Resolve to Prepare!

The New Year is coming and many are making their New Year's resolutions. We're asking everyone to add getting prepared for emergencies to their list for 2017.

Families need to plan as to what they should do if a disaster occurs. People can make a difference in your community by knowing what to do when disaster strikes. It’s just a few short steps away:

1. Get a kit. If you’ve ever fumbled to find a flashlight during a blackout, you know what it feels like to be unprepared. Use a downloadable checklist  available on redcross.org to make it easy to get your emergency preparedness kit ready. You should include:

• Three-day supply of non-perishable food and water—one gallon per person, per day for drinking and hygiene purposes
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit, medications and medical items
• Copies of all important documents (proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
• Extra cash
• Choose a contact person from out of the area and make sure all household members have this person’s phone number and email address. It may be easier to call long distance or text if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service.
• Tell everyone in the household where emergency information and supplies are kept.
• Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Drive your planned evacuation route and plot alternate routes on a map in case main roads are impassable.
• Don’t forget your pets. If you must evacuate, make arrangements for your animals. Keep a phone list of “pet friendly” motels/hotels and animal shelters that are along your evacuation routes.
• If you live or travel often to areas near a fault line, learn how to prepare and what to do during an earthquake. If summer brings to mind not just beaches and picnics but also tropical storms and hurricanes, arm yourself with information about what to do in case one occurs. Remember that emergencies like fires and blackouts can happen anywhere, so everyone should be prepared for them.
• Find out how you would receive information from local officials in the event of an emergency.
• Learn First Aid and CPR/AED so that you have the skills to respond in an emergency before help arrives, especially during a disaster when emergency responders maybe delayed. Visit redcross.org/takeaclass for online and in-class offerings and to register.

2. Make a plan. Talk with household members about what you would do during emergencies. Plan what to do in case you are separated, and choose two places to meet - one right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency such as a fire, and another outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate. 

3. Be informed. Know the risks where you live, work, learn and play.

The Red Cross Emergency App provides real-time emergency alerts and information about what to do in case of emergencies, as well as locations of open Red Cross shelters. It is a single ‘go-to’ source for 14 different types of emergencies and disasters and allows users to notify loved ones who are in an affected area. The Monster Guard App gives 7- to 11-year-olds a free, fun, gaming environment to learn how to prevent emergencies, like home fires, and how to stay safe if severe weather or natural disasters occur. You can download the apps for free in your app stores or at redcross.org/apps

The Red Cross has also partnered with New York State to offer free Citizen Preparedness Corps training. Available online or in person, the training provides information about common types of natural and man-made disasters and teaches effective ways to prepare for, respond to and recover from them as an individual, family and community. 

Most of all, on behalf of all of us at the Western and Central New York Region, best wishes for a very happy--and safe!!!--2017.

We know how you feel, East Coasters!

Hopefully, things won't be as bad for our East Coast neighbors
as they were for many Western New Yorkers in November

Unless you've been under a rock the past 24 hours or so, you know the East Coast is bracing for what they're calling a "potentially historic" blizzard over the next 24-48 hours. This storm is expected to largely miss our Region, and after November 2014 the people of Western New York may be having a hard time thinking of two feet of snow as "historic". But as we learned all too well, road closures and travel bans can leave people stranded in their homes or cars, and this storm has the potential to affect millions of people. 

While our volunteers standby to return the favor and help our downstate and East Coast neighbors as they helped us last November, we need to remember that winter is not over. Our turn could be coming again sooner than you think, and the time to prepare is now! Think about how much these simple steps could have helped your family get through "Snowvember": 

• Assemble an Emergency Preparedness Kit: Weather conditions and travel bans may force your family to shelter-in-place at your home. Make sure your kit includes at least three days water and non-perishable food, as well as essential medications. Additionally, make sure you have a first aid kit and a battery-powered radio with extra batteries in your home in the event of a power outage.

• Keep an Emergency Preparedness Kit in your Car: Remember, many people thought they could make it to their destination and ended up stranded in their car for hours. Make sure your car preparedness kit includes high-protein snacks and water, as well as a warm coat, hat, mittens or gloves, and water-resistant boots, along with extra blankets and extra warm clothing for each family member.

Click here for 15 minutes that can help your family stay safe!

Want more tips on how to help prepare your family for emergencies such as a blizzard? Take 15 minutes and take New York State's free, online Citizen Preparedness Corps training (choose "referral from the American Red Cross" on the drop-down menu). We can also send a trained instructor to provide this potentially life-saving information in-person at your school, business or organization. Just contact Preparedness Specialist Veronica Chiesi Brown and she'll hook you up. Remember, this storm may be missing us, but that means this is a great time to gear up for the next blast!

Make Preparedness Your Holiday Gift and Resolution!

Coming off a large-scale disaster like Western New York's recent #WinterStormKnife, this may be hard to believe. But the Red Cross responded to more house fires this year than any other type of disaster. Combined.

In the past week, the Central New York Chapter has provided assistance to 46 people who have been displaced from theirhomes by fires. In the past 24 hours, the Greater Rochester Chapter has responded to three separate fires, helping ten people. Yesterday afternoon, I joined Disaster Action Team volunteer Dennis as we assisted two people after a fire in Buffalo. While there was no media coverage like we saw during "Snowvember", all you had to do was look up at the sky where their roof was before the fire to realize this was truly a disaster for these people, especially coming so close to the holidays.

Between January 1 and December 1, 2014, the Red Cross provided food, clothing, shelter, comfort and hope to 3,381 people in Western and Central New York who had nowhere else to turn after a house fire. Tragically, we have also had 34 fire-related deaths in 2014. 

Disaster Action Team volunteer Dennis at a fire on
Bissell in Buffalo December 22

The Red Cross has launched a campaign to reduce the number of home fire deaths and injuries nationwide by 25 percent over the next five years. We are asking every household to take two simple steps: check your existing smoke alarms, and practice fire drills at home.

Don't have a smoke alarm? Part of the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign is to work with fire departments and community groups nationwide to install smoke alarms. Call (585) 241-4405 for more information about how you could have a free smoke alarm installed in your home!

http://prepare.ny.gov/online-citizen-preparedness-training

As we prepared to flip the calendar to 2015, why not resolve to make your family better prepared for emergencies, including house fires? The Red Cross has also partnered with New York State to offer the Citizen Preparedness Corps program. In just 15 minutes, this online course will give you the knowledge and tools to prepare for disasters (just make sure you choose "Red Cross" from the referral dropdown menu!). You can also schedule a free, in-person Prepare, Respond, Recover: What to do When Disaster Strikes presentation at your school, business or organization. A trained representative will present the one-hour program, providing a comprehensive overview on how to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and man-made disasters.

As if making your loved ones safer isn't enough of a holiday gift, all Western & Central NY Region in-person Citizen Preparedness Corps class registrants before March 31 will be entered to win one of two FREE generators! For more information on the Home Fire Preparedness campaign, Citizen Preparedness Corps, and how you could get a free smoke alarm or win a free generator, contact Individual and Community Preparedness Specialist Veronica Chiesi Brown at (585) 241-4405.

Let's work together to make 2015 Western and Central New York's safest year yet. That would truly be a gift that keeps on giving!

Preparedness doesn't end with September

As we get ready to turn flip the calender from September to October, we also prepare to close the book on another National Preparedness Month. That doesn't mean our focus on preparing our families for emergencies should be closed with it, however.

Just look at what happened last weekend. Disaster Action Team volunteers responded to 16 fires across our 17-county Region between Thursday and Tuesday. None of those families knew ahead of time that an emergency was about to turn their lives upside-down. But of course, we do know what happens as we continue to flip calendar pages towards the winter months. You may not want to think about "Polar Vortexes" when the sun is shining and temperatures are in the 70s, but now is the time to prepare for the inevitable winter weather.

The American Red Cross has partnered with New York State to offer the Citizen Preparedness Corps training, a free one-hour session that provides a comprehensive overview on how to prepare for, respond to and recover from both natural and man-made disasters. A number of sessions have already been scheduled across the region, including next Saturday, October 4, during the North Tonawanda Fall Festival and Craft Show. Thanks to the support of the East Hill Foundation, every family that attends either the 1pm or 3pm session will receive a free fire extinguisher, smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector!

If you can't make it to North Tonawanda, a full list of Citizen Preparedness Corps trainings will soon be available on our website. You can also schedule a free, one-hour training at your business, school or organization by contacting Justin Pitts or calling (716) 878-2238. You may not get some of the freebies at the other sessions, but you will receive information that could save your family's life, and isn't that reason enough?

The Importance of Being Prepared

Unfortunately, between fires, drownings and even a possible tornado, we've had several recent incidents across the Western New York/Finger Lakes Region that remind us that disaster can strike anywhere, anytime. These tragedies are why we preach emergency preparedness and encourage everyone to take steps now to keep their family safe.

The most recent incident occurred late Tuesday evening, when a storm tore the roof off at least one home and knocked out power for hundreds in the Chemung County town of Baldwin. As the National Weather Service investigates to see if the damage was caused by a possible tornado, (UPDATE: The National Weather Service has since confirmed that a tornado did touch down in Baldwin) Red Cross Disaster Assessment volunteers are also on the ground, gathering the information we'll need to help the community recover from this storm.

Unfortunately, Upstate New York is become all too familiar with tornadoes this summer, and one way to prepare is to download the FREE Red Cross Tornado App. In addition to severe weather alerts that will let your family know when to take cover, the app also provides safety tips so you're family will know what to do if a storm rolls into your area.

The long holiday weekend also provided a tragic reminder of the importance of water safety after three drownings in Erie County. The summer may be coming to a close, but pools are still open, and natural bodies of water never close. Please, do whatever you can to help prevent these unthinkable tragedies. Make sure that you and your family learn to swim and take the proper safety precautions. Take a CPR/First Aid class and download the free First Aid app to help help you respond if an emergency does occur.

And the Labor Day weekend provided no break for our volunteers, who have responded to eight fires in Erie, Niagara and Orleans Counties alone since Saturday, providing food, clothing, comfort and support for 32 people, including four Tuesday evening in Lyndonville.

The American Red Cross is currently partnering with New York State to offer Governor Andrew Cuomo's Citizen Preparedness Corps training program, "Prepare, Respond, Recover: What to do When Disaster Strikes." The program provides residents with the tools and knowledge to prepare for emergencies and disasters, respond accordingly and recover to pre-disaster conditions as quickly as possible. If you'd like to help your community stay safe by scheduling a Citizen Preparedness Corps training at your school, business or other organization, please email Justin Pitts or call (716) 878-2238.