Prepare for disaster tonight
By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander
September is National Preparedness Month and the Highland Lakes Amateur Radio Club (HLARC) and its affiliated Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) unit is sponsoring a program with an American Red Cross (ARC) speaker to help Burnet County residents understand all that preparedness entails on the local level.
The program will be presented at 6:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, Sept. 30, at at Westside Park Community Center, 1704 Second Street, in Marble Falls. Red Cross Volunteer Rik Chapman will be the main speaker, but former Dist. Judge Gil Jones also will be on the program.
“Barring an emergency, we people will get a look inside three of the county's emergency service vehicles,” said Chapman. “We will have the Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV). It looks like an ambulance, but it is very different inside. We will have the ARES emergency communication trailer there. And, again if there is no emergency, we have asked Capt. Ted Young to bring the Marble Falls Police Department Command Center vehicle.”
Chapman and Jones are both members of the HLARC, a club with members all over the Central Texas area who are in touch with people all over the world by ham radio. The club usually meets on the last Friday of a month at the Marble Falls Area Emergency Management Service building, but this Friday the preparedness program at Westside Park will replace that.
In his own proclamation of Preparedness Month, Governor Greg Abbot said: “Texas has more natural disasters than any other state. This year alone, Texans have endured four major disasters and could equal or surpass the 1979 record (of five)...
“Destructive events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, droughts, pandemics, acts of terrorism and cyberattacks can occur with little if any warning. In each of these circumstances, preparedness is the key to being ready to face threats and reduce the loss of life and property.”
Gov. Abbott encouraged Texans to develop and practice emergency plans that include a communications strategy and emergency meeting locations and Chapman may add to information for that task.
However, Chapman will speak primarily from the Red Cross perspective regarding support services available in Burnet County.
“On average, across the nation, ARC responds to a home fire about every eight minutes,” said Chapman. “But in a county with a population of about 46,000, I think it may surprise people to see a map of home fires that have occurred right here in the county. The Red Cross can be right there to help them with housing, medications, the basics they have just seen go up in smoke, as well as helping people in major disasters.”
ARC assistance services will be detailed in the program, along with 24/7/365 ARC contact information. In addition to emergency responses, the ARC offers programs in preparing the community in advance of emergencies including training children in schools (Pillowcase Project) and supporting the community along with local fire services by installing smoke alarms in neighborhoods (Home Fires Campaign). Developing family emergency plans, and how to contact relatives following a major event (Safe and Well Program) will also be discussed.
Chapman, who lives across the border in Williamson County has a second home in Burnet County. Although he calls himself a part-time volunteer, he serves the ARC Central and South Texas Region as planning lead, disaster services technology supervisor and public information officer.
“We are a volunteer organization and volunteers can train in more than 60 specialties,” he said. “But of all the 46,000 residents of Burnet County, we have only two Red Cross volunteers and one is service in Louisiana right now.
“We need local volunteers to help us in responding in Burnet County and we will talk about the simple, free process to become a local volunteer.”
The program on Sept. 30 could a personal first step toward achieving the theme for the 2016 National Preparedness Month is: Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.
