Derek Bowman of the Pahranagat Valley Community Preparedness Team announced that another Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting will be held Aug. 22 from 6-8 pm. at Pahranagat Valley High School.
Normally, the monthly meetings, put on by the Pahranagat Valley Volunteer Fire District, take place at the Alamo Ambulance Barn. However, the change of location for this meeting is intended to make more people aware of what the group is doing.
Bowman said, “In order to prepare for emergency situations, our community leaders, first responders and churches have been working together to better prepare our members for emergencies that could arise. One of the steps that we are taking is to organize our town by blocks representing six to 12 households.
“If you need suggestions for preparedness or have experience in an area that you could share, we would like to hear from you. Working together is extremely important in an emergency.”
He further stated, “In a disaster, what is it that matters most? If you have to escape your home, you will leave your car, toys, games, food, clothing and money behind to save your life and that of your family. Unfortunately, some of those items could come in handy when you go into survival mode.”
The Emergency Preparedness Committee is developing a 72-hour kit (backpack) and set of red, yellow and green sheets of paper for a person to use to communicate to the block captain of a neighborhood that someone in a household is critically injured or that there is some other type of home emergency. During an emergency these papers, Bowman explained, are to be placed in a window where they can be seen from the street.
The red card is for a critical injury. The yellow card signals help is needed but the situation is not life-threatening. The green card means all is well and no outside medical attention is needed.
He asked the people who have these papers to fill in the required information on the sheet prior to placing it in the window. This information includes the number of people in the house and number of those critically injured. If anyone has died, please list that number as well.
The fire district’s monthly meetings are posted on the Fire District Facebook page, the I Love PV Facebook page and bulletin boards at the post office and store.
Bowman said Mercy Air will be on hand at the Aug. 22 meeting, displaying their helicopter throughout the night and sharing information about their service and ways they can help the community. “We will also cover our community emergency plan and how we will handle different emergency scenarios including rapid evacuation, slower controlled evacuation, shelter in place and power failures. With your help and attendance, we look forward to organizing our blocks into a cohesive unit ready for an emergency.”
A person just never knows when such an unexpected event might occur.
