September is National Preparedness Month – Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare

September 2, 2014

It’s National Preparedness Month, a time when communities, emergency responders, businesses, and families come together to make sure they are prepared for the next disaster. This year’s theme is “Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare.”

The national Ready campaign has established four universal building blocks of emergency preparedness and provides resources and tools to help with each. These building blocks are: Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved. Find more from the Ready campaign at www.ready.gov.

Use the month of September to help prepare your department and community so you are ready when the next disaster strikes. The weekly themes are as follows:

• Week 1 – How To… Reconnect with family after a disaster.
• Week 2 – Know How To… Plan for specific needs before a Disaster.
  • Monday, 9/8: Youth and children, and colleges and universities
  • Tuesday, 9/9: Tribal audiences
  • Wednesday, 9/10: Business
  • Thursday, 9/11: First responders (Police, Fire, EMS, Nurses, Public Utility, etc.)
  • Friday, 9/12: Organizations (faith-based, voluntary, and state/local/tribal)
  • Saturday, 9/13: Disabilities, access & functional needs, and older Americans
  • Sunday, 9/14: Pets/animals
• • Week 3 – How to… Build an emergency kit.
• • Weeks 4 & 5 – How to… Practice for an emergency.

Find resources for conducting community outreach from the National Preparedness Community. These include a digital engagement toolkit, outreach messages in Spanish, the 2014 National Preparedness Month logo and poster, and social media images.

There will also be a National PrepareAthon! Day on September 30. Use this event to educate the community and plan a local preparedness event or disaster drill. Find tools, messaging, and resources to participate in the PrepareAthon! on the America’s PrepareAthon! web site.

The National Volunteer Fire Council has many resources to help your department and community be prepared.

• Prepare your department by making sure all personnel follow the B.E.S.T. Priorities for Health and Safety.
• Prepare yourself by getting healthy, fit, and ready to respond with the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program and the Share the Load Support Program.
• Prepare your community through the use of Fire Corps volunteers to provide emergency preparedness and fire prevention education, develop preparedness plans, conduct home safety checks and smoke alarm installations, assist with disaster drills, and more.
• Prepare for the future of your department with the National Junior Firefighter Program, which fosters the next generation of firefighters, EMTs, and emergency responders.
• Prepare your responders through online training from the NVFC Virtual Classroom.
• Prepare for wildfires with the Wildland Fire Assessment Program training, tools, and resources to make your community fire adapted.