National Night Out-Harrisonburg, VA August 3, 2011

National Night Out is, obviously, a national event. I had not heard about it until I moved to Harrisonburg and got involved with public safety. However, I do remember living in Liberty Square my first year out of school when the caravan of police, fire and rescue went past my house with lights on. I freaked. I ran up and got my roommate because Sean wasn’t home, and asked if he knew what was going on. I thought there was a fugitive, a stand-off, or maybe a bomb! It was crazy. And now, I ride the bus and watch the people watch us roll by with confused looks…that used to be me. One lady was gardening and just stood there with a trowel not knowing what to think. The only hint of what’s going on is the bus’s sign saying “Special” and “National Night Out”.

It’s a wonderful event where the public safety officers, city counsel members, and others gather with the community to talk safety. The purpose is to get neighbors to talk to each other about problems or potential problems. It’s to get the citizens comfortable with the people in uniform. They aren’t scary (unless you’re doing something wrong) I promise! For someone who wants to get involved in social marketing, this is the best event I can possibly do!

I was with Harrisonburg Fire Department representing Safe Kids. My job was to give out “Junior Firefighter” pins and plastic fire hats. But while doing it, I was talking to the kids about what they do when the smoke detector goes off and how they get out. My favorite questions was, “What does the smoke detector sound like?” The kids were great and I think they had a lot of fun.

There were five stops this year: 5:00 Court Square; 5:30 Lucy Simms School; 6:15 Harris Gardens; 6:50 Clay Street; 7:25 Purcell Park; 8:00 Mosby Court. The most impressive thing was watching the bicycle officers ride to all these places with us. That, and, the motorcycle officers blocking streets then zooming past with lights and sirens. I think the officers get a kick out of the leapfrogging too

The groups of people that get together really do a wonderful job. There were big community events with a lot going on, and then there were smaller neighborhood watch events in a backyard. It doesn’t matter how they get together, but the fact that they do, and that they care about the safety of the people around them, is the most important thing. And that’s what we like to see.

For more photos check out Harrisonburg Fire Department’s Facebook Page & Central Shenandoah Valley Safe Kids Coalition’s Facebook Page

Chick-Fil-A Cows!

Erin & Jess with Family

Jess with the officers

Jess with ladies from Records

CERT Class May 19, 2011

Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT)

CERT is a wonderful program that helps you learn how to protect your family and your neighbors in the event of an emergency. I took a CERT class at James Madison University this spring. It was 7 classes that were 2 hours each. This was a very basic class so it did not go in depth on first-aid and skills like that. Instead we focused on disaster preparedness and how we can help if emergency services were not able to get to you in a major event.

One way to help in a large-scale disaster is to quickly triage and categorize those who are injured. That way when emergency personnel can get there, they know who needs immediate attention and those who can maybe ride in a bus to the hospital and get treated when they get there.

Though it’s not all about major disasters, we learned a little bit of first-aid. Hopefully, enough of it to know where to put pressure if someone is bleeding or know how to treat shock or splint an arm. A great addition to CERT is taking Red Cross First-Aid and CPR classes. That way you will be more prepared.

Disaster Psychology was an interesting class. Two JMU professors helped us that day and they have traveled all over the world helping people after earthquakes, tsunamis, tordanos, you name it. The biggest thing is to not assume they are emotionally broken. People are resilient and can withstand more than we think they can. Offer to help and give guidance if need, but don’t do things for them unless they are okay with it.

We also talked about fire safety and hazmat scenarios. The basics are to change your smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks for daylight savings time, and learn how to operate a fire extinguisher. Also, know which extinguisher you should have in the kitchen, and know not to use water on a grease fire–that’s a big one.  With chemicals it’s pretty simple, don’t mix things if you don’t know how they will react to each other. If you do have a chemical burn, rinse and rinse some more. The poison control number is one you should have written down on the fridge, programmed in your phone, or memorized. Here it is 1-800-222-1222.

For emergency preparedness, a huge thing is to have a kit ready to go in case you are stuck in your house or you have to evacuate. Here’s FEMA’s recommendations. If you have pets, make a kit for them too. See what the ASPCA thinks you should have in your pet’s kit. And FEMA has other information relating to your pets.

Just remember to think about every member of your family and their needs. There are great resources out there to help you prepare and so much of the country including the Shenandoah Valley is getting hit with weather they aren’t used to. Everyone should have a kit.

Find your nearest CERT. If you want specific information about how CERT came to be, check out their website.