EMS will be stretched
to the limit. Will anyone come to your aid? Will anyone be able to come to your
aid?
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"We realized that when a disaster happened, whether
an earthquake, storm or terrorist activity, the people on the scene were
actually the first responders and, in a major event, they were often the only
responders for possibly long periods of time."
- Frank Lucier, San Francisco FD Retired
Resources
will immediately be directed to search and rescue, getting the roads open,
hospitals open, restarting the infrastructure.
I am of the
opinion that my name will not be on any master list that say. “Quick, go pull
Daniel’s fat out of the fire. Nope, won’t happen. Though there might just be
such a list, most of us are not on it. So what does that mean? We will have to
fend for ourselves. Unfortunately historical evidence has shown that many First Responders will abandon their posts during the onset and aftermath of an emergency or disaster. I have no intention to demean the valiant work these men and women do on a daily basis, but they are human. And they will be more interested in protecting their family and loved ones. Their very safety may be at risk because of civil unrest, or they will be frustrated by the lack of adequate resources that will allow them to perform as they want to. Hopefully some communities are developing resources that will enable the First Responders to remain on post knowing that their families and loved ones are safe and secure.
Sadly the 2015
movie San Andreas depicts the hero abandoning his post to rescue his family and
loved ones. Obviously he did not have an Emergency Action Plan in place. Not a
positive meme to portray as acceptable behavior.
Statistical
evidence shows that First Responders are no more prepared to respond to a
disaster that the general citizenry. (FEMA, 2016)
The general consensus
in the Emergency Planning Community is to prepare for a minimum of three days
isolation. That’s what most all of the handouts and checklists supplied by FEMA
and the ARC say.
Will three
days of meager rations and water be enough? I don’t think so. First of all, if
you have been proactive and evacuated the affected area. Things might be
better. Have you prepositioned couple of weeks of supplies at an offsite
location? If you waited too long to leave you will be either sheltering
in-place, or relying on a public shelter that might be up and running in your
community. You won’t be alone then.
During the creation
of your Emergency Action Plan you should be aware of the possibility that you
and yours will be on your own until responding relief agencies can get you out.
The infrastructure has been restored to an acceptable level. Or you can get to
a safer place.
References
Till Next
Time
“Be Safe”
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