cost to repair the entire building AND other residents can sue you for the damage they incurred from smoke, fire, and water.

Here are two examples I found on the Internet.

1. Insurance company for the apartment complex just had a law firm send a letter addressed to my sister-in-law and niece. It stated they were deemed at fault for the fire by the insurance company's fire investigator. [The bill is ] $180,000.

2. I am aware that i have to pay for the damages of the fire in my apartment that i caused accidentally. Now i get a bill & they're making me responsible for the buildings under me since i am on the 3rd floor. I don't have rentals insurance, so am i responsible for paying their damages as well? ...
[Answer] You are liable for all of the structural damage you caused ... You caused the damage, this is your puppy.

Bottom Line


There is just no excuse for not having renter's insurance, it can cost as little as $10/month!

Apartment fires are very common; most of the events I respond to as a Red Cross volunteer are apartment fires.

See also What to Do after an Apartment Fire http://www.apartmentinsurancerates.com/after-an-apartment-fire.html

Hurricane Go-Kit

“There isn't much wrong with most of those summerhouses that a really good hurricane wouldn't cure [and] when it comes it may do for the Hamptons what Mrs O'Leary's cow did for Chicago.”
- Peter Blake

One way to prepare for Hurricane Season is to make or update your go-kits. This is a 3-day supply of food, water, clothing and more that you can grab as you leave the house and flee a disaster.

Here’s a short list of basic recommended items for a go-kit:

• Contact information; and important documents http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/familyemergencyplan.pdf
• Water--at least one gallon per person per day for at least three days.
• Food--at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.
• Can-opener.
• Cash--ATMs and credit card readers might be out. Have small bills to make change.
• Prescription medications and glasses.
• Radio: battery-powered or hand crank.
• Flashlight: battery-powered or hand crank.
• Extra batteries.
• First aid kit
• Charged cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger.
• Moist towelettes, toothbrush for hygeine
• Garbage/ziploc bags personal sanitation.
• Local maps.

Bottom Line

Here are some recommended sites for go-kits

http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/assemble_disaster_supplies_kit.shtm

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.53fabf6cc033f17a2b1ecfbf43181aa0/?vgnextoid=537b218c37752210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD&currPage=e507d7aada352210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

http://www.redcrossstore.org/Shopper/Product.aspx?UniqueItemId=36

http://www.co.colfax.nm.us/download/fire/PREPARING%20A%2072%20HOUR.pdf

Google Crisis Support

"I used to sleep nude - until the earthquake."
Alyssa Milano (American Actress)

Back in 2008 (Hide and Seek) I blogged about ways to find missing persons and/or let others know that you are alive after a disaster. For example there is a people finding service run by the Red Cross at https://disastersafe.redcross.org/

Today I learned that Google also supports a people finding service just for major disasters like
Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake  http://christchurch-2011.person-finder.appspot.com/, and
Japan's earthquake and tsunami http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

Google has also a great resource site for the Japanese quake at Google Crisis Response

(The resource page for Christchurch is http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/christchurch_earthquake.html)

The creator of the website wrote this,

As someone who experienced the Kobe earthquake 16 years ago when I was at university, I cannot forget the immediate desire for information. There was no way to find out where people's family and friends were, if transportation would be available to get us home, and most importantly, whether we would be able to find shelter.

This experience helped me remember that during a crisis, information about shelters can become increasingly muddled. Together with our Google Crisis Response team, we decided to organize existing public information from local governments about the concerned areas. Because of the very high volume of web traffic yesterday, this proved difficult to access. Collaborating with the Google Maps engineering team in Tokyo, we rapidly put together a page of information on Google Maps for our Crisis Response page.

And thanks to our colleagues in California and around the globe, within one hour of the earthquake we launched Google Person Finder, a tool to help locate missing people, in Japanese, Chinese and English. We published sites in Japanese and English with maps, news updates, videos, and resources. We also posted tsunami alerts on the Google homepage for appropriate domains to make sure as many people as possible saw the warning.

You can find a list of Crisises that Google has covered at http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/response.html 

and a list of web tools for presenting information at
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/resources.html

Bottom Line

Hats off to Google for using its technical resources to make information available to the public during disasters.

I recall after the East Coast Blackout in the 90's listening two days from my NYC office for word that the metro trains were running again. On day 2 my wife called and said a friend could see the commuter train letting off passengers so ignore the official radio announcements and just go to Grand Central Terminal (GCT) and get on any train leaving the city. GCT was a spooky place with no lights, just the sun shining through the giant windows in the main hall. Men with megaphones announced trains departing and I got home.

American Red Cross Month

WWII Poster

Caesar:
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer:
Beware the ides of March.

- Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2.
Caesar is killed on March 15

The month of March may be halfway over at the Ides but it's not too late to mention that March is Red Cross Month. The American Red Cross (ARC) responds to disasters, helps members of the military, provides blood for those in need and teaches lifesaving skills.

• Every year the Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters—including approximately 150 home fires every day.
• About 11 million Americans turn to the ARC to learn first aid, CPR, swimming, and other health and safety skills. Last year, more than 158,000 people volunteered to teach those courses.
• Half the nation's blood supply— six million pints annually—is collected by more than 155,000 Red Cross volunteers .
• Among the emergency services for the men and women of the armed forces is the delivery of urgent family messages—around the clock and around the globe.

Here's how you can help...

The Red Cross Depends on Volunteers
Volunteers constitute 96 percent of the total work force to carry on ARC's humanitarian work. You can search for volunteer opportunities at http://www.redcross.org/en/volunteertime
More than 30,900 volunteers serve as chairs, members of boards of directors, or on advisory boards for local Red Cross units - chapters, Blood Services regions, and military stations.

Donate to the Red Cross
A hot meal delivered to victims after a disaster, blood when it is needed most, shelter when there is nowhere else to turn, an emergency message delivered to a member of the Armed Forces from their family -- these are just some of the ways that gifts are put to work through the American Red Cross. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the American Red Cross is empowering people to perform extraordinary acts in the face of emergencies.
Find out how to donate online or by mail.

Give Blood
See http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation to find a blood drive near you.
See http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/eligibility-requirements to see if your are eligible to donate blood.

Bottom Line

During Red Cross Month, the ARC asks that you support your community by making a donation, volunteering, taking a class, or giving blood.

Fire Safety

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." - George Washington

I'm reminded by the Red Cross that this is Fire Safety Week. I recommend printing out this Red Cross page and having each family member read it. http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/Preparedness/checklists/FireSafety.pdf

The Red Cross knows about fires. When my wife & I were active disaster responders, every event but one that we assisted was a fire (the one exception was a regional flood). Here are some highlights from the fact sheet.

1. Sixty-five percent of home fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms.
2. Smoke alarms are worse than useless if the battery is dead. Check the alarm monthly and change batteries twice a year.
3. The most common causes of home fires are: kitchen fires starting in the oven/stove, space heaters igniting something nearby, falling asleep while smoking a cigarette, children playing with matches.

I was surprised by the Red Cross statement on fire extinguishers, "Use a portable fire extinguisher ONLY if you have been trained by the fire department and ..." This seems overly restrictive to me but it does drive home a few points:
a. you MUST practice with fire extinguisher. They run out quickly and many people will use them incorrectly (for example spraying the flames when they need to spray the base of the fire instead).
b. a typical home extinguisher is limited to fires up to the size of a basketball or small trash can. It will not extinguish a burning couch or bed or Christmas tree that is completely aflame.
c. Safety first - before you play the hero with the extinguisher and die of smoke inhalation, get the family out first and make sure 9-1-1 is called.

Bottom Line

Here are some earlier posts I've written on fires...

how-to-use-fire-extinguisher
house-fires

kitchen-fires

value-of-drills

october-fire-safety-month

fire!  (the speed and intensity of fires)

oh-christmas-tree-oh-christmas-tree

christmas-fires

Emergency Response Politics

"It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children . . . they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw . . . people who are dying in front of you."
- CNN producer Kim Segal, describing the New Orleans Convention Center the day after Hurricane Katrina

[Note: the Convention Center was NOT an official shelter like the Superdome. Thousands of people just showed up and expected to be taken care of in a city that was official abandoned. The media handled this very poorly- looking for blame instead of helping evacuate the people to real shelters or notifying officials. TV anchor, Ted Koppel, would accuse FEMA of negligence for NOT learning about the crisis at the convention center from TV news reports.]

A reader of the SurvivalBlog.com objects to Firefighter Charles disaster scenario that I quoted in yesterday's post.

"Firefighter Charles's statement about FEMA's response times shows a lack of understanding of how the process works. In the event of another Hurricane Katrina type natural disaster, the following things have to happen, in the following order:

1. Disaster strikes
2. Local officials setup an incident command
3. Local Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) are activated. The local emergency operations plan (EOP) is put into action.
4. Mutual aid agreements are activated. If the disaster goes beyond this, then...
5. State EOCs are activated. State EOPs are put into action.
6. The state activates it's mutual aid agreements.
7. If the situation is not contained, the Governor declares a State Emergency. He can then.....
8. Appeal to the President to declare the event a federal disaster - whether it is a Stafford Act event or not.
9. FEMA is then activated and ordered to head the rescue/relief efforts. The FBI is the lead investigative agency for any criminal acts, while the BATFE is the lead law enforcement agency for anything law enforcement related such as security, etc."

Now there are some good points here but I think the responder protests too much. The process above makes Firefighter Charles's point even stronger. Before super-slow FEMA can respond, one has to wait for local bureaucracy and then state bureaucracy to run its course. This rarely happens quickly and you can still expect 72-hrs or more to pass before resources like food and mass shelter are available.

In the case of Katrina the emergency response process was stalled by politics. The mayor of New Orleans ordered everyone to abandon his city with just 19 hours notice. The New Orleans official evacuation plan was not activated; school buses sat unused that could have helped evacuate residents. Those who could not leave were ordered to go to shelter of "last resort" without any provisions for food, water, security, or sanitary conditions. The Louisiana Superdome was designed to handle 800 as a shelter but 30,000 arrived.

Immediately after the hurricane had passed on Aug 30, 2005, Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA's boss, tried to take over the federal, state, and local operations, citing the National Response Plan. This was refused by Governor Blanco of Louisiana who indicated that her National Guard could manage. President Bush, a former governor of Texas, would not overrule a governor acting within her constitutional rights of state leadership.

Still it is wrong to say the Federal Government did nothing. Naval ships were moved to the Gulf before the hurricane hit and Coast Guard helicopters rescued 35,000 individuals from flood waters. Approximately 58,000 National Guard personnel were activated to deal with the storm's aftermath, with troops coming from all 50 states. The Department of Defense also activated volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol.

700,000 people applied to FEMA for temporary housing. Tens of thousands of trailers were used but in some parishes the local council refused the trailers (not wanting to create a permanent squatters camp perhaps?). Also FEMA would only deploy trailers to regions with working utilities. (Think of the sewage problems that would result otherwise). For those without trailers, FEMA paid for hotel rooms. Five years after the disaster, there are still 260 families in hotels being paid by FEMA.

A Congressional investigation after Katrina found that FEMA and the Red Cross "did not have a logistics capacity sophisticated enough to fully support the massive number of Gulf coast victims." It placed responsibility for the disaster on all three levels of government.

Bottom Line

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) always puts the onus for response on local governments. However local responders NEVER have the resources for a major emergency. In Westchester county with a population of almost 1 million, the local Red Cross and CERT teams have cots for only 30,000 people. If there were mass evacuation from an accident at Indian Point Nuclear power plant, we'd have to rely on neighboring counties and neighboring states for shelter. That requires lots of high-level politics and lots of time.

The worst part of this is that many townships in Westchester, NY refuse to stockpile supplies and designate shelters. Once a town has a shelter plan, they are responsible to maintain it. For towns without a shelter plan, the responsibility goes upon Westchester county.

http://perpetualpreparedness.blogspot.com/2008/09/waiting-for-cavalry.html
http://perpetualpreparedness.blogspot.com/2008/08/hurrican-ready.html

What’s in your First Aid kit?

“It would be terrible if the Red Cross Bloodmobile got into an accident. No, wait. That would be good because if anyone needed it, the blood would be right there.”-unknown

For the Cub Scout Readyman activity, boys are required to inspect a First Aid kit and explain the contents. So what exactly should they expect to find inside? If you buy a First Aid kit with “100 pieces”, you can bet 80-90% of the content is just generic “Band-Aids” in various sizes. A kit should contain so much more.

First, a short digression. Do you know the difference between a dressing and a bandage? A dressing covers the wound – typically an absorbent gauze. A bandage holds the dressing on the wound and keeps it from falling off. It could be tape or an elastic wrap. A Band-Aid is a product by Johnson and Johnson that combines a dressing with an adhesive bandage.

So yes, item #1 in a kit needs to be several sizes of adhesive bandages to cover your basic cuts and scratches. These can be bought cheaply in bulk at dollar stores or drug stores.

For large wounds, buy several packets of sterile gauze (four inch squares are best). Again buy a large package and share with friends. You’ll also need medical adhesive tape or elastic bandages to hold down the gauze. I favor elastic bandages since these can also be used as wraps for a sprained foot or knee or hand or elbow. You might need to include a small pair of scissors if your bandage roll resists tearing strips off.

Before applying the dressing, you’ll want to clean small wounds with triple-antibiotic ointment. Don’t try to clean or wash large gaping or profusely bleeding wounds. Cover large wounds immediately, apply pressure to stop the bleeding, and see a doctor.

Clean your hands with an antiseptic hand cleaner before (and after) applying First Aid. For First Aid kits in your car or other situations where you might be aiding a stranger, wear rubber gloves to prevent blood borne disease contamination. Include a plastic bag or garbage bag to safely dispose of blood soaked items.

If you’re trained in CPR, add a barrier mask to your public kit to block germs (and vomit) when doing mouth-to-mouth.

Don’t forget to include items for pain relief like insect bite swabs (Hydrocortisone to prevent itching) and child-safe acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Aspirin is discouraged for children under 19 as it can cause Reye’s Syndrome. Chewable aspirin is encouraged for adults who may be suffering a heart attack.

Tweezers are essential for removing splinters but potentially harmful for insect bite/stings. Scrape away, never tweeze, a bee stringer. Tweezing will push more venom into the body. Likewise use tweezers with care when pulling away a tick. Pull gently and slowly to avoid breaking off the tick’s head and leaving that embedded in the skin to cause an infection. Never squeeze the tick's body when it's attached as this will push more tick germs into the bloodstream increasing the chance of Lyme disease.

Include one or more large triangular bandages (like the Scout neckerchief) as a splint for injuries. You can make these yourself out of old sheets.

For extra credit, include an instant cold pack. These can reduce swelling with sprains.

In cold climates, an instant heat pack might save you from frostbite. Stuff it in your shoes or between layers of gloves. Do not apply directly to skin.

For kits outside the house, add a space blanket. Keep victims warm and covered after trauma to prevent shock.

If you have the space, add some Calamine lotion for Poison Ivy.

Last but not least, include a good First Aid book (or booklet) that you like and can understand.

Bottom Line

Your need at least one well equipped First Aid kit in your house. Another for each car. Your workplace should have a kit (required by law?) - do you know where it is?

Customize your kits for your activities. If you camp or hike or play sports you'll want more protection from insects, poison ivy, sprains, broken bones, etc.

Resources

http://www.redcross.org/images/pdfs/code/First_Aid_Kit_Contents.pdf
http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/lifeline/fakit.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aid_kit
http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/home/firstaid_kit.html
http://www.survival-center.com/firstaid/kit.htm
http://youthsports.rutgers.edu/resources/administrative/recommended-first-aid-kit-contents

Animal Response Teams

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

Over the past many years my wife and I have joined several volunteer disaster response organizations. Our first was WEVR, Westchester Emergency Volunteer Responders. This was a county version of CERT, Citizen Emergency Response Team. We received lots of excellent training and a backpack of supplies but the program was utilized just once that I’m aware of. CERT works much better on the city or neighbor scale. Our county has switched its focus to MRC, Medical Reserve Corps, made up of volunteer doctors and other medical professionals.

Our next organization was the Red Cross Disaster Action Team. We responded to late night calls for help for families with house fires who needed a place to stay and supplies. We learned this is difficult to do with a full time job and our now on weekend call only.

While at a Red Cross volunteer event, we met the organizers of the Westchester Country Animal Response Team (WesCART). After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA realized that many families refused to evacuate their house if it meant abandoning their pets – Red Cross Shelters do not allow pets! In 2006 the Federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (P.E.T.S) Act was passed which requires state and local emergency preparedness plans to include the needs of individuals with pets or service animals during all phases of emergencies. To address this law most states have organized State Animal Response Team (SART) programs. WesCart is a component of the NY statewide EmpireSART.

So far we’ve been given an ID badge, taken online training courses and represented the organization at a Cat show. I’ve just completed the online course for Emergency Animal Sheltering and am overwhelmed by the complexities of a shelter. Topics include:

• Paper work
• Animal check-in and tracking (whose dog is this?)
• Security (is that cat really yours?)
• Decontamination (clean up the animals, vet care, cage cleaning, dealing with animal diseases)
• Safe animal handling (don’t get bit!)
• Animal separation (don’t mix un-fixed girls and boys! Don’t place dogs next to cats, cats next to birds, etc)
• Morgue (sorry your pet died)
• Staffing and supplies
• More paper work
• Food Prep
• Animal walking and waste disposal
• Etc.

I think managing a Red Cross Shelter for people is easier! Hopefully the residents won’t bite, won’t become misplaced, and you won’t be blamed if any babies are made.

Bottom Line

Volunteer! You’ll meet new people and learn new skills. You’ll discover that planning for any emergency is a four-step cycle:

1. Preparation – organizing supplies, attending training classes
2. Response – putting your skills and equipment to work during an emergency
3. Recovery – the cleanup afterwards and adjusting to the psychological impact
4. Mitigation – making new plans, what could be done better next time?

Can your hear me now?

“'Mr. Watson--come here--I want to see you" – the first telephone message by Alexander Graham Bell

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.Gov program and the American Red Cross are adding mobile phones and chargers to its recommendations for basic supplies in citizen emergency preparedness kits. While there is the fear that cell towers may be overwhelmed during large-scale emergencies, there is no doubt that mobile phones can be life savers during personal emergencies.

In an Israeli study on Mobile phones and emergencies respondents said cell phones would be most useful for “traffic accidents,” “breakdown of vehicles” , “terror attacks” and “urgent medical problems.” But actual usage shows mobile phones were most pertinent for: informing someone of being late to arrive, providing an urgent message, calling a taxi, a vehicle breakdown, and getting directions. Only once have I been stranded by a car breakdown and fortunately a pay phone was a short walk away. Today I always travel with a cell phone “just in case.”

There are also two non-obvious ways a cell phone can help during emergencies.

1. If the phone towers are busy, try texting. Text uses less bandwidth often works when dialing won't.
2. Add the entry “ICE” to your cell phone address book. It stands for “In Case of Emergency” and is the number you want a Doctor or First Responder to call in case you are unconscious or unable to respond (or dead). List alternative contacts as ICE1, ICE2, etc.

[From InsightCommunity.com] Parents love the idea of tracking their children with cell phones -- but the teachers don't. Some schools are banning cell phones for children, and advising parents to track their children the old-fashioned way -- by calling the principal's office. But last month, MSNBC reported that "family locator" plans are available from Sprint, Verizon Wireless and Alltel for $9.99 a month. Verizon's "Chaperone 2.0" service will send parents a text message if the child strays from a pre-defined geographical area.
For the ultimate in cell phone coverage, the Iridium Satellite phone network uses 66 satellites (currently 65) for pole-to-pole global calling. The original company went bankrupt but a new owner is keeping the system alive with the US Dept. of Defense as a major client. These phones are not cheap! I recall the Associated Press rung up some huge bills using satellite phones during the war in Afghanistan. SatellitePhoneStore.com offers Iridium Satellite Phone rentals for $35-$75 per week plus $1 to $1.50 per minute of use anywhere in the world. There is no “roaming charge” unless you’re calling from off planet. (To the moon Alice. To the moon!)

Bottom Line
Cells phone are excellent tools but ONLY if
1. You’re carrying it
and
2. It has a charge
Consider investing in a cell phone car charger. There is nothing worse than your cell phone going dead when you need it most away from home. Pack a wall outlet cell phone charger in your go-kit and include a charger in your suitcase when you travel. Other options for emergency recharging include a super battery, adapters for AA batteries, and manual crank chargers.

If money is keeping you or a parent/grandparent from owning a cell phone, look at pre-paid phones costing $10 to $20 for a block of minutes for emergency use.

For more information on how to use your cell phone during an emergency, check out WirelessFoundation.org regarding texting, ICE, and 50 ways to use your phone camera. For example you can send a photo of a map showing where you are, send doctors (911?) a photo of an accident victim, photo of an authorized person to pick up your kids, photos at a car accident, etc.

Lastly, don’t take on extra risk assuming the cell phone will rescue you. People are now calling 911 from national parks to report being lost while hiking. Having a cell phone is no excuse for not carrying a map or other lack of preparation. And worse yet, you might become lost in “a dead zone.”

Approaching Danger

Curiosity killed the cat - proverb

As described in the story Citizen journalism: 1, evolutionary instincts for survival: 0,

There was a massive gas explosion in Moscow that led to an inferno that injured
five people, raising questions about Russia’s ageing energy infrastructure and
the sanity of Russian civilians. … [In the embedded YouTube] notice how people
are not all running from the explosion; many are walking towards it, recording
the scene on their mobile phones

Humans are funny animals. They will panic over a disease that killed people in another country yet walk straight towards a local disaster. And I’m no different. I’ve always wanted to see a tornado so my inclination in college during a tornado alert was to go outside and look instead of sheltering instead and missing it. I still have not seen one.

When my wife and I visited Yellowstone National Park and the Canadian Rockies, we were warned about wildlife and “Bear Jams”. A bear jam occurs when someone sites a bear and everyone parks their car on the road shoulder and gets out to look. Now-a-days the bear is typically far away so in one case we watched as some foolhardy young visitors decided to hike closer to the bears. When a Park Ranger arrived, she was furious. She yelled at the hikers, chased after them and we could see her asking for their driver licenses (giving them a park ticket I suppose).

People appear to think of Yellowstone as a giant petting zoo. We watched photographers approach a mother moose and her child. Other tourists must have thought that the boarded walkways were a safe zone and would walk within feet of a wild bison while staying on the path.
Most animals in real zoos are not tame either. One extreme danger program on TV showed video of a woman who climbed two walls to get a better picture of a polar bear. The bear grabbed her leg through the cage bars with his teeth and wouldn’t let go. The zookeepers were pulling on the woman and trying to distract the bear. Fortunately her shoe came off and the bear let go to check it out. She was lucky to keep her leg.

Bottom Line

An important survival skill is to show proper respect for danger. We forget about risk when trying to get a better photograph or when rushing in to save a person. In a Red Cross First Aid/CPR class I just attended, the first step was always to evaluate the scene to determine if it was safe for you to approach an injured person. No point in you also being electrified, bitten by a rattlesnake, poisoned by gas or burned by a chemical and becoming another victim. The second step was to put on rubber gloves (to protect yourself) before touching the victim. You may save life but acquire HIV or Hepatitis.

Think before you leap towards danger.

Disaster Animal Response Team

“I never married because there was no need. I have three pets at home which answer the same purpose as a husband. I have a dog which growls every morning, a parrot which swears all afternoon, and a cat that comes home late at night.” - Marie Corelli

If ordered to evacuate your home, would you/could you leave your pets behind? Because most emergency shelters and hotels have a no pet policy, the standard procedure for disasters requires that pet owners leave their loved ones behind. However as Hurricane Katrina clearly showed, when given a choice between their own personal safety or abandoning their household pets, a significant number of people will choose to risk their lives in order to remain with their pets.

In recognition of this, congress passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, Public Law 109–308 (2006). The PETS Act requires that State and local emergency preparedness authorities include how they will accommodate households with pets or service animals when presenting disaster preparedness plans to the FEMA. (A city or state is required to submit a plan in order to qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding.)

Unfortunately, since the passage of the PETS Act of 2006, little has changed. Bureaucracies are slow to change. Under existing liability laws, a shelter could face a damaging lawsuit when someone is bitten by another person’s cute pet. And I suspect this law is not well known; I just learned of it, three years after its passage. It has never been mentioned in my training with the Red Cross or CERT.

Bottom Line

What can you do?

First- write to your mayor and governor and ask them, do they know about this law and what have they done to include pets in the emergency planning.

Second- follow the example of the Lamorinda area in Northern California (Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda in Contra Costa County). They have created a Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) to rescue pets and farm animals during Wildfires. Lamorinda DART consists of CERT graduates who have received additional animal sheltering and rescue training and are able to provide disaster response to humans and animals.

Government Money

“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” - Jim Rohn quotes

Now that three years have gone by since Katrina, it's possible to look back and see how well the government spent the disaster aid money. Answer, not well. Wizbang sites an article titled The Myths of Hurricane Katrina. Is was not lack of funds (currently 100 BILLON) that is stalling redevelopment in Louisana, it is government regulations.

Talk with people on the Gulf Coast area and you'll soon learn the primary problem they face is not a lack of funding, but the mass confusion created by federal, state, and local governments about the rules of the game when it comes to rebuilding. Confusing and contradictory regulations, showboating by politicians, and stunningly complex bureaucracy have only exacerbated the problems of people who've already been through hell and have kept people from making the decisions they need to make to get on with their lives. This creates what economist Emily Chamlee-Wright calls "signal noise"--the persistent uncertainty created by uncoordinated government at every step of the recovery process.

So is the answer to hand out money freely, no regulations? That didn't work either.

Some recipients would undoubtedly squander their funds, and there would be
widespread fraud. This isn't idle speculation. According to the Government
Accountability Office, immediately after Katrina hit, about a billion dollars of
emergency aid--16 percent of the total--was lost to fraudulent claims. Even
legitimately obtained pre-paid debit cards given to aid Katrina's victims were
used to buy champagne, guns, tattoos, and porn

Bottom Line

Personally I like debit card solution but there must be accountability. No going back for a second handout because the money was wasted on alcohol, etc. Trust the people to spend wisely but DO NOT bail them out again if they don't. Why should the government award selfish and irresponsible behavior? (Will this work, probably not. There is no coordination between agencies so you can always go somewhere else and beg for more.)

When the lights go out...

"That was the night the lights went out in Georgia" - song lyrics

Yesterday our neighborhood lost power while we were cooking dinner. It was after sunset so the room was instantly pitch black. My first thought was, "I wonder where my wife keeps the flashlights?" We have several around the house but at the very moment I needed one, I had no clue where to find one.

Then I remembered that I keep a flashlight in my pocket. (Old joke: Is that a flashlight in your pocket or are you happy to see me?) I have a key chain light that is the size of a quarter and at most a 1/2 inch thick. It puts out a very bright light and has proved to be very useful. I'm on my third key light over many years as they do eventually burn out or break. They can be found for under $10 at many stores and make a nice gift. Here's a variety of them on Amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=3180301

Bottom Line

If I had practiced a power outage drill I might have remembered where we keep the flashlights in the house. Fortunately I used my key light to go to our living room and light a candle that we keep on our coffee table.

A word of caution about candles. The Red Cross discourages them - many house fires are started by candles. We use a long burning candle in a glass jar so there is little chance of tipping over or of the flame spreading. Never leave a candle unattended!

Learning Survival Skills

I am the very model of a modern Major-General
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical ...
- From the Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan

To continue a theme from yesterday, part of emergency planning is skills assessment. When the worst occurs, how will YOU be able to help? The following is quoted from Survival FAQ which was cited yesterday as a great resource for planning:

"The kinds of skills and materials you need can be very widespread. Depending on the threat you're planning for, you might want the ability to recreate civilization as we know it. This is almost certainly impossible for one person, or even one family ... to be competent at them all. This is why survival groups or small communities are almost always preferable ...

You'll find that certain things are needed for many different threats. First aid skills and materials are always useful, you may find that they show up for every category. ... You might decide that you need to be proficient in emergency first aid, food preservation (drying, smoking, canning, pickling) , animal husbandry, engine mechanic, construction (design and building), fire fighting, sailing, fishing, computer programming, ham radios, weaving cloth, sewing, tanning leathers, bee keeping, accounting, trading, cabinetmaking, farming, dentistry, childbirth, small military unit tactics, advanced emergency medical treatment, improvised explosives, hunting, trapping, welding, metal working, power production and generation, telephone systems, and almost anything else you can think of.

Where to get trained:
... your local community probably offers a wide variety of courses that will help you in your quest. Check with your local community college, high school adult program, community center, or other educational programs. Just don't expect to see a category called "Survivalist Training". Your local fire department probably offers training in CPR and first aid, and if you can join, they'll offer you more and better training. The local law enforcement agency may offer training as well as your county's civil defense / emergency preparedness office.

Where to get experience:
The best way to learn some skills is to do it. ... you can offer your services as a volunteer to any one of a number of organizations. For example, if you're not sure how to cook for large groups of people, volunteer at a food bank, meals-on-wheels, or church group, and learn! If you want to learn how to build houses (and fix them, and how to use tools), organizations like Habitat for Humanity are available, just looking for helpers. You'll learn some skills, but more importantly, meet people who can show you more tips and tricks. Organizations like the American Red Cross usually need disaster workers, first aid instructors, etc., and they'll train you.

It may not be practical to study your specific area of interest, but can learn something that's closely related. If you don't have a field to farm, how about a back yard you can start growing a few vegetables in? If you're an apartment dweller, and don't have a yard at all, you can grow some vegetables, or even just flowers, in window boxes. You probably can't provide all your food needs from a window box (unless it's a huge window), but you can start finding out what it's like, what works, and what doesn't.

Bottom Line

My wife and I follow the advice given above. We have been trained by the Red Cross and by our county disaster program (WEVR) for free as volunteer disaster workers. We've attended low cost classes at a local community college and with community outreach programs.

The knowledge is out there. Go get it.

First Aid

First Aid – There’s a reason why it’s called “first” aid. It has to come first. Threatening injuries have to be stabilized before food and shelter will do any good.

Research has found that most U.S. households are deplorably unprepared to administer first aid. Most households have band aids, some Tylenol, and maybe rubbing alcohol. However, most are lacking in supplies to treat larger wounds like open wounds, burns, or broken bones. Relatively few have CPR training. - - Classes and Careers

This month the theme in our Cub Scout pack is "Be Prepared" with an emphasis on first aid. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the 8-10 year-olds did when tested with first aid questions. Do you know how to treat the following?

o Serious bleeding
o Stopped breathing/Choking
o Internal poisoning
o Heart attack
o Cuts and scratches
o Burns and scalds
o Blisters on the hand and foot
o Tick bites
o Bites and stings of other insects
o Poisonous snakebite
o Nosebleed
o Frostbite
o Sunburn

Bottom Line

If you are not 100% confident with first aid then get some training ASAP. Since Red Cross classes are very expensive one advantage of being a CERT volunteer responder is free training in First Aid and CPR/AED. Other options include - online videos and websites, Scouts, and first aid books.

My favorite book is the American College of Emergency Physicians "First Aid Manual". It has pictures on every page and covers everything.

While books and website are great for review, you really should take a class at least once. Books and web will not test you on tying slings, give feedback on your CPR technique, or hands on with an AED heart stimulator, etc.

UPDATE

See http://chilechews.blogspot.com/2008/10/be-prepared-for-medical-emergencies.html written by someone who attended a Red Cross First Aid class and what was learned.

ARC Disaster Action Team

"Treat all disasters as if they were trivialities but never treat a
triviality as if it were a disaster." - Quentin Crisp

While my wife and I have been Disaster Action Team members of the American Red Cross for many years, it was only yesterday that I saw a "job description" of the role. I thought this might be interesting to share...

DAT members assist the Red Cross in its mission to provide relief to victims of disaster and help prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Disaster Action Team members respond to disaster scenes during assigned times, provide relief (shelter, money & toiletry kit) by completing all ARC forms at disaster sites and provide referrals to other agencies. DAT volunteers must be able to respond at all hours or as scheduled with own transportation, be aware and conversant with diversity issues, and able to maintain confidentiality with clients.

Team members will learn: “Mass Care Overview”, “Fundamentals of Disaster Assessment”, “Shelter Operations”, and “Client Casework Providing Emergency Assistance”.

DAT volunteers are valued members of Red Cross relief services who make an impact on clients' lives. You will have the opportunity to enhance your personal organizational and leadership skills and to be trained in Red Cross emergency response skills. We ask volunteers to commit a minimum of six months. Once trained you may remain active as long as required training is up-to-date.

Bottom Line

If this sounds like something you'd like to do contact your local Red Cross. In addition to the Disaster Action Team there is also a need for volunteers to process the paper work and type it into computers, to organize blood drives, staff ARC tables at events, and give presentations to the community.