Texting and Driving - PSA

The following is a British public service commercial about texting and driving. It is graphic but sends home the message.

A video worth sharing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ttNgZDZruI

Mobile Command Post / ESU design

It is always exciting to get to travel to other jurisdictions to see how they have designed their emergency and disaster response. This past week I accompanied a Fire Chief and one of his Captains to Florida to look at mobile command posts, hazmat trucks and other disaster response vehicles that were in use, as well as spending a day and a half at a fire/specialty truck manufacturer. The objective of the trip was to come up with a practical design for a combination mobile command post and emergency support truck.

There were numerous lessons and ideas gained by talking with front line staff, disaster managers, senior officials and specialist truck manufacturers, too many to list. But the biggest lesson was a reminder of how valuable it is to get outside advice based on experience. Many thanks to the many professionals we met with, sharing their experiences; what they did right and what they would change in the future. The professionals we visited with had been to hurricanes, floods, chemical plant fires, train derailments etc., some travelling to other states to assist (e.g. Katrina), so when they had suggestions we listened carefully. Hopefully we will be able to take these nuggets of experience and apply them to meet the requirements of the community our truck is being designed for.

Churches Need To Prepare Too

Although we receive many comments of appreciation for our projects we normally don't post them (maybe we should). The letter below, however, demonstrates the importance of churches being prepared.

Following recent incidents in the USA of shootings in churches, we were contacted by the Royal Oak (Michigan) Church of Christ (500+ members) to put together an emergency plan. Emergency plans in churches should at a minimum include: fire, severe weather, security (violence & child protection), medical emergencies, and crisis communications.

Emergency plans for churches need to be straight forward and easy to use, but most of all, they need to be PRACTICED.

August 22, 2009
Emergency Management & Training, Inc.
65 Cedar Pointe Dr.
Barrie ON L4N0Y9 Canada


To Darryl Culley:

On behalf of the Royal Oak church of Christ, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to you and your staff at Emergency Management & Training. The emergency and disaster recovery plans that you prepared for our church is outstanding and addressed every need from lock down procedures to basic traffic flow. We have already started implementing the specifics steps outlined in the documents and have experienced positive feed back from everyone involved.

It would not be prudent on our part if we didn’t do everything possible to provide a safe and healthy environment as we service our community in Royal Oak. We have truly benefited from your company’s expertise and knowledge. We appreciate the professionalism and the true caring that you displayed in working with us to develop these plans. We would not hesitate to recommend you and your company to anyone who might be considering your services.


Sincerely,
Ken Jamison, Deacon – Special Projects
Royal Oak church of Christ

Pneumonic Plague Outbreak in China

While the world is focused on a relatively mild form of influenza, the H1N1 outbreak, other serious diseases lurk in the background.

As of August 3, an outbreak of the Pneumonic Plague in China has the police and military isolating a community of 10,000. The World Health Organization states that the Pneumonic Plague is one of the most deadly infectious diseases often killing people within 24 hours of onset. It is spread through droplets such as through coughing.

"This form of pneumonic plague is probably the least common but the most severe," said WHO's spokeswoman in China, Vivian Tan. "It has a very high fatality rate and generally spreads quite easily. So we're certainly concerned about the situation."

More information is available through the Associated Press at:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_PLAGUE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-08-03-15-09-53

Concert Hit by Storm - 1 dead, 75 injured

The Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta was struck by a sudden storm on August 1, 2009 resulting in the partial collapse of the stage killing 1 and injuring 75, 15 of whom were transported to hospital. The event which attracts up to 20,000 people per day had paramedics on site who immediately started attending to the injured.

Large event organizers should always complete a HIRA and put plans in place to deal with the highest potential risks. High winds and rain, although not having the same impact, blew through the Big Valley Jamboree in 1999 providing some history to the risks faced at this event.

Local media coverage can be found at the Edmonton Journal:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Valley+Jamboree+cancelled+after+with+Alberta+storm/1853266/story.html