It’s National Preparedness Month: Are You Ready for the Next Disaster?

September is National Preparedness Month, and this year’s theme is “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.” Each week of the month focuses on a different preparedness theme, including flood, wildfire, hurricane, and power outage. A special National PrepareAthon! Day of Action will take place on September 30. EMS/Rescue personnel can use this month to educate the community about disaster medical emergency preparedness, as well as making sure the department is ready to respond in case of a disaster. Get started at www.ready.gov/september. 

 

The NVFC has resources to help your department and community prepare for disasters. Fire Corps is a grassroots program that allows community members to volunteer with their local fire or EMS department in non-emergency roles. This could include conducting fire prevention and emergency preparedness education in the community, developing department preparedness plans, assisting with disaster drills, and more. Learn more about Fire Corps and how to start a program at www.firecorps.org.  

 

Junior firefighter programs can also help with community preparedness education and other non-operational tasks during September. Throughout the year, junior firefighter programs allow youth to learn about the fire and emergency services in a safe, educational, and fun environment. These programs are recruiting the next generation of volunteers while creating more prepared citizens today. EMS education is an important component of the training offered by most junior firefighter programs. The NVFC National Junior Firefighter Program has resources to help you start or grow a program. Find out more at www.nvfc.org/juniors. 

 

Responders should also be physically and mentally prepared for the next emergency. The NVFC has resources to help firefighters, EMTs, and departments with safety and health preparedness at www.nvfc.org/health_safety. Find resources on specific health and safety topics including behavioral health, cancer, heart-health, and vehicle safety, among others. 

 

Find tools and resources for National Preparedness Month from the Ready Campaign at www.ready.gov/september. Register your preparedness events with America’s PrepareAthon at http://community.fema.gov/. Find disaster health and safety information for emergency response workers at http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/workers.asp.