A recently launched campaign — #ReadyHempfield2015 — will spread awareness of the need for a community approach for emergency management, said Robert Gerlach, the township's emergency management coordinator.
“It's not just for disasters,” Gerlach said. “It's also for short emergencies.”
Hempfield Township Emergency Management Agency officials are offering services to help residents, businesses and civic organizations create a plan to address reactions to a small- or large-scale disaster or emergency.
In coming months, the agency plans to establish an outreach committee that would provide speakers at events and offer assistance in creating and evaluating emergency plans, Gerlach said.
Important points to contemplate when developing a residential plan — which Gerlach said should be memorized — is to establish a meet-up point, discuss how to communicate in the event cell phones are unavailable and put together a “ready kit” which could include a three-day supply of clothing, food, medications and important documents.
Business emergency plans would examine a variety of more specific situations, but it's important to a community's economic stability following a large-scale disaster for businesses to recover quickly, Gerlach said.
“So if something happens, like a tornado or something worse, our recovery time will be a lot shorter,” he said. “This is a service we can provide to help companies save money.”
The township and Hempfield Area School District were affected by a tornado in March 2011. The storm blew through the township's Fort Allen neighborhood and the high school, leaving behind millions of dollars in damage.
Superintendent Barbara Marin said school officials could not communicate by cell phone after the storm. Officials are working with the township emergency management agency and others to update the district's emergency response plan and training, she said.
“Luckily, school districts don't have to deal with emergency situations all the time,” Marin said.
One possibility is the use of two-way radios following an emergency to bypass cell phones. Another possibility is designating the township's emergency operations center as a home base for the district in the event communication is lost or a situation arises, she said.
“They have so much over there that could benefit our district,” Marin said.
©2015 Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
