Ready Arlington

This biweekly column is sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

If the answer to that question is never or, that you never knew how, you’re in luck! April 9-15, 2017 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators’ Week, and the perfect time to show appreciation for 9-1-1 Call Takers and Dispatchers everywhere.

The idea for this week-long event was started in 1981 as a local event in Costa County, Va. President George H.W. Bush signed a proclamation in March 1992 inviting all Americans to observe this week so everyone could be made aware of their hard work and dedication to their communities.

What About A 9-1-1 Dispatcher Am I Celebrating, You Ask?

The first voice you hear when you call 9-1-1 is that of a call taker with their calm and reassuring voice. They are highly trained professionals who work with police, fire and medical personnel to get you the help you need. A 9-1-1 dispatcher is available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, always ready to handle your call for assistance. In some instances, they can even make the difference between life and death.

Why Do They Have To Ask So Many Questions? Why Don’t They Just Send Me Someone?

Well let’s clear some things up. Emergency 9-1-1 Call/Takers/Dispatchers are trained to prioritize incoming calls: they’re gathering pertinent information from you to make sure the police, fire and/or medical personnel are equipped and prepared to respond before they get to you. They also need certain information to keep not only you as safe as possible, but also to keep the police and fire units safe. This can sometimes mean a lot of questions.

Actually, while they are gathering information from you, the call has already been entered for dispatch, and often, the police and/or fire personnel are already on the way. So, if you’re worried that their questions are causing a delay, don’t be. It is just providing you with the best service possible.

Oh, I Get Why We Should Honor Dispatchers Now! What Kind Of Activities Go On At Arlington’s Emergency Communication Center During This Week Of Celebration?

The week is an opportunity to shine a light on the phenomenally difficult, and often emotionally demanding work, that our 9-1-1 Call Takers/Dispatchers do to keep our community and responders safe. It also gives us a chance to thank them for their long work hours, sacrificed time away from their families (especially during holidays), and their commitment to public safety.

Annual recognition includes: Supervisor of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Teamwork Award, ECC Award of Excellence, Best Leader and Motivator, as well as a Hall of Fame, honoring 9-1-1 dispatchers with 15+ years of service in Arlington County.

How Can I Show Appreciation To My Arlington County 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatcher This Week?

The best way is to write a letter to Jack Brown, Director of the Arlington County Office of Emergency Management, and if you should ever have to call for assistance, a thank you is always appreciated because when you call, they answer.

Saving lives is what dispatchers do!

This biweekly column is sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

The start of many people’s morning routines includes checking their phone or listening to the weather report:  Is it going to rain today? How warm will it get later? Do I need my umbrella today, or my sunglasses?  We may not think of weather as something consequential here, but the weather has caused most of the disasters in the United States.  

Did you know that:

• 98 percent of all presidentially declared disasters are weather-related
• Weather-related disasters lead to around 500 deaths annually nationwide
• Severe weather causes at least $10 billion in damages in the US every year

These are just a few reasons why the National Weather Service has created the StormReady program.

What is StormReady?

The NWS created StormReady with the goal of creating more weather-resilient communities.

In order to be considered StormReady, a community must:

• Establish an emergency operations center and 24-hour emergency communications center
• Have multiple ways to receive and alert severe weather warnings to the public
• Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally
• Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars
• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises

Arlington County is StormReady

The Arlington County Office of Emergency Management, in collaboration with Arlington Public Schools, has successfully satisfied all of the requirements necessary to be recognized as a StormReady community by the National Weather Service for the third time. The County has done its part to become StormReady. Have you done your part?

What can I do to be StormReady?

• Get a Kit

Arlington County has around 220,000 residents and only around 320 uniformed employees in its Fire Department. If severe weather hits Arlington and impacts a large portion of the county at once, it would be impossible for first responders to immediately help everyone in need. A good saying to remember is: “The first 72 are on you.” In the event of a large-scale emergency, there is no guarantee that first responders will be able to help you within the first 72 hours. 

Every member of your household should make an emergency kit with at least three days’ worth of food, water, prescriptions, and additional supplies stored and ready to go. Keep in mind that you might not have electricity or gas to prepare food, so choose non-perishable, easy to prepare food.

• Make a Plan

Keep written contact information with you at all times in case of emergency. Have plans on how to contact each other if cell phone service goes down. What will you and your family do if you can’t reach each other during an emergency? Have predesignated meeting areas both in and out of your neighborhood- in case you can’t return to your home.   

• Stay Informed

During an emergency, remaining situationally aware is key. Have a NOAA Weather Radio to keep informed of weather threats, listen to TV and radio for instructions and information. Make sure these radios have batteries, and keep spares in your emergency kit.

Stay informed of emergencies by signing up for Arlington Alerts, the County’s notification system that will alert you of emergencies, severe weather and traffic, and other important information via phone, text, email and/or fax.

Talk, prepare, and plan for potential situations now, so you are not scrambling later. Do your part to become StormReady. To learn more about making preparing for emergencies, visit ReadyVirginia.

This biweekly column is sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

If the weather can be relied on for one thing so far this year, it’s unpredictability. We’ve gone from record-breaking high temperatures to a winter storm warning within one week. Nothing is more unpredictable than tornadoes. While Arlington County has escaped recent severe tornadoes experienced across the rest of the state, they are a real risk. Tornadoes have struck nearly every locality in Virginia. Do you know what to do during a tornado?

March 21 is Tornado Preparedness Day in Virginia. Join the Arlington County Office of Emergency Management and participate in the Statewide Tornado Drill by practicing where to go and what to do during a tornado. Register to hold a Tornado drill at your home or workplace & help to prepare your family and colleagues. Look for our notice at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 21, 2017 on Facebook & Twitter stating the drill has begun. Show us how you prepare by posting a picture of your drill @ReadyArlington’s Facebook/Twitter account.  Review these helpful tips from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM).

Tornado Watches vs. Warnings

Knowing when to take action is critical to keeping you and your family safe.

• Tornado Watch (Be Prepared) A tornado is possible.
• Tornado Warning (Take Action Immediately) A tornado is already occurring in your area, or will be soon.

What to do during a tornado

Most injuries associated with tornadoes are from flying debris, so protect your head. If possible, continue to monitor media to determine when the risk has passed.

• Home – Go to your basement, safe room, or an interior room away from windows. Don’t forget pets if time allows.
• Work – Proceed to your tornado shelter location quickly and calmly. Stay away from windows and avoid large open rooms such as cafeterias, gymnasiums, or auditoriums.
• Outside – Seek shelter inside a sturdy building ASAP. Sheds and storage facilities are not safe.
• On the road – Vehicles are not safe during a tornado. Drive to the closest shelter. If that’s not possible, either get down in your car and cover your head, or abandon your car and seek shelter in a low-lying area such as a ditch or ravine.

Communications

Getting the warning as soon as possible is critical with tornadoes. Over the last decade, people have significantly changed how they get their news and entertainment, and this puts more importance on the different ways you get important information:

• NOAA Weather Radios – Available for purchase, these radios often have a distinct alarm the will alert owners when significant weather events occur.
• Wireless Alert System (WEA) – Messages that appear as text messages on newer smartphones and cell phones automatically to notify you of amber alerts, silver alerts, emergencies where lives may be at risk (such as weather warnings), and Presidential alerts.
• Arlington Alert – Alerting system used by Arlington County to send emergency, as well as weather and traffic information to residents. Arlington Alert allows you to customize how you want to be notified (such as text, phone, email or App), what you what to be notified about (emergency notifications, weather, traffic) and when.
• AM/FM Radio and TV – If listening live, radio and TV broadcasts will allow for emergency alerts from the National Broadcast System and local meteorologists on the various local channels and stations

This biweekly column is sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

Isn’t it appropriate to point out at the beginning of Women’s History Month that a field historically dominated by men has its roots attributed to a woman?

The groundwork for the field of emergency management can be traced back to the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD). The OCD was established by President Roosevelt during WWII to protect civilians and respond to community needs. The development of the agency was largely influenced by a plan drafted by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped lead the department as the Assistant Director.

Veterans and retired first responders were tapped to fill the earliest roles in the OCD, so naturally the field was largely male dominated. That trend continues today, with women accounting for only 34 percent of emergency management professionals.

In Arlington, we’re doing much better than the national average, with women representing 44 percent of our emergency management staff, and we’re working to close that gap further by offering programs like HERricane Arlington, a summer camp to develop girls ages 13-17, into our future emergency managers and leaders.

While our staff had very few female industry leaders to look up to as they developed into emergency managers, they didn’t lack for professional role models. We asked our OEM staff who they found inspiring, and although their responses varied in time periods and career paths, there were two common themes: all of the women were outspoken, and all pushed the social norms for their time period.

Amanda Nicoll – Watch Desk Officer

Jennifer Aniston: “She continues to have grace and decorum while going through a very public ordeal. She is a philanthropist while making people laugh. She has always fought back against critics who felt she needed to get married and have children. How she has handled all of these things encourages me to do the same.”

Elizabeth Dexter – Watch Desk Officer

Margaret Thatcher: “She stayed true to herself, even though those around her doubted her abilities. She did not let anything get in her way.

Even when her opponents threw up road blocks, she pushed through, never losing sight of her end goals. And she succeeded.”

Lauren Stienstra – Senior Manager, Research and Policy Development

Amelia Earhart: “In the fourth grade, we were required to give a speech to our class on a personal hero, and I chose Amelia Earhart. Her sense of adventure, underscored by her grit and determination, resonates with me as strongly now as it did then.

She built an impressive career in a man’s field and advocated for women’s rights and women’s interests in engineering and science. Her courage, pragmatism, and commitment inspire me on a regular basis, and have motivated me to launch aspirational projects like HERricane Arlington. She asserted ownership over her future and made her own success- which is empowering women of all ages.”

Samantha Brann – Deputy Coordinator

Eleanor Roosevelt “She overcame incredible personal challenges to find fulfillment in public life serving those without a voice. She was outspoken: holding press conferences, writing a daily newspaper article, hosting a radio show, and even disagreeing publicly with her husband, the President, when she felt morally obligated.

She advocated for women’s rights, civil rights, and the rights of WWII refugees. She reminds me that when I face adversity — when the couch, a pint of ice cream and Netflix is screaming my name — that’s when we can dig deep and achieve the most.”

Photos (1, 2, 3, 4) via Wikimedia Commons

This biweekly column is sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

It’s that time of year when we like to curl up with a mug of cocoa and a good book. Of course, our staff favorites feature stories of emergencies, disasters, and survival against the odds.

See what our staff is reading, and join us in a discussion at A Novel Catastrophe, our bi-monthly book club.

Wave, Sonali Deraniyagala (Tuesday, March 14) – In 2004, at a beach resort on the coast of Sri Lanka, Sonali and her family — parents, husband, sons — were swept away by a tsunami.

Only Sonali survived to tell their tale. This is her account of the nearly incomprehensible event and its aftermath.

• Why we read it: We put a lot of effort into planning for, and responding to, emergencies. This raw and honest depiction is a reminder that the disaster isn’t over when the Emergency Operations Center closes.
• Register

Flight 232, Laurence Gonzales (Tuesday, May 9) – As hundreds of rescue workers waited on the ground, United Airlines Flight 232 wallowed drunkenly over the bluffs northwest of Sioux City. The plane slammed onto the runway and burst into a vast fireball. The rescuers didn’t move at first: nobody could possibly survive that crash.

And then people began emerging from the summer corn that lined the runways. Miraculously, 184 of 296 passengers lived.

• Why we read it: This is a story of miracles, heroes, sacrifice and survival. Need we say more?
• Register

Life As We Knew It (Tuesday, July 11) – High school sophomore Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, like “one marble hits another.”

The result is catastrophic. How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun?

• Why we read it: Sure, it’s a little apocalyptic, but this fun, fast read really makes you think about your own survival skills in the worst of conditions.
• Register

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, Sheri Fink (September 12) After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients for rescue.

Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths.

• Why we read it: We say over and over again: make a plan. This book brings us into the worst-case-scenario, when plans fail, or don’t exist, and staff are forced to make difficult decisions.   
• Register

According to Amanda Ripley, author of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why (one of our all-time favorites), there are three common characteristics of disaster survivors:

• A belief you can influence what happens to you
• Ability to find meaningful purpose in life’s struggles
• Ability to learn from all experiences- good and bad

Join our conversation: Do the survivors in these books share these characteristics? How would you respond in their shoes?

This biweekly column is written and sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

9-1-1, Where is your emergency? If your answer to this question is “this isn’t an emergency,” then you’ve dialed the wrong number. Arlington County has a non-emergency number that’s also answered 24/7 by call-takers in the Emergency Communications Center. Still not sure when it’s appropriate to use the non-emergency number?

• Is the situation life threatening? Is something on fire? Is someone bleeding? Not breathing? Is there a weapon? If you find yourself in a situation where someone needs medical attention, there’s any type of fire, smoke, smell or someone has a weapon or is threatening you, you should absolutely call 9-1-1. For any situation when there is an immediate threat to life, health or property, do not wait — call 9-1-1 immediately.

PRO TIP: The most important piece of information you can give is your location. Give this information first. If you don’t know
the exact address, pay special attention to your surroundings. Just saying, “I’m at the 7-11,” isn’t helpful (there are seventeen 7-11’s in Arlington). But if you say, “I’m at the 7-11 near Columbia Pike and South George Mason,” then dispatchers can figure out where you are. Keep in mind, your cell phone will not automatically tell dispatchers where you are.

• Did the event happen more than 30 minutes ago? The possibilities of when the non-emergency number should be used are really limitless, but one of the biggest factors is time. If the danger still exists, call 9-1-1. However, if there has been an incident where you needed the police but the danger has already passed, then the non-emergency number would be appropriate. Some examples: if you saw a strange car in your neighborhood an hour ago, if you left your wallet in a cab last night, if you just noticed something was stolen from your car in the last week — then call the non-emergency line!

Other times it’s appropriate to use the non-emergency number is for nuisance calls. A barking dog or an illegally parked car are things that are annoying (and violate certain ordinances), but are not life threatening. If you cannot find your car, that is not necessarily an emergency. If you saw someone physically steal it then yes, call 9-1-1 immediately. Otherwise you can find out if it’s been towed or file a stolen vehicle report through the non-emergency number.

PRO TIP: The Arlington County Police has a great system in place for making online reports. Once the report is submitted, you will automatically receive a temporary case number. You will then receive an e-mail from an officer within 48 hours to follow up. If further information is needed, the Officer will ask for it via e-mail.

PRO TIP: Arlington County also has an online tool for reporting things like littering, traffic signal issues and damaged signs.

• See Something, Say Something. The community plays a critical part as our eyes and ears for suspicious activity. However, just because something is suspicious doesn’t mean it’s an emergency. If you see someone taking unusual pictures or videos, or behaving strangely, call the non-emergency number. If what you are seeing feels like it might be an imminent danger, call 9-1-1.

• Just because you call the non-emergency line, doesn’t mean it’s not important. A call for a non-emergency situation may take a little longer than an emergency. However, this does not mean your incident isn’t important, or won’t be handled properly. Just have a question for a call-taker? Call the non-emergency number.

PRO TIP: Arlington County also has Text-to-9-1-1 capabilities for times when it’s an emergency, but you are unable to speak on the phone.

Samantha Brann is the Deputy Coordinator, Volunteer Management, for the Arlington County Office of Emergency Management.

I tell people I that fell into the field of emergency management. Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged Biloxi, MS, I took a break from graduate school to assist in the response efforts. Three weeks later, I was asked to stay as the Volunteer Coordinator; three weeks turned into three months, and then a year. Even today, I’m surprised by how much my time volunteering following Hurricane Katrina has affected my life and my career.

Volunteering Makes Your Life Better!

It’s no secret that volunteering provides just as many benefits to the volunteer as to the organization served. But did you know that volunteering:

• Improves your health — A UnitedHealth Group study reported that volunteering reduced stress in 78% of volunteers, as well as improved the moods in 94%. Volunteers also have lower rates of depression.
• Can land you a job — A LinkedIn survey found that 41% of employers considered volunteer work equally important as paid work when evaluating a candidate, while 20% reported they actually selected a candidate based on volunteer work.
• Makes you live longer — Volunteers have a 20% reduction in mortality compared to non-volunteers according to researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School.
• Increases life satisfaction — According to a UnitedHealth Group study, 96% of people said volunteering enriched their sense of purpose in life.
• Makes you feel like you have more time — Those who give their time (or money), feel like they have more of it, according to a study in the Harvard Business Review.

New Year, New Opportunity

Residents of Arlington are well versed in volunteering — 33% of residents in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area volunteered in 2015, ranking them the 4^th highest among the 51 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country. So tell me, how do you volunteer? And while you’re thinking, let me offer you an opportunity.

Arlington Network for Community Readiness (ANChoR) is the new volunteer program of the Office of Emergency Management with a mission to support OEM in educating and assisting Arlington for emergencies. Volunteers are community members over the age of 16 who live or work in Arlington County and want to help their community during an emergency.

ANChoR volunteers may be called upon to staff outreach tables at fairs or lead preparedness workshops. They may be asked to provide critical support during an emergency, such as providing support in the Emergency Operations Center. When events like Winter Storm Jonas roll in, they’ll be tasked with checking on (or shoveling out!) ill patients for life-saving medical appointments.

ANChoR volunteers can learn new skills through trainings, investigate new professional opportunities through networking activities, connect with their community through service projects, help neighbors during an emergency or simply meet new people!

Give Yourself the Gift of Volunteering in 2017!

I drove down to Biloxi, MS after Hurricane Katrina simply to help in any way I could. Over 12 months, I gained skills I never anticipated: roofing, dry walling, mold remediation — even how to use a chain saw properly. I also learned coalition building, fundraising and leadership — skills that allowed me to return home and find a new profession in the world of emergency and volunteer management.

Give yourself the gift of more time, better health, longer life, less stress, higher quality of life, and new opportunities: help your community during an emergency. Sign up for Arlington Network for Community Readiness today, and volunteer in 2017!

This biweekly column is written and sponsored by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management.

The cold has finally arrived, and with it the possibility of winter weather. Whether you’re doing the snow dance or not, now’s the time to make sure you’re ready for winter! Take these five simple steps to prepare for today and every day.

Give Your Car a Prep Check — Every year over 480,000 people are injured and more than 6,000 people are killed in weather-related crashes. Make sure your car is in prime working order before you hit the road in less-than-perfect conditions.

• Check your antifreeze, oil, brakes, heater & defroster, windshield wipers & fluid, battery, and tires for proper levels and good working order.
• Go through supplies you have stored in your car to make sure your food, water, radio, phone charger, first aid kit, kitty litter/sand, shovel, ice scraper, and blanket are still there, and in good working order. Add supplies if you’re low on anything. For a list of basic car supplies, see Ready.gov.
• Make sure to keep your gas tank at least half full (a good practice year-round, but particularly important in the winter). If you’re surprised by weather, and end up stranded on the road, a full tank of gas will provide you with hours of heat!

Check Your Stocks — Not those stocks; your preparedness stocks! Last winter following Winter Storm Jonas, residents across the region found themselves in their homes for days. Grocery stores and restaurants had difficulties restocking and serving customers. This serves as a reminder that we all need to have at least a few days of food and supplies in our homes at all times.

• Case your pantry or emergency kit, and verify that you have at least 3 days of food and water for your entire Discard and replace any food that has expired.
• Check your flashlights, radios, batteries and anything else with an on/off switch in your supplies to make sure they work and that the batteries are good.
• Do a full assessment of additional supplies you may need, and verify they are easily assessable for your entire family. A basic list of emergency supplies is available at Ready.gov.

Be Aware & Prepared — Most weather-related car accidents happen when the roads are wet or slippery from rain, snow or ice. Be aware and prepared for the conditions.

• Slow down and give yourself plenty of space when the roads are wet. If the temperature is near freezing, you may be driving on ice without realizing it.
• Weather can change rapidly- it’s important to know what you’ll be heading out into before you go. Register for ArlingtonAlert.com to receive National Weather Service warnings, as well as traffic and emergency alerts.
• Stay off the roads during snow and ice events. Not only do you put yourself at risk by taking to the roads, you also slow the clean-up efforts.

Talk the Talk — Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, over 5,000 children were separated from their families for as long as 6 months. Family communication plans are a critical component to help you and your family find one another after an emergency.

• Review your communication plan to make sure the information, such as your contacts (i.e. out-of-town contact, doctors, caregivers, etc.), meeting areas, locations (school, work, home), insurance, evacuation routes, etc. are still correct. Go to ReadyNOVA.org to develop a family communication plan that can be printed, sent and saved to mobile devices.
• Review the plan with your entire family and make sure everyone knows what to do and who to call if they are separated from you.

Get Involved — Help your community during an emergency.

• Get to know your neighbors, and find out if any may need help after a winter storm, and then offer to help if you’re able to!
• Join the Arlington Network for Community Readiness, a volunteer group who supports the Office of Emergency Management in educating and assisting Arlington for emergencies.