In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

“You have learned from the news media and City officials that there has been a widespread airborne anthrax release across the city that may affect large numbers of the City’s residents. [Anthrax exposure may cause fever, coughing, malaise, fatigue, myalgias, profound sweats, and chest discomfort. If anthrax is inhaled and not treated, death is very [...]

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The Safe America Foundation is launching a new campaign, “Drill Down for Safety,” designed to “create local practice drills on an annual basis in communities large and small to assure that Americans are prepared for disasters.” 
The nationwide campaign will focus initially on getting businesses — small, medium-sized and large — to organize emergency drills during September [...]

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On Sunday, I participated in “Operation Safe PATH 2009,” the largest terrorism drill in New York City since 9/11. I was one of approximately 150 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members who played bombing ‘victims’ for the exercise.

I am standing outside the PATH train station near the site of World Trade Center along with other [...]

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In a recent episode of the NBC comedy “The Office”, the crew from Dunder Mifflin Paper Company displays how not to do an emergency drill. When Dunder Mifflin’s Dwight Schrute feels his PowerPoint presentation on fire safety doesn’t get through to his colleagues, he tries another method. ”Experience is the best teacher,” says Dwight. He’s not wrong, [...]

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A reader and contributor to this blog, Bruce Curley, sent me a link to his blog, PoetsLife, with some photos of a disaster exercise in which he played a victim (see bandaged man below) held earlier this month in Carroll County, Maryland. The scenario tested in the drill was a tornado touching down on a [...]

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I wanted to bring your attention to an important earthquake preparedness event that readers in California may already have heard about — The Great Southern California ShakeOut – occurring this November. According to their website, www.shakeout.org:  
The Great Southern California ShakeOut is a week of special events featuring the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history, organized to inspire [...]

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As part of our CERT responsibilities, we are occasionally asked to participate in City emergency drills. On Saturday, I had the opportunity along with 30 other CERT members to play the role of ‘civilians’ in a major New York Fire Department (FDNY) exercise, “Operation Civil Support”. 
 (Firemen arrive to rescue us ‘civilians’ after mock chemical attack on mock subway at the Fire Academy)
 (Outside [...]

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Israel is in the midst of Turning Point 2, the most extensive civilian preparedness drill in the nation’s history.
At 10:00 this morning, sirens sounded on every street in the country signalling the drill. Mock emergency television messages were broadcast on television. School children went into bomb shelters where they discussed emergency procedures.
Turning Point 2 has already produced an early lesson for the Israelis. It [...]

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