September is National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort to increase awareness and encourage action for emergency preparedness. The Fulton County School System is sharing this message by asking families to use the online resources at www.Ready.gov to prepare themselves for any potential situation.

Emergencies can come in the form of natural disasters, such as flooding, fires or tornadoes; in the form of man-made situations, such as chemical spills, biological agents or explosions; or even in the form of illness outbreaks, such as the spread of viruses and communicable diseases. Because emergencies don’t always give adequate warning, families should act now to protect and prepare themselves.

“All families should have a ‘Ready Kit’ and a family emergency plan to empower themselves during an emergency,” said Mark Muma, the school system’s Safety and Security director. “Emergency workers and first responders will certainly do their duty to help people in a crisis, but families can help themselves by being prepared.”

A ready kit is basically a box, or boxes, of supplies that provides a family with several days’ or weeks’ worth of basic survival materials. It can include non-perishable food and bottled water, a first aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries and a battery-powered weather radio.

Families also should take this opportunity to create an emergency plan since they may not be together when a disaster strikes. Things to consider: how family members will contact each another, how they will get back together, and what they will do in different emergency scenarios.

“A family plan will help parents establish some steps their children can take during an emergency. Being prepared may help children feel safer and more confident that they are doing the right things when something unplanned occurs.”

More information, including an expanded list of recommended items for a basic Ready Kit and sample family emergency plans, can be found online at www.Ready.gov.

Readiness and Emergency Management Grant

Over the summer, the school system’s Safety and Security Department was one of two school systems in Georgia to receive $606,000 in federal funds from the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools discretionary grant program of the U.S. Department of Education.

More than $100,000 is being allocated to emergency preparedness training for the school system. It also will help fund GIS mapping of each school and for identification of primary and secondary evacuation sites, family reunification centers and emergency transportation routes.

In addition, the grant will help fund H1N1 flu “tabletop” planning exercises for school administrators. Tabletop exercises are scenarios, on paper, that allow administrators to work together as a group on how they would manage a potential situation and address issues that may arise.

Other details about how the grant money will be used in Fulton County:

·         Virtual tours of each high school with 360 degree photography of critical areas, which complement the school system’s existing web-based security camera technology

·         New digital hybrid radios for school police officers to allow them to instantly communicate with every law enforcement agency in Fulton County

·         Tabletop exercise templates for each school, including H1N1 flu preparedness

·         A full-scale practice emergency exercise

·         Creation of a Safety and Security Department web site that enables students, parents and staff to learn about the measures taken to ensure school safety