Ferndale Fire Dept. Says Do 1 Thing to Prepare for an Emergency

(Crystal A. Proxmire 2/7/2011)

Emergency preparedness is one thing that The Ferndale Fire Department likes to stress to residents.  Whether it’s information about fire prevention, the importance of smoke detectors, avoiding downed power lines or even things unrelated directly to their job, Fire Marshall Brian Batten and others at the FFD often take the time to let people know how to keep their homes and families safe.

As part of their on-going efforts, Batten is encouraging residents to take part in an online educational series called do1thing, which can be found at www.do1thing.com.  The premise is that if residents will focus on one area of emergency tools each month, then by the end of one year they will be ready for trouble in the most essential ways.

The mission of do1thing is to move individuals, families, organizations, businesses, and communities to prepare for all hazards and become disaster resilient.

This month’s recommendations deal with water storage for emergencies.  The goal for preparedness is to have three days worth of water on hand for everyone in each household.  The estimated needs are three gallons per person per day.

“Whether you get water from a municipal water system or your home has a private well, your water supply depends on having power to operate the system. During a power outage — or any disaster that can cause a power outage, such as high winds, ice storm, or flood — you may find yourself without drinkable water,” says do1thing.com.

The site recommends doing the following tasks, and it gives detailed instructions on how to do them:

• Purchase or bottle your own water and then store a supply for a minimum of 72 hours to a maximum of two weeks.
• Purchase a generator if your water comes from a private well (or make sure that your current generator is set up to power the well).
• Label utility shutoffs and teach other members of the household how (and when) to shut them off.

The instructional pdf. can be downloaded at http://do1thing.com/files/calendar/water.pdf.  Some of the tips include using bleach to sanitize bottles if filling your own, and not using milk jugs for water storage. It also gives information on how much water pets and people need, and how to purify water if it is contaminated.

Be sure to get more information at www.do1thing.com, and sign up if you are interested in the 12-month program.

For more tips and news about the Ferndale Fire Department, check out our Police & Fire section at – http://oaklandcounty115.com/category/policeandfire.