Map Your Neighborhood: Meeting

INTRODUCTIONS:

In turn, go around and introduce yourselves. Tell the group something distinctive about your house or residence.

OBJECTIVES:

During this neighborhood preparedness meeting, you and your neighbors will:

1. Learn the 9 Steps to take Immediately Following Disaster
2. Identify the skills and equipment each neighbor has that are useful in an effective and timely disaster response
3. Create a map of your neighborhood showing the locations of:
• Each natural gas meter and propane tank
• Each neighbor who may need extra help following disasters, including those who are elderly, those with a disability, and children who may be home alone for certain hours of the day

DISASTER ASSUMPTIONS:

As we begin, there are a few assumptions about disaster we need to agree on:
1. A disaster is any event that overwhelms the capacity of 9-1-1 emergency responders. This could be a major earthquake, a volcanic eruption, a tsunami, a major chemical release, or a major winter storm.
2. 9-1-1 emergency responders are fire, medical, police, and utility personnel.
3. If 9-1-1 has so many people needing them that they cannot get to everyone in a timely manner – in other words, they have been overwhelmed. When this happens, WE become the first responders.


This meeting will help us be ready for just such events.

NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES:

The facilitator reviews the neighborhood boundaries for this group.

WHY TRAIN FOR A DISASTER?

Q: Where does rational thought go when disaster strikes?
A: Out the window. Studies show people typically do not panic – nor do they necessarily think rationally.
When it is difficult to think our best, the following 9 Steps will help us do those things that are necessary and effective in caring first for our individual homes and then our neighborhood.

9 Steps to take Immediately Following Disaster:

Step 1 - Take care of home.

Obviously, our first response activities will be in our own homes. The better we have prepared at home the less our own homes will be impacted, and the sooner we will be able to help with the needs of our neighborhood.

Step 2 - Protect your head, hands & feet.

Just like a fire fighter would never show up at a fire without protective clothing, so we should protect ourselves against injury by dressing for safety. This means at a minimum protecting our:

Head - by a hard hat or bicycle helmet (this protects against falling debris, like chimney bricks)

Feet - by sturdy shoes (these protect against the most common injury of all - cut feet)

Hands - by leather gloves (these protect against cuts from broken glass and other debris)
It is recommend that we keep these items under our beds so that we always know where they are. It is also a good idea to keep a flashlight or headlamp there (in case the event occurs at night).

Step 3 - Shut off the natural gas at your own home.

Shutting off the natural gas and the propane gas eliminates the most common fuel source for many residential fires following disasters, like earthquakes.
To shut off natural gas - turn the valve 1/4 turn
(90°) in either direction (it’s a valve, not a screw) so that the valve crosses the pipe.
It is recommended that everyone have a crescent wrench located right by their meter.

To shut off propane - turn the shut-off valve to the right ("righty, tighty”) until it closes completely.

IMPORTANT:
Only shut off the gas if you smell it (like rotten eggs) or hear it hissing as it escapes broken pipes (or see dials rotating more quickly than normal). And, once the gas is shut off, only a crew member from the gas company should turn it back on. They are the only ones qualified to relight your pilot lights and to inspect your pipes for leaks.

Step 4 - Shut off the water at the house main.

Shutting off the water at the house will help keep water in the water heater available for drinking, food preparation, and hygiene. If pipes have broken (for example, on the front lawn), gravity may drain the water out of the water heater and toilet tanks. Cracked pipes also may allow contaminants into the water supply.
Shut off the water at the house to protect the water in your water heater, toilet tanks, and house pipes.

NOTE: Shutting off the water at the meter, typically located in a cement box somewhere near the street, requires a special tool and is very difficult to do. When we return to our homes, let’s find this valve and label it. Make sure all in the house know where it is located.

Step 5 - Post OK / Help cards.

Following a disaster, we will want to help our neighbors who are in distress. Please post the OK/Help card on the front door or in a front window so that it is easily seen from the street. This will help us help those in need first.
First, we will check on those who display “Help” and those who have not displayed a card. Maybe they are hurt and cannot put the card up. Later, we will check on all “OK” cards to make sure that everyone is still okay.
Note: It's a good practice to staple bandaids on the signs so you have a quick way to stick them up when necessary (instead of searching for tape after a disaster).

Step 6 - Put fire extinguisher on sidewalk or street edge.

Fire can be a big problem during times of disaster because the fire department may not immediately be available.
Placing fire extinguishers outside on the sidewalk or street edge makes them visible and available for use in the neighborhood
NOTE: only place them outside following disaster.
Remember: if the fire is too large, do not attempt to put it out. Quickly evacuate.

Review 'PASS':
-Pull the pin.
-Aim at the base of the fire.
-Squeeze the extinguisher handle.
-Sweep the fire from side to side.

Step 7- Check in at the Neighborhood Gathering Site.

The Neighborhood Gathering Site is the place where all of us will gather after we have completed Steps 1-6 of Immediately Following Disaster at our own homes.
Q: If we do not take a few minutes to organize - if we all start running around looking for “Help” cards for example - what will we have in the neighborhood?
A. Chaos
To help keep chaos to a minimum, we will want to check in at a pre-determined place in the neighborhood. It is best if we select a covered location – someone’s garage, a carport, a big porch – in case it is raining. It is also important that it is easily seen. A front porch is better than a back porch. As neighbors begin gathering to this spot, it will remind others to gather there also.
Q: Where should the Neighborhood Gathering Site be?
A: Determine the location of this site now

Let’s now choose a location for the Neighborhood Care Center.

This is a place inside the bounds of our neighborhood where those who are elderly and those with disability can be brought. These folks can be more susceptible to injury. They may also feel frightened and vulnerable. We will not want them to be alone.
Another group we will want to check on are children who may be home alone for certain hours of the day. It can be upsetting to experience disaster without the comforting presence of adults.
This Neighborhood Care Center is the place inside our neighborhood where they can be brought. Most people do not enjoy going to a shelter. It is much more comfortable to be close to home with people you know and who care about your welfare.
Q: Where should the Neighborhood Care Center be?
A: Determine this site before going on and have everyone write this location in the box on the Handout.
TIP: A home with fewer steps is a good choice. It may be difficult for some neighbors to climb many steps.

NOTE: If either the Neighborhood Gathering Site or the Neighborhood Care Center is damaged in the disaster, simply choose another location. MYN teaches us to take advantage of the resources available at the time of the disaster.

Step 8 - Form teams at the Neighborhood Gathering Site.

By coming to our Gathering Site, we will be able to assign groups of neighbors to do four (4) critical tasks.
NOTE: We will always go in teams of at least two neighbors. This is for our safety and protection.
-One team will stay at the Neighborhood Gathering Site and listen for emergency information on either an AM/FM radio or a NOAA Weather Radio.
-One team will go and check on all those we have identified who need to be checked on immediately – those listed in the gray boxes on the Neighborhood Contact List.
-One team will check all natural gas meters and propane tanks, using the information from our Neighborhood Map. If they can smell gas or hear it escaping from broken pipes, they will shut it off.
-One team will go door-to-door checking for all Help cards and homes with no cards. They will coordinate giving the help and assistance that is needed. (They should take a first aid kit with them.)

Step 9 - Teams Return to the Neighborhood Gathering Site and Report.

When each team has completed its assignment, it will report back to the Neighborhood Gathering Site and give a report of what they have done. As information is shared, the entire neighborhood will know what has happened and what the response has been. If additional help is required, plans can be devised to respond to those needs.

Let's circle back to Step 8 - Form teams at the Neighborhood Gathering Site.

We need to determine what skills and equipment members of the teams have to share with the group. This will make the forming of teams easier.

Questions to aid the discussion:
Who has First Aid training?
Who has experience with children or assisting the elderly? Would you like to help out at the Care Center?

REVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD MAP:

The facilitator will make the map available to the group.
-Add any missing house or unit numbers.
-Add the locations of gas meters and propane tanks on the map.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT LIST:

This final step is critical. Experience shows time and again that folks who are elderly and those with disability are especially vulnerable during times of disaster. As neighbors, we are their best source of help. Other care takers or loved ones may not be able to get to them for hours or even days. Creating this Contact List will help us remember to check on everyone, even during the stress of a disaster.
We may not have time to write down everyone’s phone and email at this meeting, but we will work to complete our List in the next 48 hours if we don’t get it done now.
At this meeting, it is critical that we do two (2) things:
First, match the home you have labeled #1 on the Map with #1 on the Contact List. Who lives in House #1? Write their names on the Contact List.
NOTE: clearly identify those households that may require extra help after a disaster (elderly, disabled, children who may be alone).

REVIEW 9 STEPS:

Step #1:
First, care for our loved ones. We have done a good job preparing at home, so even though we are a bit shaken up, we are fine.

Step #2:
Protect your head, hands, and feet. We put on sturdy shoes to protect our feet from glass and debris, and a hard hat to protect our head from possible falling objects like bricks, especially once we go outside. We put on leather gloves so that should we encounter sharp or rough debris, our hands are protected.

Step #3:
We go outside and inspect the gas meter. If we can smell the gas or hear it hissing and escaping from a broken pipe, immediately shut it off.

Step #4:
We then shut off our house water at the main house valve located somewhere in the house (not the valve in the cement box). This allows us to trap the water that is in the water heater and to keep it safe from pollutants that may enter through cracked pipes.

Step #5:
Post the OK / Help card from the back of this Handout on the front door or window. Neighbors will know to come and help if we have Help displayed, or if we have no card up. Perhaps we have been injured and are unable to tape it up.

Step #6:
Place our fire extinguisher outside on the sidewalk or the street edge. Make sure these are easily seen. If someone should yell “Fire, we’ve got fire” or if we should see smoke, we will be grateful to have a whole street full of extinguishers. If extinguishers are left on porches, neighbors will not take time to look for them.
We will grab the extinguishers we can see and get over to that fire while it is small enough to safely extinguish it.

NOTE: Steps 1-6 are completed at our individual homes.

Step #7:
It is now time in our disaster response to come together as a neighborhood. The first thing we will do is gather at our Neighborhood Gathering Site so that we know who is available to help. Sure this takes time. But if these few moments are not spent organizing our neighborhood response, we only have chaos in the neighborhood. We need to know who is available to help.
Q: We will meet at: ______?
A: Review this location.

Step #8:
By coming to our Gathering Site, we will be able to assign groups of neighbors to do four (4) critical tasks.
NOTE: We will always go in teams of at least two neighbors. This is for our safety and protection.
One team will stay at the Neighborhood Gathering Site and listen for emergency information on either an AM/FM radio or a NOAA Weather Radio.
-One team will go and check on all those we have identified who need to be checked on immediately.
-One team will check all natural gas meters and propane tanks, using the information from our Neighborhood Map. If they can smell gas or hear it escaping from broken pipes, they will shut it off.
-One team will go door-to-door checking for all Help cards and homes with no cards. They will coordinate giving the help and assistance that is needed. (They should take a first aid kit with them).

Step #9:
When each team has completed its assignment, it will report back to the Neighborhood Gathering Site and give a report of what they have done. As information is shared, the entire neighborhood will know what has happened and what the response has been. If additional help is required, plans can be devised to respond to those needs.

The leader will make sure each team member has a neighborhood map, contact list, and skills & equipment inventory (either paper or digital).

Check the box when you have all of these items.

Thank you to everyone for being a part of this new MYN team!

The leader will send a follow-up out to the group, and we will have an Annual Drill in 1 year, to practice the 9 Steps together.

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