Fairfax County Declares September Emergency Preparedness Month

The Board of Supervisors designated September 2010 as Emergency Preparedness Month in Fairfax County.

Pictured above are staff from Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management and Citizen Corps representatives.

"Residents of Fairfax County are encouraged to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies by organizing an emergency supply kit; formulating a personal preparedness plan; becoming knowledgeable about various threats; and becoming involved in preparing their community." (Source: www.fairfaxcounty.gov).

In addition, "the Board of Supervisors designated Aug. 3 as National Night Out in Fairfax County. The Fairfax County Police Department sponsors National Night Out to promote the importance of community-police partnerships, neighborhood safety and public awareness of crime prevention programs."

Turn On Your Lights for National Night Out, Then Shut it Off to Conserve Energy Around the World

As part of kickoff activities here in the Philippines and in preparation for National Night Out in the United States, I had the honor of presenting Mr. Edgar Salanio from the Regional Coordinating Council and Office of Civil Defense with a self powered led flashlight from back home.

Mr. Salanio spent some time in the United States and is a highly respected instructor in the Philippines. He teaches every major organization that would be impacted or respond to a disaster or major emergency. It has been an excellent opportunity to work side by side with him and everyone from RDCC and DCDCC.

I was presented with a hat from the National Disaster Coordinating Council and Office of Civil Defense.

Neighbors helping Neighbors, Locally and Around the World. This is truly friends making new friends to help others be better prepared. Once we return home, we look forward to Mr. Salanio providing regular articles to the Neighbors Helping Neighbors blog.

Additional information about National Night Out, which other countries may consider implementing, can be found at: http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/

National CERT Group - CERT connecting to CERT One Neighbor and Community at a time.

As we get closer to National Night Out and National Preparedness Month 2008, please consider joining the Linked In Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Group.

There were several non-location specific CERT groups on Linked In and the managers of those five groups got together to form this one group, linking CERT volunteers across the United States.

Please note: This is not a new CERT team, but a way to link CERT volunteers.