BRACE has undertaken a unique community partnership building initiative with the goal of enhancing disaster readiness and response capabilities of community and faith based organizations as well as businesses throughout Florida's northern Gulf Coast counties.

Between now and November 2012 the Community Partner Initiative will be working with county emergency management departments and numerous other agencies and organizations to strengthen relationships and disaster preparedness, response and recovery capabilities in the following counties:

• Bay County
• Franklin County
• Gulf County
• Okaloosa County
• Walton County

Initiative Goals / Objectives

The primary goal of the initiative is to enhance each county's disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation capabilities by thoroughly engaging community and faith based organizations along with the business community as participants in a countywide Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) or Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) structure.

1. Community Partner Identification: Develop a comprehensive listing of community and faith based organizations along with business within each county that could assist in times of emergencies or disasters.
2. Resource Identification: While identifying community partners develop an inventory of any resources that could be accessed during emergencies or disasters.
3. Community Partner Meeting: Facilitate a series of countywide meetings designed to bring community partners together to review and discuss the current readiness level of organizations and businesses to work as a unified team during emergencies or disasters.
4. COOP Exercise: Facilitate a series of continuity of operations exercises designed to help organizations and businesses strengthen their capability to survive a hurricane and remain operational to support the disaster caused needs of county residents.
5. Best Practices: Identify best practices that are currently being implemented by community partners.
6. Statewide Hurricane Exercise: Participate in Florida's annual statewide hurricane exercise as a member of each county's VOAD / COAD to measure the capabilities of community and faith-based organizations along with businesses working together to meet the needs of disaster survivors.
7. Training: Determine the training needs of each county then schedule and facilitate the identified training.

A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management

FEMA's "A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes and Pathways for Action" presents a foundation for increasing individual preparedness and engaging community partners in a collaborative effort to enhance the resiliency and security of our Nation through a Whole Community approach.

Register for a Partner Initiative Meeting

Thanks to a $47,940 grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, BRACE will launch TEEN CORPS in ACTION to help our community establish a culture of preparedness.  The grant will help fund the Youth Emergency Preparedness (YEP!) event that will be conducted as a 9 - 11 remembrance on Saturday, September 10 at Bayview Park to educate youth about the hazards faced by residents of our region and to engage them in future disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation efforts. Emergency Management, Public Safety, Medical Reserve Corps, BoyScouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H will be among the 20 BRACE partner organizationsthat will be providing disaster educational information and opportunities for youth engagement in service learning initiatives that are age appropriate.

The grant will also allow BRACE to take its Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program into our community high schools.  The Teen CERT program will provide participating youth with over 17 hours of intensive training in disaster preparedness, fire safety, search & rescue, medical operations, disaster psychology, and terrorism response training.

Thanks to the State Farm Youth Advisory Board grant our community will be better prepared to coordinate volunteers wishing to assist with future disasters.  The grant will fund portable generators and laptop computers that will allow prospective spontaneous volunteers to quickly be registered, assigned and supported in their efforts to provide urgently needed services in support of disaster survivors.  

State Farm has long believed that for communities to thrive, young people must be empowered as leaders and decision-makers to address real issues and problems.  The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is helping State Farm design and implement $5 million-a-year signature service learning initiatives.  The BRACE TEEN CORPS in ACTION grant was one of 62 selected for funding out of 602 applications submitted.

Escambia County Administrator Charles R. “Randy” Oliver is pleased to announce the new “MyEscambiaCares” website for Escambia County citizens. The website is designed to provide direct and easy-to-find access for the County’s online resources that provide citizen services and governmental transparency. Citizens can access it from www.myescambiacares.com or from the county website, www.myescambia.com. 

 

The website is divided into two main sections: Citizen Support Center and Frequently Asked Questions. In the Citizen Support Center, you can ask a question and make a request, find information about meetings, public records, calendar, etc. In the Frequently Asked Questions, you can find frequently called numbers, a quick reference guide to county services, building inspections information, Social Security Administration, etc.

 

Additional features will be added in the near future.

 

For more information please contact the Office of Public Information at 595-3476 or visit www.myescambiacares.com

BRACE is heading north to the Town of Century for disaster preparedness training. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training will begin August 25^th at Town Hall in Century.

There will be a total of 7 classes and starting at 6pm and ending at 9pm. Here are all of the dates: August 25^th, September 1^st, 15^th, 22^nd: October 6^th, 13^th and 20^th. The disaster drill is planned for October 20^th from 10am till noon also at Town Hall.

All residents 18 years or older of Escambia County are welcomed to this FREE training. CERT training includes basic disaster response skills including fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

CERT members can assist others in their community or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available for help.

These workshops are just one more step in BRACE’s vision of Escambia County becoming the most disaster prepared community in America.

To sign up call Denise Wiggins at 850-256-3208 at Century City Hall.

Teen CERT Member Saves Elderly Woman from Fire

A 13-year-old girl who received CERT training through her Girl Scout troop in Missouri saved an elderly woman from a fire in her home in April 2011.

Alexis Becker, a Cadette Girl Scout and St. Charles County Teen CERT member, was at home playing outside when she heard screams. Alexis followed the sound of the screaming to the home of an elderly neighbor. She didn't know the neighbor but noticed signs of fire coming from the house, so she convinced the woman to leave her home. The fire started when the woman mistakenly put an electric crockpot on her stove's heating element.

The woman was in a state of shock and had not yet called 9-1-1 despite the evident signs of a fire, so Alexis called the fire department for her. The woman was also reluctant to leave her home without her dog, but Alexis remained calm and convinced her to leave the house, promising to try to get the dog out safely as well. Alexis knew from her CERT training that it would be unsafe to re-enter the house, so she called for the dog from the front door, and fortunately, the dog quickly came outside to safety as well. The fire department soon came to extinguish the blaze. The woman and her dog were unharmed, and her home had survived with only minor damage.

Alexis told Mark Rosenblum, program director for the St. Charles County Teen CERT, that she would not have known what to do if had not been for the CERT training she received through her Girl Scout troop. In fact, Alexis Becker had just completed her CERT training in March 2011 before she was called into service to help her elderly neighbor. Rosenblum said, "My wife calls it my volunteer full-time job, but it's worth it if even one kid goes to the CERT training and saves somebody's life."

 June 1 marks the official start of the 2011 North Atlantic hurricane season, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been working closely with its federal, state, local and tribal partners, the private sector, voluntary organizations and the entire emergency management team to ensure we are ready for the upcoming season. As part of those efforts, today, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, along with other partners, will brief President Obama on the federal government’s preparations for the upcoming season.

 

“Recent events including the deadly tornadoes in the central U.S. and southeast, flooding along the Mississippi and other emergencies serve as a reminded that we should be prepared to address all hazards, including hurricanes,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “Everyone needs to be prepared, not just those in hurricane prone states, but also areas well inland. This means having an emergency plan, storing an emergency kit and staying informed of alerts or messages from local emergency officials.”

 

In the past few months, FEMA has been coordinating with all of the coastal states as they prepare for the season. All of this planning and coordination has been built around the agency’s approach that we are just one part of the nation’s emergency management team, and we have to work with the entire team to plan for the needs of the entire community when disasters strike. This larger team includes our federal partners, state, local and tribal leaders, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, faith based and community organizations, and most importantly the general public. It will take every member of the team working together for us to be fully prepared for this hurricane season.

 

To help demonstrate how the team can work together to prepare for and respond to hurricanes, President Obama invited other members of the team to join Napolitano and Fugate for today’s briefing, including North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue and members of her emergency management team, American Red Cross President Gail McGovern, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) Chair Mickey Caison, and Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead.

 

To see a video message from Administrator Fugate about this hurricane season, visit TBP.

 

Background on Preparing for Hurricanes

 

When preparing for hurricane season and potential emergencies, the needs of all members of a household should be considered. If a household includes a young child, senior citizen or a person with a disability or severe illness, special steps to assist them may be necessary and should be incorporated into all emergency planning. Pets require special handling. Pet owners should research pet boarding facilities now within a certain radius of where they may evacuate, since animals may not be welcome in all shelters or hotels.

 

Equally important, businesses should be prepared with emergency plans in place to stay afloat. Putting a disaster plan in motion will improve the likelihood that your company may recovery from a disaster. Ready Business (www.ready.gov/business) outlines measures business owners and managers can take now to start getting ready.

 

The start of hurricane season is also the time to consider flood insurance coverage - most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. Not only are homes and businesses in hurricane-prone states at risk for flooding, but inland flooding is common in nearby states. To assess flood risk for a home or find a local agent selling national flood insurance, visit www.floodsmart.gov or call toll-free at 1-888-379-9531.

 

As the season kicks off, knowing the four terms that meteorologists use when forecasting tropical weather may also help you navigate to safety.

 

• A hurricane watch is an announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are possible within the specified coastal area. Because hurricane preparedness activities become difficult once winds reach tropical storm force, the hurricane watch is issued 48 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
• A hurricane warning is an announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area. Because hurricane preparedness activities become difficult once winds reach tropical storm force, the hurricane warning is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
• A tropical storm watch is an announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are possible within the specified coastal area within 48 hours.
• A tropical storm warning is an announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area within 36 hours.

 

With the ongoing recovery efforts from the tornadoes and response to areas with flooding, we are reminded that everyone should be prepared to address all hazards, including hurricanes, tornadoes and inland flooding.

 

For more preparedness information, please visit www.fema.gov and www.Ready.gov.

 

For the latest information on weather, http://www.noaawatch.gov/themes/tropical.php

For years we were taught to dispose of unused medicines by flushing them. Little did we know, this practice would have a devastating impact on water quality nationwide, especially for those communities who get their drinking water from surface waters (thankfully not an issue for us here in NWFL!). 

However, our area has been impacted by this historical practice as wastewater treatment facilities are not set up to remove these chemicals during treatment and our surface waters still receive an unknown amount of them from treated wastewater. Also, those sent to the landfill ultimately end up in leachate water which is sent to the wastewater treatment facility; either way, ultimately these substances end up in our rivers, bays and other coastal waterways.

Emerald Coastkeeper is teaming up with ECUA, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Walgreens to help educate folks about proper disposal of unused medicines and to significantly reduce those which enter our waterways. A kickoff event is scheduled for this Saturday, April 30th at several locations throughout Escambia County. We are also working on creating an ongoing program available year round; if you would like to help please contact us.

The “Prescription Drug Round-Up” is a one-day effort to provide the public a site to voluntarily surrender expired, unwanted, unused pharmaceutically controlled substances, and other medications for proper destruction.

The April 30 event will feature ten locations with deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and officials from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection providing information on the environmental benefits and proper ways citizens should dispose of prescription drugs.
 
Walgreens Locations:                                                        
 
20 West Nine Mile Rd                                
2237 West Nine Mile Rd
4497 Mobile Hwy
5995 Mobile Hwy
870 E Cervantes
6314 North 9^th Ave


Precinct 1, Pensacola Beach
43 Fort Pickens Road
Pensacola Beach32561
 
Precinct 2, Big Lagoon
12950 Gulf Beach Highway
Pensacola, Florida 32507
 
Precinct 5, Cantonment
5844 North Hwy 29
Molino, Florida 32577
 
Precinct 6, Century
7995 North Century Blvd.
Century, Florida 32532
 
 
For more information concerning the event, contact us at (850) 429-822, or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office (850) 436-9277 or ECUA (850) 476-0480.

The United States is home to more than 308 million people, comprising many cultures and subpopulations — such as diverse and vulnerable groups of people — who may interpret messages differently or distrust the government. Perhaps no disaster has illustrated the need for emergency planning and preparedness with these communities to the extent that

Hurricane Katrina did. Almost six years ago, the nation watched as more than 1,800 perished, 80 percent of New Orleans flooded and nearly 100,000 citizens remained in the water-ravaged city rather than evacuating.

A study of 1,089 people affected by the hurricane in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama found that 28 percent of those who didn’t evacuate couldn’t leave because of limited means, according to the nonprofit Fritz Institute. Of those who couldn’t evacuate for this reason, 71 percent said they had nowhere else to go, 37 percent didn’t have a car, and 36 percent couldn’t leave their homes without assistance. What’s more, 84 percent of those with limited means had household incomes of less than $50,000; 58 percent were African-American; 66 percent were women; 57 percent said their highest level of education was a high school diploma or less; and 32 percent had a physical disability.

When preparing residents for disasters, officials must think not only about the different cultures within their community, but also about the vulnerable populations — the disabled, very young, elderly, homeless and people who speak limited or no English. Emergency managers and public health officials have wrestled with developing relationships with these groups for decades, and it’s still a challenge for many.

Luckily there are resources for officials to use; examples of successful initiatives can assist state and local agencies with their plans, helping them to reach as many people as possible in ways that create positive relationships and changes.

Lakeview Health Centeer is reaching out to Escambia County residents that maybe impacted by the oil spill. Topics range from anger to talking with your children about the possible impact of the spill. Take time and check out the information.

Click on Community Health and the Oil

 

 

Planning is a daily part of our routine.  We plan our holiday activities, weekend activities and grocery store visits.  We plan our children’s schedules and daily tasks.  And without a doubt, endless lists often follow.  There is one particular list that deserves to be checked twice – and it’s not your holiday shopping list.  We’re talking about reviewing your emergency preparedness checklist and developing an emergency preparedness plan for your family.

 

Ready’s three simple steps:

 

1.    Get an emergency supply kit.

2.    Make a family emergency plan. (Pets included.)

3.    Be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur in your area and their appropriate responses.

 

BRACE encourages you to take a few extra minutes to plan for emergencies.  Consider the following questions:

 

1. Have you spoken to your children’s schools about their shelter-in-place and/or evacuation plans?

2. Do you know the evacuation plan at work?

3.  If your cell phone was inoperable how would you get in touch with your family?

4. Do you know where the closest shelter is, and will they accept your pets?

5. Do you have a family meeting place and an out-of-town contact?

 

 

These are just a few of the questions you should consider when you are developing your emergency plan. 

 

Free preparedness resources, such as a Family Emergency Plan Guide and an Emergency Supply Kit Checklist, are just a click away at www.Ready.gov.   The Ready Web site also has special sections for kids ages 8 to 12 (Ready Kids), and small to medium-sized businesses (Ready Business). Be sure to check it out and begin planning with your family today. 

 

Emergencies will happen, but taking action now can help minimize the impact on your life.  Remember, now is the time.  Resolve to be Ready.

 

Click Here to read the latest BRACE Yourself Newsletter for ideas and updates.

Save Money On Your Homeowner's Insurance Premium! - Did you know your garage door is the weakest location in your house? Supplies are available to strengthen your garage door and roof. Bracing your home may qualify you for lower insurance premiums while also protecting you from damage. BRACE Partners offer discounted Wind Mitigation Inspections for your home. You may save money on your homeowner's insurance by simply having the inspection and submitting the information to your insurance company. Call BRACE at 850-444-7038 for the discount code and the list of inspectors.

Want to know more about the H1N1 (Swine) Flu? - Symptoms of the H1N1 Virus are the same as those of Seasonal Flu, with the addition of vomiting. Pregnant women and people under 25 are most at risk. Taking common sense steps like frequent handwashing can help protect you and those around you. Get your flu shot. Cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue or your elbow rather than your hand, which more easily spreads germs. Stay home when you are sick. Keep sick children home from school.

Check out the CDC's website for the latest information and download the tool kit with useful resources for your business or faith-based organization.

Stay Up-To-Date On Escambia County Emergency Shelter Information – For the latest information, including what you can and cannot take to a shelter, as well as shelter locations, visit Be Ready Escambia.

Don’t Forget to Prepare Your Pets! – Escambia County has a designated Pet-Friendly Shelter for household cats and dogs. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration is required, and pet owners are required to stay in the adjacent American Red Cross shelter to care for their own pets. For registration information and a list of specific requirements, visit the Pet Shelter website.

Click the Download Document link below to open BRACE's Pet Preparedness Guide.