Panic Not Only Option When Disaster Strikes

Charlene Lebo said she came to a class on how residents can prepare for emergencies because she doesn't like to panic.

"I think this is really important, and I think we need to prepare before a disaster happens...I don't want to be caught off-guard," said Lebo, a former District 5 member of the Representative Town Meeting. "If you don't have, in your mind, a plan, the natural instinct is to panic."

Fairfield's bucolic neighborhoods and scenery might not bring the word "disaster" to mind, but an emergency shelter at Fairfield Ludlowe High School was opened a few times over the past year, according to Don Peterson, a Fairfield resident who led Wednesday night's class in the Fairfield Police Department.

The incidents included a methanol truck that was traveling on Interstate 95 when its brakes caught on fire and a fire at the Quincy condominiums in Fairfield's Southport neighborhood, which required everyone in the complex to be evacuated, Peterson said. "Not everyone had a place to go," Peterson said of the Quincy condos fire. "I think we had about a dozen people who came [to the emergency shelter] and waited for the all-clear to go back."

Peterson said residents who go to an emergency shelter, which also may be Fairfield Warde High School, depending on where the emergency or disaster occurs, could be there a while and should bring books, a computer, and, if they have children, something to entertain them. The state requires towns to have a plan for handling pets in evacuations because many Connecticut residents, before the legislation was passed, wouldn't leave them behind, Peterson said.

Fairfield decided to operate a separate area for animals at its emergency shelter, which is an auto class in the school, but a resident who brings a dog has to have a certificate showing the dog received rabies vaccination. Otherwise, the dog would be quarantined. Residents would be responsible for caring for their pets and shelter managers would set up a dog walking schedule, Peterson said.

Living conditions at an emergency shelter include a cot, blanket and 40 square feet of space, and the shelter would be run by a Red Cross staffer, Peterson said. "The best option is to go to relatives, friends or motels," he said.

Peterson said it's good to have at least half a tank of gas at all times because, if a disaster affects a wide area, residents may have to go to an emergency shelter outside Fairfield.

But some emergencies involve "shelter in place," meaning residents are instructed not to leave their homes. That may take place when roads are congested or impassable. "It may be you can't get off your own street," Peterson said.

While most people know to always have three days' worth of food and water for everyone in the house, including pets, Peterson said they also should have a radio that runs on batteries or a crank radio in case the power goes out. Sump pumps are good in case of flooding, a chainsaw is good for cutting up trees across roads when wires aren't down, and duct tape can be used to seal windows from radiation, Peterson said. Batteries should be fresh, and stabilizer should be put in the chainsaw's gas tank if it isn't used often, Peterson said.

Signs with the words "OK" and "Need Help" can be put in windows so emergency responders going through a neighborhood know which homes don't need to be checked, Peterson said.

A more complicated scenario is when a disaster strikes a neighborhood or area of town when its residents are at work and their children are at school. The Board of Education will only release children to their parents or a guardian, and that guardian needs to be on a list ahead of time, Peterson said.

Peterson said residents also should think about whether they'd give a key to their home to a neighbor if police or firefighters had to enter it to shut off water or gas. "If you have a neighbor with a key, they may not have to break the door," Peterson said, referring to emergency responders. The key also might come in handy if a neighbor is home and pets need to be evacuated or taken care of, he said.

"The first part of a neighborhood plan is keeping your family and your property safe. The second part is keeping your neighborhood safe," Peterson said.

To that end, residents should know who in their neighborhood is skilled in medical care, construction, child care and other trades that would be useful in an emergency, as well as who has ladders, trucks and 4-wheel drive vehicles. He said residents shouldn't do anything in an emergency they normally wouldn't do. "Only do what you're trained to do. If you've never been on a roof and you're afraid of heights, don't climb a 30-foot ladder just because it's an emergency and try to knock a tree limb off," he said. "The first responders don't want volunteers to become victims. Really, only do what you're trained to do and what's safe to do."

Residents also should know who in their neighborhood is elderly and might require extra attention in an emergency, and one neighbor should be designated to listen to a police scanner to determine what emergency responders are doing and where roads might be closed. In a widespread disaster, help may not come immediately, Peterson said.

He said residents should "prioritize needs, so, with your limited resources, you can assign neighborhood teams to the highest priority." The neighborhood's designated team leader should organize efforts, keep in communication with team members and describe the situation to first responders as they arrive.

Peterson also encouraged neighbors to share contact information with each other and let each other know how many people live in their house.

Earlier, Peterson said residents should develop a home evacuation plan with alternate exits and make sure their children know what they are. He said a family should have a designated meeting spot outside the home so everyone can be accounted for, but also should have a designated meeting spot outside their neighborhood, in case not everyone is home in an emergency and their street or neighborhood is blocked off and can't be entered.

Peterson is a volunteer coordinator with the Citizen Corps Council, and Lebo is a member of the Community Emergency Response Team, which falls under CCC.

Only about a dozen people attended Wednesday night's class. Peterson said people don't doubt the value of neighborhood watches and preparing for emergencies and disasters but often don't have time to participate.