In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

The American Red Cross today unveiled new and updated technology  – an improved “Safe and Well” site and a real-time way to find shelter — to help families during a disaster.
According to the Red Cross news release:
Safe and Well is a secure and easy-to-use online tool that allows people inside a disaster-affected area to list [...]

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There’s a new dog on Twitter, and she’s tweeting some helpful pet preparedness advice. Jade Thompson, a 17-year old cow dog and spaniel mixed breed, has just launched a new feed, @RedCrossDog. She’s getting editorial help from her owner Chris Thompson (a.k.a. @RedCrossMom) who knows first hand the value of being prepared for animal emergencies [...]

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday announced a series of initiatives to support state and local law enforcement, community groups and the public in identifying and mitigating terror threats.
“Homeland security begins with hometown security, and our efforts to confront threats in our communities are most effective when they are led by [...]

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I was thrilled tonight to be able to join my CERT team for the first time since my leukemia returned last November. I took part in the “National Night Out” along with members of our local NYPD precinct in Manhattan. We handed out ReadyNewYork pamphlets, though as I am still building up my stamina I [...]

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I recently watched an American Red Cross video that actress Jamie Lee Curtis made last year called “What’s In My Kit”. (see below). In the two-minute spot, Curtis shows how she has personalized her emergency kit to “make it more user friendly”. It’s a pretty straight forward video, but I wanted to highlight it, because [...]

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The American Public Health Asssociation (APHA) is asking citizens to make an online promise “to prepare my family, friends and community”. The pledge initiative is part of the APHA’s Get Ready campaign.
It asks the public to do five things: get a flu vaccination and other recommended immunizations, create a family communications and evacuation plan, have an [...]

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An article yesterday by the Washington Post’s excellent homeland security reporter, Spencer S. Hsu, “Arrest of Va. man spotlights al-Qaeda’s new American recruiters,” looks at how al-Qaeda and its affiliates are “increasingly are relying on a new generation of American recruiters to radicalize other Americans.”
It’s an interesting piece about how this potential growth of domestic-based [...]

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I was doing some research on separate blog posts for next week on the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and the need for government to better personalize citizen emergency preparedness communications. I happened to see a small example that actually involves both subjects and thought I’d pass it on.
As I’ve discussed before, the LAFD is [...]

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In today’s New York Times, there’s an interesting article by Matthew Wald that raises the question whether “alarm fatigue” has led to major accidents, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon incident.
According to the piece, “For No Signs of Trouble, Kill the Alarm,”:
When an oil worker told investigators on July 23 that an alarm to warn [...]

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