By Erica Moser, news correspondent
The Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) hosted the “Let’s Get Ready!” emergency preparedness fair last Saturday as part of an initiative for National Preparedness Month. Attendees were able to hear representatives from various departments and witness presentations such as a CPR presentation.
“[The goal is to introduce Boston residents] to all of the agencies that work together during an emergency to keep them healthy, to keep them safe and to help the city remain resilient,” Christina Maryland, director of communications and external affairs for OEM, said.
The event was held Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tobin Community Center, a designated emergency shelter in Mission Hill. Along with OEM, departments represented included Boston Police Department (BPD), Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
The various departments offered attendees information and tips on how to be prepared and respond to a variety of emergencies.
“I thought I was prepared,” 46-year-old attendee and Dorchester resident Elizabeth Neely said. “There was some stuff I didn’t even know about. I didn’t realize that [CPR] compression has to be a little harder than what I was doing.”
The event also featured a demonstration from the BPD canine unit, computers to sign up for the emergency notification system ALERTBoston and informational handouts.
Bridget Hickson, a 48-year-old attendee parent asthma leader, found herself frightened by what she saw and learned at the fair.
“I really feel like I’m overwhelmed with all the information, but it’s better to be overwhelmed and prepared than overwhelmed and not prepared,” Hickson said. “I’m going to go home and talk to my teenage daughter and adult daughter.”
Visitors could leave with “Family Go Bags,” each filled with enough supplies to sustain a family of five for three days. Each bag includes emergency food and water along with a first aid kit, poncho, flashlight, hand-cranked radio and can opener.
In 2013, Boston EMS responded to 116,637 emergency medical incidents, a 4.77 percent increase from 2012, according to the City of Boston.
“You don’t know the trouble you could be in until it actually happens,” Bruce Brodoff, external affairs and public affairs specialist of FEMA, said. “The state, local [and] federal agencies can only do so much. There’s a critical first day or two or three when help may not be available… so it’s really incumbent on everybody.”
Brodoff emphasized how important it is for families to have a communications plan, since a parent might be at home while their children are in school across town, for example.
“Residents often ask how they can help the city during an emergency,” Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a Sept. 25 press release. “You can help by having an emergency plan that ensures you and your family can be self-sufficient following any emergency that may impact your normal routine.”
Online resources for emergency preparedness include “Tip of the Day – 30 Days of Preparedness” on the City of Boston website and the “Know Your Zone” program, which provides a map of hurricane evacuation zones.
William Gross, chief of BPD, stressed that the agencies present do not operate individually: emergency preparedness is a collaborative effort.
“We do work together,” Gross said. “We all train together, and that’s so we can provide the best services possible to the citizens of Boston.”
Photo by Erica Moser
