Category: Emergency Preparedness

Sunnyside Prepared Meeting Notes – May 17 2016

  • Five attendees
  • We met at Sunnyside Environmental School which is Sunnyside NET’s primary staging area, to perform a walk-around and assess assets and liabilities, then debriefed at the Jeff Morris Fire Museum. For reasons of security, the details of our assesment will be incorporated into the Sunnyside NET Ops Plan, but not posted publicly. We appreciate SES’s continued collaboration, and applaud the parents and administrators who make it possible.
  • Special event: Magnitude 7.9 Nepal Earthquake: The Firsthand Experience of Dr. Erin Moore
    Tue, June 21, 2016 at 7-9 pm Click for more info and to register (free)
  • Next regular meeting: Tue, July 19 2016 10-11:30am
    Jeff Morris Fire Museum, SE Belmont & 35th Ave

Sunnyside Prepared Meeting Notes – Apr 19 2016

  • Nine attendees, three attended for the first time.
  • Sunnyside Neighborhood Association update
    • At its regular meeting Apr 14 the board happily approved $450 of our $1,209 budget request for the period of May-Nov 2016. The balance will be addressed at a future meeting once board members have had more time to examine our proposals.
    • SNA board elections: May 12 7:30-9pm
  • Stephanie and Holly debriefed us about Sunnyside Environmental School’s first parent-child reunification drill on Apr 29. Details are not being posted publicly here, for obvious security reasons. Suffice to say that it went well and much was learned. We look forward to continued – and expanded – collaboration with SES PTSA.
  • We continued our Map Your Neighborhood discussion by conducting an interview exercise to practice talking with our neighbors. A one-page form for this process will be posted to our website.
    (Jan is investigating potential opportunities to integrate Map Your Neighborhood with the SNA newsletter distribution team and ONI/Crime Prevention.)
  • Welcome to our newly trained NETs, Jan and Ingrid!
  • Volunteer opportunities
    • Jun 21, 6-9:30pm at our special event, 7.9M Nepal Earthquake: The Firsthand Experience of Dr. Erin Moore
    • Aug 21, 11a-7p, Sunday Parkways Southeast, in conjunction with PBEM
    • Aug 28, 11a-7p, Hawthorne Street Fair.
    • Sep 10, 11a-7p, Belmont Street Fair. The SNA board generously gives us their booth, so it’s important that we staff the table sufficiently. It’s a great opportunity to meet the public – who are always appreciative of our work.
  • Next meeting: Tue, May 17 2016 10-11:30am
    Special exercise: We will meet at Sunnyside Environmental School, which is Sunnyside NET’s primary staging area, to perfrom a walk-around and assess assets and liabilities. Real-world stuff. We hope you’ll join us. Afterward we will debrief at Jeff Morris Fire Museum, SE Belmont & 35th.

Sunnyside Prepared Meeting Notes – Mar 15 2016

  • Twelve attendees. Three joined us for the first time
  • Committee co-chair Jan led us in an interactive exercise using FEMA’s Earthquake Home Hazard Hunt large-format poster. This is a great tool for outreach because it provides many quick, inexpensive steps that anyone can take to secure their property and improve their safety. We have laminated home and school versions available for loan upon request; they’re too large to print at home. (Thanks to the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association for funding printing of the posters.)
  • Our Southeast Uplift Community Small Grant proposal did not make the cut. But that’s OK! Proposals for $83K were made for a pool of $23K, and the grants that were selected are excellent.
  • Active NETs were invited by Holly to participate in Sunnyside Environmental School’s first parent-child reunification drill. (Not open to public participation for obvious security reasons.)
  • Tip of the month, from Holly: Establish a way to leave notes for your family and neighbors at your home after an emergency, in case you need to leave. Consider a small whiteboard, paper and pen in a plastic baggie — something waterproof that you can stash in an established outdoor location and update for each other when other communication methods are unavailable.
  • Next meeting: Tue Apr 19, 2016 7-8:30pm
    Southeast Uplift, Fireside Room
    3534 SE Main St
    RSVP appreciated, but not required

SNA EP NET Committee Agenda – Mar 15 2016

Agenda for our Tuesday, March 15, 2016 meeting

Tue, Mar 15, 2016
10– 11:15am (We start — and finish! — on time. This month’s meeting will be a little shorter than usual.)
Jeff Morris Fire Museum, first floor kitchen
900 SE 35th Ave (corner of Belmont)

  • RSVP greatly appreciated, but not required. More than 110 people receive meeting invitations, so it’s helpful to know in advance if we’ll have a large crowd.
  • If you cannot join us this time, please mark your calendar for the next meeting, Tue, Apr 19, 7pm at Southeast Uplift.

10:00 – 10:05 : Brief attendee introductions – name, neighborhood/cross streets, and any organizational affiliation.

10:05 – 10:08 : (Glenn) For first-time attendees, a very brief explanation of the closer collaboration we’ve developed for Sunnyside NET and the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Emergency Preparedness Committee.

10:08 – 10:20 : (Glenn + group discussion) Housekeeping

  • NET service commitment logging, and www.PDXtimebank.com credit for Committee participants
  • We have asked the Neighborhood Assoc. to approve a new name for our group: Sunnyside Prepared (A committee of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association)
  • Southeast Uplift Community Small Grant application update. The list of grantees will be announced Mar 11. Fingers crossed.
  • New NET ARO (Amateur Radio Operator) guidelines and training requirements.
  • Friends of Portland NET – What you can do to help!

10:20 – 10:45 : (Jan + group discussion) Earthquake Home Hazard Hunt activity using the large-format FEMA poster. We’ll also discuss how you can borrow laminated posters and integrate this activity into your own Map Your Neighborhood efforts. (A School Hazard Hunt poster is also available.)

10:45 – 11:00 : (Jan + group discussion) Brief Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) activities, and review of an assortment of local maps.

11:00 – 11:10 : (all event participants + group discussion) Debrief about recent & upcoming NET events

  • NECN crowd-sourcing event related to Map Your Neighborhood (Feb 22)
  • BEECN drill (Feb 27)
  • Sunnyside Environmental School reunification workshops (Mar 9)
  • June 21 Presentation by Dr. Erin Moore — on-the-ground experience of the Nepal 2015 earthquake (June 21)

SNA EP NET Meeting Notes – Feb 16 2016

Notes from our February, 2016 meeting, and additional information

In this message:

  1. Meeting notes and follow-up tips & links
  2. Next meeting: Tue Mar 15, 2016, 10a-12p
  3. BEECN drill next Sat Feb 27, 2016
  4. Friends of Portland NET
  5. Mark your calendar: First-person account of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal
1. Meeting notes and follow-up tips & links
Committee co-chair Jan led us in interactive exercises to discuss the Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) “9 Steps Immediately Following a Disaster.” This was followed by a discussion of the general question: Are you prepared for an emergency before, during and after the emergency event?

Tips for emergency prep actions that can be done now:
  • Take PBEM’s five-minute Portland Preparedness Survey and enter to win free preparedness kits and emergency gear.
  • American Red Cross Emergency phone app provides weather and emergency alerts for yourself and loved ones, and check their status. Available for iPhone and Android.
  • 211 info phone app www.211info.org
  • FEMA phone app www.ready.gov
  • Choose an out-of-state contact phone number to store in your mobile contact list under “!ICE” (in case of emergency; the exclamation point ensures that it will display first in your alphabetical contact list)
  • Have you signed up for Public Alerts messages, delivered via email and/or text?
  • Weather related: Learn about and know the difference between a weather advisory, a watch, and a warning
  • Get certified in CPR/AED and First Aid. Courses range in cost from $30 – $120. Some free classes are available, e.g. the Timbers Army offers classes quarterly to 107ist members only, courtesy of Dale Montgomery.
  • Know what a neighborhood BEECN is and where yours is located
  • Do you have a “by-the-bed” mini kit? (sturdy boots, socks, small LED flashlight, gloves, whistle, bottle of water, pry bar to open doors. Put them in a large plastic bag and tie it to your headboard/bed frame for easy location.)
  • Do you have emergency preparedness materials and plans for you home, work (including knowing the plans at your kids’ school(s), and pets?
  • After a disaster, to let loved ones know you are safe, sign up on the Red Cross Safe and Well service.
2. Next meeting
Tue, Mar 15, 2016, 10a-12p at the Jeff Morris Fire Museum kitchen (corner of Belmont St and 35th Ave). The Emergency Prep portion will focus on the FEMA Earthquake Home Hazard Hunt. We’ll have large-format posters, but suggest that you review the online materials in advance and come prepared with questions. RSVP appreciated but not required.
3. BEECN drill Sat, Feb 27, 1pm
Join us at the pavilion in Col Summers Park for a test of the BEECN (Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node). You’ll see how the procedures works as we check in with nearby fire station(s) . Open to all. NETs, log your time as Advanced Training.
4. Friends of Portland NET
With Michael Schilmoeller (NET Team Leader in Parkrose/Argay) Glenn has co-founded “Friends of Portland NET” to raise our collective voice by mobilizing NET members, NET program applicants, and other supporters to urge our elected and appointed officials to support the NET program. You might be aware that the State legislature has slashed funding for Portland Fire & Rescue personnel to teach NET Basic Training, causing a massive backlog. (There are currently 740 trained NETs and 1,100+ waiting for training.) If you are a NET or Applicant, you’re on our email list and will receive more info soon. (You’ll be able to opt out if uninterested, of course.) If you are not affiliated with the NET program but want to stay in the loop, let me know and I’ll be happy to add you to the ‘allies’ list.
(NOTE: This effort is being coordinated by NET members on an independent, volunteer basis. It is not endorsed, directed, or supported by PBEM.)

5. First-person account of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal
Evening of Tue, Jun 21, time and location TBA. Dr. Erin Moore, a naturopath and development/aid worker was in a remote village in Nepal when a devastating 7.8 earthquake struck on Apr 25, 2015. When she’s not working in Nepal, Erin lives in our neighborhood, and has generously offered to share her real-world experience with Southeast residents. It’s a few months off, but mark your calendar — we promise you won’t want to miss this. Sunnyside NET helped arrange these presentations and three of us attended in St John’s last week; the session was both educational and inspiring. People who have attended SNA EP NET Committee meetings and joined our mailing list will be the first to receive an invitation and registration link.