2 years ago our community had a fire that came within 800 feet of my front door. Many homes were lost and the community really rallied together fighting the fires to save houses and property.
Some of the neighbors live in dead cellphone area and Ham Radios/GMRS Radios really came in handy for communications. Not only to check on each other and let them know where the fires were popping up but it also help neighbors quickly ask for help for those who had water trucks, and machinery to create barriers.
Here is a list of After Action Notes that seem to be common among most Natural Disasters
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AAR COMMON THEMES
1. Cash only way to make purchases. Internet and POS terminals are down
2. Chainsaws trees down everywhere
3. Communications Cell Phones iffy, varied widely by carrier. Ham Radio and GMRS were solid communications. Have a spare radio to loan out. No or limited 911 services. Who you gonna call?
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4. Cooking have multiple methods
5. Fire Safety Have multiple Fire Extinguishers
6. Food Survival Rations or cooking was tedious. Menu monotony
7. Fuel Have a variety of fuels. Propane pasts forever. Gasoline, Charcoal or Pellets, how much gas is enough?
8. Generators and Power Will the Generator start? Repair parts & Oils? Propane tap?
9. Internet and Satellite Satellite Internet worked, if you had power
10. Lighting & Flashlights, battery lights, headlamps. Drill battery lights
11. Meds and Medical No refills for Rx, transportation to Hospital? No power at clinics. Know emergency refill options.
12. Neighbors People walked and met their neighbors for the first time. Neighbors count.
13. Pen and Paper your devices are dead. Listening to the radio and taking notes
14. Travel Blocked roads, lack of gas
15. Water and Purification Have a well, great. Generator hook-up? Boiling water is exhaustive.
16. Battery AM Operated Radio and yes, have batteries. Solar radios were weak
17. Sharing Generators to cool down freezers-rotation with neighbors. Use external fridge Thermostat alarms. Keep a chart.
18. Battery Banks / Power Supplies for small devices
19. Have a map of the local area
20. Fans for cooling
21. Safety Safety Safety. Know how to turn your power and propane off.
22. Have lots of buckets with lids. Lots of uses
Neighbors commonly asked for:
Batteries
Radio
Matches/Lighters
INFORMATION!
Water
Cooking
Power
NOTES
Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. No water for 53 days! No power for up to 3 weeks. This was 2024 in the USA!
Inland Power pre-emptive shut off policy (new since Oregon Road fire)
