In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

As someone who has gone through the preparedness process from an average citizen’s point of view, I realize that it is not easy to do. There are many questions, small and large, that come up when you try to prepare yourself and your family for emergencies. As a result, I’ve always felt it was unrealistic for governmental authorities to hand out preparedness literature or put information on their web sites and then expect people to just follow without any ongoing guidance. 

That’s why I am happy to see that the State of Pennsylvania has just launched a toll-free number on emergency preparedness for citizens to call with questions. The phone line smartly piggybacks on an existing state health information call-in center; operators have now been trained to handle questions about the state’s www.ReadyPA.org website. The phone number is 1-888-9-READYPA.  

I am periodically reminded by readers (most often by the emergency manager of one Oklahoma town) that in some places, residents can walk into their local emergency management office and get their individual questions answered. But that is not logistically possible in most areas, like New York City where I live, which is why a state-wide phone resource is so useful.

Marie Finn, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, told me that the state established the toll-free line in order to add an interactive component to its preparedness campaign as well as to give Pennsylvanians another way to access information. She says that the operators cannot answer every preparedness question; in fact, their responses will be limited to what is on the web site. However, I think there is great value in having a live person available to help citizens go through the preparedness process. This is the type of interactive resource — whether it be by phone or, more likely in the future, online — that need to be instituted more widely if we are to increase the level of citizen preparedness.

Through the toll-free line, Pennsylvania residents can also learn how to get involved in local emergency response efforts and other volunteer opportunities as part the ServPA program. One can also fill out a form at the ServPA web site, where the the volunteer process is explained:

“Registering through SERVPA simply tells us that you are open to the idea of volunteering in case of an emergency and provides us a little about your background, preferences, and constraints. It does not guarantee that you will be called upon, nor does it mean that you must participate if called. If you are called to volunteer, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the specific event and the commitment required.”