Friday, September 27, 2013

Lowe’s Public Safety Fair

By Bob Mims | The Salt Lake Tribune

The Salt Lake City Fire Department and other agencies are taking their message of preparedness and safety on the road this weekend.

Specifically, SLCFD representatives and gear will be at the Lowe’s Home Improvement store for a safety fair on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1335 S. 300 West.

The fair comes in advance of the Oct. 6-12 National Fire Prevention Week.

At Lowe’s, firefighters will be demonstrating techniques and equipment used to extricate victims from car accident scenes, and also rappelling from the top of an extended ladder truck.

SLCFD’s arson dog, Daz, will also provide a demonstration of her accelerant-smelling skills, and paramedics will provide CPR demonstrations.

Other agencies offering demonstrations at the fair include the Salt Lake City Police Department and Utah Highway Patrol.

Follow this link to the article:



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Preparedness Fair at the Natural History Museum of Utah



Preparedness Fair

Friday, September 27, 2013 - 11:00am to 3:00pm
Saturday, September 28, 2013 - 11:00am to 3:00pm
Natural History Museum of Utah -- The Canyon

Click here to visit the website:  Natural History Museum of Utah


Do you have a plan? The emergency supplies? The basic training you and your family would need in case of a disaster? 
  • Get face-to-grille with disaster recovery equipment - a wheel loader and a portable generator - from Wheeler Machinery.
  • Learn how first resonders train in disaster medicine and see tools they use, like a computerized patient simulator, with the Intermountain Center for Disaster Preparedness
  • See a Rocky Mountain Power line truck used to restore power after a diaster and meet Slim, the Lineman, Rocky Mountain Power's mascot, Friday only. Take part in a demonstration of the hazards of fallen power lines both days of the Fair.
  • Explore a firetruck and learn about fire safety SLC Fire Department, Friday only, between 1pm -3pm.
  • Practice turning off your gas with Questar Gas and learn the right and wrong time to turn off the gas to protect your home.
  • Learn about the hazards of unreinforced masonry and find out how the buildings in your neighborhood are likely to withstand an earthquake. Salt Lake City Emergency Management will be on hand with building inspectors and structural engineers to answer your questions.
  • Check out avalanche safety equipment and learn how to prepare a winter back-country excursion with Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center.  Find out how you can have fun in the mountains and avoid avalanches at a Know Before you Go presentation on Saturday only at 1 pm.
  • Ask scientists from the University of Utah Seismograph Station your questions about Utah’s earthquake hazards.
  • Preview KUED'Preparing for Disaster: Starting Now, a film Deseret News calls "required viewing for all Utahns." Win a copy in KUED's raffles throughout the day! 
  • Discover how the Bingham Canyon Mine landslide unfolded and learn how preparedness allowed Rio Tinto to prevent loss of life. Try on safety gear and visit the photo booth for a lasting memory!
  • Get started on your water storage plan with the help of Disaster Discovery Center.
  • See how solid ground turns into quicksand with NHMU's liquefaction demo. Simulate different seismic waves with a slinky and find out how they impact buildings.
  • Create your own structure, test its performance in a quake and improve your design with the Museum's shake table activity.
You never know when disaster will strike. Don't miss this opportunity to gather resources and information from our other partners including American Red Cross, University of Utah Emergency Management, Emergency Essentials, and Be Ready Utah. In case of the worst, you'll be ready. 

Preparedness Fair is a Free Event!

On Friday, additional parking with a shuttle to the Museum will be available at the ARUP lot on Arapeen Way. Signage from the Museum will direct visitors to the overflow lot
Entrance to the Museum's galleries and Nature Unleashed exhibition requires admission.
 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Thank you, everyone!

Thank you to all who participated in our 2013 neighborhood emergency preparedness exercise.

We wish to thank all neighbors who participated in the exercise by posting their flyer and downloaded their household packets, posting the OK sign in their window.  Don't forget to complete the information in the packet and place it either attached to the fridge, on the inside of a front hallway coat closet, or next to the front window in case emergency responders would ever need to use it.

We wish to thank all the block captains that worked hard to make sure the flyers were delivered to every home in the neighborhood the week of the drill;  and thank them for counting the flyers displayed on Saturday morning.  Thank you for reporting this information into the area command centers, either by FRS/GMRS radio, or by hand delivery.  Without your efforts, we wouldn't have an exercise.  We are so much more prepared because of you.

We wish to thank the area leaders, CERT participants and neighborhood leaders involved in the 6 command centers established for the exercise.  In speaking with some of you, discussions on preparedness were held and items of action were taken away for continued review.  Thank you so much for participating as a group and know that small and simple steps bring about great results.  Thank you for supporting you block captains and delivering the reporting results to area command.

We wish to thank the amateur radio operators who volunteered their time and skills in communication to create the links from the smaller command centers to area command via ham radio.  Thank you for skills in providing clear communications and for your readiness to support any location necessary.

And a big thank you to the area emergency prep committee for your time developing the packets, flyers, maps and more, that made this exercise a success.  Thank you for volunteering your hours of time and energy to help prepare the area.  Thank your families for sharing you with us.

Continue to watch this blog for more articles pertaining to emergency preparedness and look forward to next year's exercise.


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Correction to paper flyer

***************************************************
Correction to the paper flyer being handed out to the neighborhood.
***************************************************

One discrepancy on the paper flyer --
The title of the top of the flyer has the correct date for the exercise
                               September 21 at 8am.
The 3rd paragraph has the incorrect date.

So the correction should read:

"Please have this flyer taped to your door or window by 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2012. (You could even tape it the night before.)" 


We apologize for this error and look forward the emergency exercise this Saturday.  Thank you for your help in making it a success!!


Foothill Area Volunteer
Emergency Prep Committee 



Monday, September 16, 2013

Foothill Area Emergency Response Exercise

Foothill Area Emergency Response Exercise
Saturday, September 21, 2013

Dear Resident,

The Foothill Area in coordination with the Bonneville Hills Community Council, and the Salt Lake Foothill Stake will be conducting an emergency response exercise on Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. A part of the exercise will be to practice the assessment of residents needs and the reporting of these needs to command centers.

We invite you to assist us on the day of the exercise by taping this flyer to a door or window clearly visible from the street. Block Captains and volunteers will be going through the neighborhood counting the number of flyers that are being shown in the windows or on the doors. In an actual emergency, placards will be used to indicate a need for assistance or to let others know that all is OK.

Please have this flyer taped to your door or window by 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2012. (You could even tape it the night before.)

We also encourage you to go to the Foothill Area emergency preparedness website at www.SLCFoothillNet.blogspot.com and download the packet titled, “Household Emergency Packet” Parts 1 and 2”. This packet provides information on how the emergency response in our area will be conducted. It also provides information about how to prepare for a future emergency.

The last page of Part 2 has a sheet showing “OK.”  If you print this sheet and tape it to your window or door in place of this flyer, it will provide us with a new item to track as we perform this exercise.

On the day of the exercise (or prior to the exercise) we invite you and all members of your family to do the following:

1.     Go to www.SLCFoothillNet.blogspot.com and download the packet titled, “Household Emergency Packet” Parts 1 and 2”.
2.     Read through the information, discuss with your family your family plan and fill in the information on the form section.
3.     Place the completed packet in one of three locations to assist emergency responders in the event of a disaster:

·         attached to your fridge
·         on the inside of a front hallway coat closet
·         next to their front window

For more information on the emergency response exercise, please contact your Block Captain or Dave Anderson at 801-583-7363.
Your Block Captain:___________________________________

Phone:________________________ Address________________________


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Innovating to Improve Disaster Response and Recovery

Last week, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) jointly challenged a group of over 80 top innovators from around the country to come up with ways to improve disaster response and recovery efforts...

Below are some of the ideas that were developed throughout the day. In the case of the first two ideas, participants wrote code and created actual working prototypes.


  • A real-time communications platform that allows survivors dependent on electricity-powered medical devices to text or call in their needs—such as batteries, medication, or a power generator—and connect those needs with a collaborative transportation network to make real-time deliveries. 
  • A technical schema that tags all disaster-related information from social media and news sites – enabling municipalities and first responders to better understand all of the invaluable information generated during a disaster and help identify where they can help.
  • A Disaster Relief Innovation Vendor Engine (DRIVE) which aggregates pre-approved vendors for disaster-related needs, including transportation, power, housing, and medical supplies, to make it as easy as possible to find scarce local resources.
  • A crowdfunding platform for small businesses and others to receive access to capital to help rebuild after a disaster, including a rating system that encourages rebuilding efforts that improve the community.
  • Promoting preparedness through talk shows, working closely with celebrities, musicians, and children to raise awareness.
  • A “community power-go-round” that, like a merry-go-round, can be pushed to generate electricity and additional power for battery-charged devices including cell phones or a Wi-Fi network to provide community internet access.
  • Aggregating crowdsourced imagery taken and shared through social media sites to help identify where trees have fallen, electrical lines have been toppled, and streets have been obstructed.
  • A kid-run local radio station used to educate youth about preparedness for a disaster and activated to support relief efforts during a disaster that allows youth to share their experiences.

Before ending the brainstorm, participants committed to taking responsibility for turning these ideas into tangible actions. We will be excited to see how these materialize into impactful projects that will support disaster response and recovery efforts. Our sincere thanks to all of the participants!

Information from www.whitehouse.gov
Posted by Todd Park and Rich Serino on September 03, 2013
To read the full article, click on the following link: