GFWC Focus on Community Safety Program Bulletin

 

Search Dog Foundation needs volunteers who love dogs and want to help strength America’s disaster response network by becoming part of the BARK FORCE.

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Earthquake, Fire, Flood, Tornado!  Is your community safe and/or ready?
Natural disaster preparedness is a must. The magnitude of the potential losses from these threats is increasing due to population growth and property development. 

September is National Preparedness Month. The Federal Emergency Management Association suggests the following:

• Prepare a Kit – When preparing for a possible emergency situation, it’s best to think fast about the basics of survival: fresh water, food, clean air, and warmth.
• Make a Plan – Make sure you have a family emergency plan.  It is important to plan in advance:  how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations.  It may be easier to make a long distance phone call than to call across town.  If you don’t have friends or family outside your state, here is a benefit of belonging to GFWC.  Contact a neighboring state and set up a contact with another GFWC member.
• Get Involved – Help prepare your community.  Learn about Citizen Corps. 
• Be Informed – Know about the different types of emergencies that could happen where you live and the appropriate ways to respond to them.  In addition, learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area. 

A new resource is the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. Their mission is to produce the most highly trained canine disaster search teams in the nation to find people buried alive in the wreckage of national disasters and terrorist attacks. These dogs have been used aiding victims of 9/11, Katrina, the Oklahoma bombing, and many other disasters throughout the United States. Contact your local fire department and see if your area has a disaster dog and how your club could sponsor a handler and dog in your area. 

Update: Double and Triple Trailers (LCV’S – Longer Combination Vehicles)—In 1991 Congress limited the operation of double trailer trucks to the 21 states where they were already operating. They are also proposing to increase the maximum federal weight limit for single trailer trucks from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds in every state. For more information contact Kristin M. Siegel, Field Director at the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, KSiegel@CABT.org or call 703/533-3131. 

LEARN MORE
With the Holidays approaching:
» be sure to check on product recalls
» find out the cause of holiday-time fires 

Remember to report all your clubs activities to this Chairman and the GFWC Program Department.

—Mary Sprague (Calif.), GFWC Focus on Community Safety Program Chairman 2008-2010