August - September 2002 Edition 

Emergency Preparedness – Are We Ready?   By Thomas M. Metzler, CEM Director, Fair Lawn's Office of Emergency Management  Weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, dirty bombs, how the world has changed since September 11, 2001. How does a community prepare for a disaster? How prepared is the Borough of Fair Lawn?   The answer can be found in a single document, The Borough of Fair Lawn Emergency Operation Plan. The document is written and maintained by the Office of Emergency Management with supporting data from virtually every department within the municipality.    The Emergency Plan is divided into eighteen annexes covering   - alert and warning  - damage assessment  - emergency medical  - emergency operations center  - public information  - evacuation  - fire  - rescue  - hazardous materials  - law enforcement  - public health  - public works  - radiological protection  - resource management  - sheltering  - social services  - public schools  - terrorism   The Emergency Plan is completely updated every three years with the updated document reviewed and approved by Bergen County and New Jersey Emergency Management. The Plan takes an all hazards approach as to how the community will respond to an emergency.   A vital part of emergency preparedness in our community is the Local Emergency Planning Committee. Members of the Committee include the emergency management staff, elected officials, municipal department heads, emergency response agencies, industry, media and general public.   Fair Lawn is fortunate to have a very active Committee that meets six times a year. Members have lobbied the municipal government to support the early warning siren system, funded the new telephone alerting system, and reviewed the emergency plans of schools and chemical facilities in Fair Lawn.    As part of our public education program, the office of emergency management will submit follow-up articles to Fair Lawn News on our communities alert and warning systems, shelters, evacuation routes, special needs list, etc.   Calling You When There's An Emergency   The Borough of Fair Lawn started an Emergency Telephone Alerting System this Spring. The system allows the Office of Emergency Management to provide very specific emergency information via the telephone to local residents at a rate of 15,000 notifications per hour.     Very specific information can be given to a targeted area. For example, if flooding is expected along the Passaic River, the borough can call residents in the Passaic River flood zone only.     If you have a non-published telephone number, contact the Office of Emergency Management  to have your name, address and telephone number added to the contact database.    What Do You Think?: Send an e- mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com or post a message on the Fair Lawn News Discussion Forum.