Preparing for Emergencies

A longtime friend who grew up in Pelham here in Westchester and who made a small fortune on Wall Street relocated his family several years ago to California, thinking he would be settling in for a better life of great weather and less stress. But not long after he and his family bought their dream house – a stunner overlooking the Pacific Ocean – he watched part of their dreams vanish in the rearview mirror, literally.

Early one evening, in the middle of a quiet dinner with his wife and three children, came a frantic phone call from a neighbor pleading for them to get out of their house. Wildfires raging up the canyon had jumped to houses in the neighborhood and flames were already licking at the side of their home. The family dropped the forks and knives, grabbed their bags that were stashed in a hall closet, and instantly spilt up, as if choreographed, jumping into the two vehicles that were parked in their driveway. Ten minutes later the house was gone and they were on the road to a new chapter in their lives.

“The plan was always to take the two cars and flee,” he explained shortly after the blaze. “Why leave one of them to be destroyed when you can just as easily drive two away?” Good thinking, no doubt, and these quick actions were the result of good planning and thoughtful anticipation.

If you received that sudden, critical phone call telling you to “flee your house,” what would you have in your wallet? What would you have in your bag? Would you have a bag packed and ready somewhere near an exit?

“This would obviously be a worst-case scenario,” said Jane Cahn, who is Chairperson of the North Castle Citizen Corps Council, known as NC-CCC, or NC4 for short. “The much-more likely emergency scenario – at least the ones we’ve already seen in North Castle – is that homeowners may have to evacuate their homes for a period of time, perhaps for several days or a week, and seek emergency shelter because of weather-related incidents. Yes, we have an extensive plan for this scenario and so, too, should all residents.”

As one of more than 100 volunteers in the Town’s Citizen Corps, Cahn explained that NC4 works closely with the Town of North Castle’s Office of Emergency Management. “Our primary responsibility is to handle all functions related to sheltering and mass care within the Town’s comprehensive emergency management plan.”  She urges all residents to go on the organization’s website and review the Emergency Preparedness link, “Emergency Essentials” that discusses what to have in your house in case of an emergency, and where to go in the event it is no longer practical or safe to stay in your home.

Register with nixle for Emergency Notifications

Dave Lander of North Castle’s Office of Emergency Management could probably spot flaws in the canyon fire episode. The family could have been better prepared through communication. Lander, who is the Town of North Castle’s Emergency Manager, has asked all residents in North Castle to register with the Town’s new emergency community information service, which is powered by nixle. “The information we publish via this service can be sent directly to you by cell phone text message or email for free,” he explained.” If users prefer to bypass registration, Lander said that notifications are also accessible online for those who would prefer obtaining the information and alerts directly from the service. “The notifications we send may directly impact families and households, and can include public emergencies, criminal activity, storms and weather-related alerts, traffic problems and planning and preparedness activities,” Lander said.

Disaster Plan for Pets

Emergencies can arise from many situations, and these may require a brief absence or permanent evacuation, so if you own pets it’s essential to have a disaster plan for their safety too, explained Allyson Halm, who is president of Adopt-a-Dog in Armonk and whose staff works closely with Town officials. “The American Red Cross won’t accept you if you show up with a pet, so plan a safe haven for your fury or feathered loved ones in the event of evacuation.”

Also off limits to pets are facilities like the Hergenhan Recreation Center in downtown in Armonk, which was used as a warming center during the widespread and lengthy power outages the community experienced in February 2010.  There are lists available from the local veterinarians of preferred boarding kennels and facilities, Halm explained. “Or if an evacuation is required, find out where a pet-friendly hotel or motel is located outside the region. Or it could be as easy has planning for relatives or friends to take your pets for a short period of time. The key is having a plan.”

That plan, she stressed, begins with photographing your pets, and having ID tags indicating the pet’s name, contact information of owner, veterinarian and a list of up-to-date immunizations that may be required by your kennel of choice.  Halm, who served for many years as the Animal Control Office in Greenwich, CT, said the plan is not limited to just small animals. “If horses are boarded in the area and get loose, communities need a plan to access spare trailers and identify the animals, and owners need to know where they can go for emergency boarding.

Perhaps the great baseball sage Yogi Berra said it up best when he coined the axiom, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere else.”

“Making a plan is the first step, and we can help,” offered NC4’s Chairperson Cahn. “Give us a call or visit us online. NC4 is here to help.”