FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Worst case scenarios are not something most people like to think about, but it is something everyone should be prepared for. To help people prepare, September has been designated National Preparedness Month.
All month long, Fort Campbell will participate in the Ready campaign to encourage Families and community members to prepare plans of action and emergency kits to help in the event of a disaster.
"This year's theme is 'Don't wait, communicate. Make your emergency plan today,'" said Jay Fangman, Fort Campbell Emergency Management specialist.
Fangman said it is important to have a Family emergency plan in place that includes commonly used emergency phone numbers, a meeting place outside the home, an out-of-town contact that everyone can call to check in with.
"For buildings here on Fort Campbell that people work in, every building is supposed to have an emergency action plan -- that's the [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] requirement," Fangman said.
His directorate encourages organizations to have plans for tornados, fires, bomb threats, an earthquake plan because of the new Madrid fault line and how to implement Force Protection Conditions.
"Those are the plans we recommend having -- a Family plan, and then where you work should have a plan as well," Fangman said. "It should all be one plan. For instance, the general action plan for the building, you have one plan to start, but then there are annexes for each event -- what we do in this event, what we do for this event."
All buildings on Fort Campbell are required to have an emergency action plan in place, but home plans are left up to the residents.
"If it's a large incident or emergency, first responders might not be able to get to you right away," Fangman explained. "So you have to be able to sustain yourself and make sure your Family is safe for at least 72 hours. That's what's recommended."
For Families living off post and outside of city limits, Fangman said a Family should be prepared to survive at least a week before help arrives.
"Counties aren't always resourced the way Fort Campbell or the city might be," he said. "If your power's out it in the country, it might be a week before it comes back on."
He said home emergency kits should include things like flashlights, batteries, shelf-stable food, a nonelectric can opener, medications and a gallon of water per person per day. Pets should have their own kits that include food and water as well.
For a car kit, Fangman suggests emergency flashers, rock salt or kitty litter, signaling device, flashlight, batteries, heavy shoes, blankets and water.
Local concerns
Although snowfall can be dangerous at Fort Campbell, Fangman said the biggest concern in this area are tornados. He added that sinkholes are hazards that people should be aware of.
"If you don't have sinkhole insurance on your home, you should look into getting it," he said. "There's not really anyway to prepare for [sinkholes]. They tend to open up where they want. Just insure yourself against them would be the best recommendation."
He also suggested Families keep an itemized list of their possessions in the event a tornado or some other natural disaster destroys to make insurance claims easier.
The list should be kept somewhere outside of the home, such as a safety deposit box or with out-of-town relatives or friends.
Food supplies and batteries should also be checked every few months, around the same time smoke detector batteries are, because rotten food is not any more useful than not having food. Eating food that's gone bad can make a situation more dangerous by adding illness to the problem.
"When the time changes, that's the way the fire service promotes theirs -- when the time changes, check your batteries," Fangman said.
Throughout the month, Fangman said emergency management will be posting tips to Facebook and the Fort Campbell network to help Soldiers and their Families prepare. There will also be awareness kiosks in the Exchange, Soldier support center and Family Readiness Center for anyone who wants more information and banners around the installation.
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