JOHNSON COUNTY – With the first few snowfalls of the season, the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency staff shared information on how to prepare for this winter.
Deputy Director Shari Sims said house fires are among the many disasters that occur during the winter. She said these fires are sometimes due to misuse of generators. Sims said generators should be run outside of the home and not inside. Chief Deputy Director Wyatt Floyd concurred and said running a gas generator indoors can kill you.
“Some people think they can run a gas generator in their house with the windows closed and that fumes won’t be a problem,” Floyd said. “It’s carbon monoxide. That’s what kills you. That’s what’s going to be a problem for you.”
He said winter fires can also stem from the incorrect use of warming equipment.
“People who don’t have access to heat, they will have burn barrels in their homes, space heaters catching a fire, propane burners going off without ventilation. There’s a lot of things people do wrong,” Floyd said.
He said icy roads and black ice, blizzards, high wind conditions, fallen debris and down power lines are a few other emergencies that occur during the winter.
Floyd said it’s a good idea to keep a car kit that includes spare clothes, water and food, among other things. He said to be sure you have backups for your actual car as well.
“A lot of these things you have in your home, too, like spark plugs for your car, chains for your tires,” Floyd explained. “Do you have a spare tire because a lot of people use that donut and they don’t ever get another spare tire for their vehicle.”
Floyd said emergency contact information for family and friends should be in place in case of an emergency. Both Floyd and Sims agreed that having extra consumables and other necessities is a great way to be prepared.
“Stock up on any basic needs you have,’ Floyd said. “So when I was plugging holes in my own plan, I kept track of every consumable I used in a week and I was like, “OK, if I use this right now, can I get more of it or do I have more on hand?’ Just understanding what you need as an individual, as a family, as a pet owner.”
Sims said while planning what items to stock up on, time should be taken into consideration.
“There’s a possibility that you can lose power and all these things, so you need to have certain things on hand and anticipate a certain timeline,” Sims said. “It might not just be a day. It might be a day or two or three. So you really need to account for who all is in your household, your pets and things that you wouldn’t normally just think of.”
To be prepared for any weather-related winter emergencies, Sims also suggested keeping a weather radio on hand.
“That may be good, just in the case the phones go out because we all use phones for everything now,” Sims said. “You have to take in account what if cell lines go down and you lose your normal information channel. Have a backup.”
To protect and store important documents and items, Sims and Floyd recommended investing in a firebox.
“They get rated for a 30-minute fire to a two-hour fire,” Floyd said. “We always tell the public to document serial numbers like your TVs, your phones, firearms, anything like that. Keep that documentation on themselves so if they can’t take the item with them, just so if there’s any kind of loss, they have it whether it’s for insurance reasons or anything like that.”
Overall, EMA recommends that the public educate themselves. Sims and Floyd stressed the importance of staying in the loop on what is happening and said that is the best way to ensure you are prepared for any winter emergency.
Sims said community members should be aware of different shelters and their locations so they’ll know where to go in case of an emergency. She said people should learn the signs of hypothermia and know what to do if a person exhibits those symptoms.
According to ready.gov, hypothermia is an unusually low body temperature. Signs include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech or drowsiness. If it is suspected that someone is suffering from hypothermia, have the person go to a warm room. Warm the center of the body first: chest, neck, head and groin. Keep the person dry and wrapped up in warm blankets, including the head and neck.
Ready.gov states that frostbite causes a loss of feeling and color around the face, fingers and toes. Signs include numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin, and firm or waxy skin. Someone who has frostbite should go to a warm room. Soak in warm water or use body heat to warm. Do not massage or use a heating pad.
Floyd told the Star-Journal that community members should sign up for Rave, an emergency mass notification system. Rave, which is free, sends texts and emails regarding emergencies. The public can sign up for Rave via the JCEMA website, jocoema.com, by scanning a QR code.
“It’s a hand-typed message that we personally send out to anyone who’s signed up for it,” Floyd said. “Just so the public knows, ‘Hey, weather’s coming in. Here’s the date and time. Start getting prepared.’’’
Floyd said the Johnson County Emergency Management Facebook page, facebook.com/jocomoema, is another way to stay abreast of emergencies and weather conditions. He said the weather is shared on the page every morning, as well as road closures and any other emergencies, policies, or procedures Johnson County community members may need to know.
“Educating the public and notifying the public is the first thing we do,” Floyd said. “So, if we get word on inclement weather, we always try to share it on social media, whether it’s through the National Weather Service, through FEMA, through SEMA. “
Floyd and Sims said EMA also serves as a way to be connected to the appropriate resources for help.
“Who we are is we are the county EMA,” Floyd said. “We teach people how to be better prepared — better resilient in case of a disaster. I think that’s our main goal here is to help better the community in terms of being more independent and more resilient.”
Annelia Nixon can be reached at 660-747-8123.
