Experts advise that your family should have an emergency evacuation and action plan in case there is a family, environmental, or terrorism emergency. This means an emergency kit with food, water, flashlights, masks, protective garb, extra clothing, extra gasoline, radio, candles, batteries, cell phone, blankets, medicines and bandages, and more. You will also want to instruct your family members who to contact and set a family rendezvous point. It is also good for a nearby friend or neighbor to be in on the plan in case you cannot get home quickly enough. You will also want to have extra cash on hand and arrange to have valuable documents and computer equipment safeguarded and archived offsite.

You should also devise a plan for your company for evacuation and safety, and set up a phone tree for keeping in touch. You will also want to arrange to have valuable documents and computer equipment safeguarded and archived in secure offsite premise.

You can get advice on emergency preparednes from Madera County. You can also check federal resources such as FEMA www.fema.gov and Dept. of Homeland Security. DHS has a special site for helping you with preparedness: www.ready.gov.

The Madera County Government has a task force in place planning an emergency response. You are invited to become a citizen volunteer to coordinate activities in your area. Simply indicate your interest or expertise in medical, site coordination, or non-medical issues. Register here: http://www.madera-county.com/publichealth/form.html

For more preparedness information on bioterroism issues, outreach, and activities, see the county’s website http://www.madera-county.com/publichealth . You can also contact Bernie Smith at at 675-7893 or bernie.smith@madera-county.com.