New Year, New Plans

As we all know, 2011 threw some pretty unpredictable weather at us. We didn’t exactly anticipate a hurricane, an earthquake, and a snowstorm in October. This left many families unprepared as disaster struck. As 2011 comes to an end, it’s time to prepare for 2012.
For many people, New Year’s means making the resolution to lose weight, stop smoking, or to simply get more exercise. Keeping these resolutions is the hard part, but, emergency preparedness is one resolution that is easy to keep by taking four vital steps: be informed about the different types of emergencies that can happen in your area and their appropriate responses, make a family plan, build an emergency kit, and get involved in community preparedness. A few tips to remember are:

• Set aside a few dollars every week to create an emergency supply kit

• Slowly stocking up on items every week for your emergency supply kit is a great way to build your kit while keeping within your spending limits

• Keep an emergency supply kit in your car- you never know when disaster might strike

• Already have an emergency supply kit? Make sure you check all expiration dates and replace any items that are expired or are about to expire

• Keep your gas tank at least half full during the winter months

• Include important documents in your emergency supply kit such as S.S. cards, medical cards, etc. in a watertight bag

• Money is important to keep in your kit, as ATM’s and credit card machines may not be working during emergencies

Resolve to be Ready in 2012!

12/7/2011 Weather Wrap Up

In case you haven't heard, there's snow in our near future. DPS staff just finished up with a weather briefing with the folks from the National Weather Service, and we wanted to share with you what to expect! Around midnight rain is expected to turn into snow. We can expect 2-4 inches of heavy wet snow. This storm will pack much less of a punch that the October snow storm and at this stage in the game the leaves are off the trees, reducing our risk of downed limbs and trees and massive power outages. BUT you should still stock up on some supplies and get those flash lights and blankets ready. As with any adverse weather, there is always the risk of outages and this system will bring some winds to the area (10-25 mph with 30 mph gusts) which could cause a few outages! Precipitation should end in time for the morning commute and sunshine should return tomorrow!

Stay safe out there and we'll keep you posted if things change!

GET A KIT- MAKE A PLAN- BE INFORMED

Don't Do The Butt-Dial

Accidental 9-1-1 calls happen on a daily basis, a lot...like 20 times...on a slow day. Sometimes it's a child playing with a phone, sometimes it's a misdial. More and more these days though 9-1-1 has become the victim of the "butt-dial", "pocket-dial" or "purse-dial" for the ladies. It's an innocent mistake with costly consequences. You toss your cell phone into your pocket or purse and go on your daily business. That innocent little cell phone bounces around and before you know it the keys 9-1-1 have been hit! According to a recent article written on TheBlaze.com- one Illinois town estimates that 20% of their 9-1-1 phones calls are accidental ones such as the "butt-dial".

When that call comes into our dispatchers and know one is there, we have to assume the worst. Protocol says if we can't get you to talk to us, we hang up and call back. If we're fortunate, you'll answer and tell us it was an accident and that your fine. Many times when we call back no one answers, so we send a police officer to make sure you're safe. In this case, your "butt-dial" has tied up a dispatcher who could be answering actual emergencies and a police officer who could be responding to other emergencies.

So the moral of the story is lock those phone keys before you put that phone away! We'd greatly appreciate it!

And while we're on the topic of accidental 9-1-1 cell phone calls, lets talk old out of service cell phones. Kids love phones and parents love to make their kids happy. So when mom or dad gets a new cell phone, they often take their old phone and give it to the kids to play with. While you may have deactivated that phone with the phone company,that phone is still 100% capable of calling 9-1-1 (it's a built in safety feature). So many times, that phone still has a little battery power left to it, or you may even let your child charge it so that can see all of the bells and whistles of that phone and I am sure you can guess where we're am going with this...the kids accidentally dial 9-1-1 and the process begins. If you give your kids old cell phones, take the battery out to avoid this accidental call!

We understand accidents happen, but with a few preventative steps we can reduce the number of accidental 9-1-1 phone calls. If you do accidentally call 9-1-1, stay on the line and tell the dispatcher it was an accident. If your phone is hung up before we can find out if your safe, answer when we call back to check on you!

Lock those keys, remove batteries from those old phones and stay safe out there!