Local Preparedness Official

Offers Advice To Newtowners

By Andrew Gorosko

In view of possible terrorist attacks, the town’s emergency management director is offering residents some advice on preparing for such situations.

“All residents should be prepared for emergencies and possible terrorist attacks. Plan ahead and prepare an emergency kit,” said Bill Halstead, who heads the town’s preparedness unit.

Such kits should contain items that would prove useful in an emergency. The kits should include a three-day supply of water for all the people who would use the kit. One gallon of water per day per person is considered an adequate amount. Dried foods and canned foods should be kept in the kit.

Kits should include a change of clothing, footwear, blankets and sleeping bags for each family member, plus first aid supplies and prescription medications. Battery-operated radios and flashlights, extra batteries, an extra set of car keys, credit cards, cash, and travelers checks also should be in the kit.

Other kit items are sanitary supplies, including toiletries, special care items, including goods intended for infants, the elderly, and the disabled. An extra pair of eyeglasses should be placed in the kit.

Mr Halstead recommends that the kits include filter masks, which cover the nose and mouth, for each member of the family. Such filter masks should fit the face snugly so that users can easily breath through them. Filter masks can be obtained at hardware stores.

A Communication Plan

Besides making emergency kits, families should develop a family communication plan, Mr Halstead said.

Family members should plan how they would contact one another in an emergency. Under such a plan, each family member would place telephone calls or email messages to the same friend or relative. Family members should be supplied with all contact information including conventional telephone numbers, cellular telephone numbers, and email addresses.

Depending on the circumstances and the nature of the attack, people should be prepared to assess the situation and use common sense to decide whether to stay where they are or leave the area, according to Mr Halstead.

Families should develop an evacuation plan. Radios should be tuned to local stations for instructions in an emergency. If an announcement to evacuate is made, instructions should be followed and an evacuation should be made immediately. People should plan in advance how the family would assemble and should anticipate their potential evacuation destination.

Mr Halstead urges people to become familiar with alternate routes, as well as alternate means of transportation, to reach their potential evacuation destinations. Vehicle fuel tanks should always be kept at least one-half full. Emergency supply kits should be carried in evacuations. If evacuees believe that the air is contaminated, they should close their vehicles’ windows and vents, and also turn off their heaters and air conditioners.

The town’s main shelter in the event of a public emergency is Newtown Middle School on Queen Street. Every public school in town is considered a shelter in an emergency. All the schools have emergency electrical generators.

In an emergency, the lower level at Town Hall South at 3 Main Street would be used as an emergency command center. The area is located beneath the police station, which has much communications equipment.

Town health officials have been doing contingency planning for a smallpox vaccination clinic, in the event that terrorists use the highly contagious smallpox virus as a biological weapon. A smallpox vaccine clinic would be held at Newtown High School.

Residents with questions about emergency planning may contact Mr Halstead’s office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills at 270-4370.

Mr Halstead said that various websites on the Internet provide useful information about preparedness for terrorist attacks.

The addresses of some of these websites are: www.homelandsecurity.org; www.ready.gov; www.dhs.gov; www.redcross.org.