Emergency Preparedness

Marrowstone Island Emergency Preparedness

This web page is a work in progress.

Table of Contents (TOC)

  • Intro: This is the "Introduction" to the Marrowstone Island Emergency Preparedness (EP) plan webpage. It includes a table showing a set of emergency events for a worst case scenario that will affect us all.

  • Resources: The "Resources" section provides links to local and regional websites.

  • 911 signs and access: If we can't find you, we can't help you.

  • Review: The "Please Review" section is a collection of suggested actions that you should review and do to prepare yourself and the Island for an emergency or disaster.

  • Changes: The "Website Changes" section lists what has changed on the site.

  • Home brings you to the top of this website.

( TOC | Intro | Resources | 911 Signs | Review | Changes | Home | Bottom )

Introduction

The beauty of the tall trees and the natural privacy of being surrounded by water are just two reasons that most of us have chosen to live on Marrowstone Island. But these two facts make us uniquely vulnerable to a major event. Fallen trees could damage our homes, block our roads and take down our power and telephone lines. Being an island could partially or totally isolate us from the peninsula and outside services. We could lose the bridge, the causeway, or most of the boats to a major event. Local, State and Federal aid could be unavailable to us for anywhere from days to a month or more.

Regardless of the source of the emergency, it is prudent that we design our Marrowstone Island Emergency Preparedness (EP) plan using ALL of the events described in this worst case scenario below.

How you can help yourself, your neighbors and the Island after a disaster

    1. Your first responsibilty is to take care of yourself, your family and your property. *

    2. After you and your family are taken care of, you might ask "How can I help my neighbors". *

    3. After your neighbors are taken care of, you might ask "How can I help other Islanders?". *

How you can help yourself, your neighbors and the Island before a disaster

    1. Develop your family's EP plan. *

    2. Develop your plan to help your neighbors. *

    3. Help us (EP planning volunteers listed below) to develop the following sections in this Island Emergency Preparedness webpage. *

        1. The "Please Review" section will list how you can best use this webpage.

        2. We are reviewing emergency communication systems for the island.

        3. Owen Mulkey has spent many years developing a data base (DB) where he collects information about what skills, services, equipment and supplies Islanders can offer (or might need) when an emergency or disaster occurs. We are reviewing it for update.

            1. The "DB Access" section will provide information to help coordinators to access the DB to print, review and/or edit it.

            2. The "DB Updates" section will provide an easier way for you to submit your DB information to Owen or to other coordinators to help us to keep the DB up to date when your codes change.

            3. The "Help Codes" will contain a list of codes that will describe the skills, services, equipment and supplies Islanders can offer (or might need)

        4. We will generate a handout sheet that coordinators will take with them when they visit their neighbors to suggest actions they can take before or after a disaster has occurred.

        5. The "Links" section will be a collection of links to other Island and regional EP groups and local, State and Federal EP websites.

        6. The "Misc" section will address other important EP matters like your red fire number/street address signs, EMS, Fort Flagler and Indian Island, etc.

        7. Keeping this webpage easily understood is an important consideration. Click here to offer your improvements.

If any of the above sections interest you, and you would like to help, please click here, or talk to one of the other EP planning volunteers listed below.

Each time we change/update a section, we will add it to this webpage and post a note to the Island Net describing what was added and include a link to that section. We'll also update the Website changes section below.

# MI Emergency Preparedness planning volunteers

Emergency Preparedness can make all the difference. Please join your neighbors and other Islanders in this effort.

* Details will be added to this webpage in the near future.

( TOC | Intro | Resources | 911 Signs | Review | Changes | Home | Bottom )

Resources

The following websites have been submitted to us but not yet evaluated.

We invite you to review them and click here to send Pete your suggested changes and/or comments.

        1. Washington State Emergency Management, a Division of the Washington Military Department

            1. Governor Gregoire has declared April as Washington Disaster Preparedness Month. The focus for this month is earthquake preparedness.

            2. The "Map Your Neighborhood" (MYN) Program. MYN resources) (Consider creating a folder on your Desktop and downloading these three PDF files into it so you have them in case the Internet is down.)

                1. 25 page "MYN Discussion Guide" (PDF)

                2. 8 page "MYN" booklet (PDF)

                3. 45 page "Emergency Resource Guide" (2 meg PDF)

    1. Federal

    1. International

    2. Other resources

        1. Local papers

            1. # This PDN article that says "... Scientists (have) revised their estimates about the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the Juan de Fuca and North America tectonic plates collide in an area off the coast between Vancouver Island and Northern California. ... New studies indicate the subduction zone is more likely to experience one great 9.0 quake that will completely rupture the fault, ... "

        2. Wikipedia

        1. Google Searches for

        1. Some links from Rita Kepner that I will place above when I have time to review them.

( TOC | Intro | Resources | 911 Signs | Review | Changes | Home | Bottom )

911 signs and road access

If we can't find you and get to you, we can't help you.

You can help emergency personnel help you by providing safe and adequate access to your house. Every minute that emergency personnel (ambulance, fire, police) are delayed trying to find and get to you could mean the difference between life and death, or the success of protecting your property.

Start at the top of your driveway and use this "problems" checklist to inspect your 911 red fire sign(s). Signs are the only way emergency crews can locate your home.You might want to print out and bring these two lists with you to easily define a problem.

    1. __ There is no sign at the county road or driveway head.

    2. __ Number on house but not at county road or driveway head.

    3. __ No number on house.

    4. __ Sign number is incorrect.

    5. __ Need additional sign(s) where road forks. (If multiple houses use a common access driveway, a second or even third address sign may be necessary.)

    6. __ Only one side of sign is in view. (What if emergency personnel passed your driveway and had to come back from the other side.)

    7. __ Sign face is flat to the road (not perpendicular to road). (Sign should be clearly visible from hundreds of feet away.)

    8. __ Sign set too far back for Emergency Vehicle to see.

    9. __ Vegetation growth covers sign

    10. __ Sign is old and hard to read.

    11. __ Sign hung upside down.

Fire engines and aid cars need 11 feet of horizontal clearance and 13 ½ feet of vertical clearance to ensure rapid arrival and departure to and from your residence. Tight turns can prevent access

And use this "problems" checklist to survey your road access.

    1. __ At some point driveway width (< 11') is too narrow.

    2. __ At some point driveway vertical clearance (<13 ½') is too low.

    3. __ Driveway has tight turns which could prevent access of emergency vehicles.

Please correct problems as soon as possible. Read this post on the Island Net from Al Smith, Company Officer, EJFR Sta. 12, Marrowstoneour Fire about their delayed response to a serious medical emergency because there was NO address sign available.

Replacement or additional 911 red fire sign(s) are available M-Th for $16 through Jefferson County Community Development Office, 621 Sheridan, 379-4450.

( TOC | Intro | Resources | 911 Signs | Review | Changes | Home | Bottom )

Please review the following

We will use this section to collect a suggested list of actions that you should review and do to prepare yourself and the Island for an emergency or disaster.

    1. Periodically check updates to this webpage in the "Website changes" section below, then return here.

    2. Periodically click on link #3 in the "footer" at the bottom of all Island Net emails to come to this section see what has changed and what you might consider doing.

    3. Please "Bookmark" or "favorite" this webpage so you can easily find it again.

( TOC | Intro | Resources | 911 Signs | Review | Changes | Home | Bottom )

Website Changes