Rod Brouhard EMT-P - Disaster Preparedness: A Living Free Guide

ALPHA BOOKS

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International Standard Book Number: 978-1-61564-360-8
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This book is dedicated to the men and women who respond to natural and man-made disasters all over the globe, taking time away from their families and putting themselves at great personal risk. Rod

This book is dedicated to the many thousands of disaster survivors around the world, including the first responders, civilian and military, who heed the call to put themselves in harms way to rescue others (thank you, BT), and whose memory banks hold too many things that can never be unseen. Crystal

When I first heard that Rod and Crystal, two emergency preparedness experts, were writing a book about personal preparedness, I was thrilled. I knew their combined 35 years of practical experience would result in a commonsense approach rather than simply theory, which is found in so many preparedness books.

I first learned of Crystal Kline through the City of Tulsas very innovative and nationally known disaster prevention program, Project Impact. Tulsa was already known for its award-winning benchmark storm water management program. As a Project Impact community, it moved further ahead in its goal to create a disaster-resistant community. In forging creative and innovative public/private partnerships, it built a significant awareness of disaster preparedness among the community.

Tulsa Project Impact inspired true community engagement, and that was the key to its success. The citizens were a vital part of this initiative; without their enthusiasm, input, and hard work, it would have failed. Klines contribution in building that partnership was significant.

She has worked with organizations in testing their response plans, and she has taken her expertise to Haiti along with my firm, Witt OBriens, where as part of the JP/Haiti Relief Organization and the Clinton Global Initiative, she developed curriculum and worked with a team to train residents of Haitis largest tent city to become their own first responders after a disaster.

Rod Brouhard also is a professional from the trenches. As a paramedic for more than 20 years, he has seen firsthand what happens to individuals who are not in a position to take care of themselves for the first 72 hours after an incident.

During my 8 years at FEMA, we handled 373 major disasters, including the Northridge Earthquake, the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and the Malibu Wildfires. Since that time, we have built an emergency management company that has helped major organizations and communities with the planning for, response to, and long-term recovery from many of the largest disasters in our nation and around the world.

During that time, I have noticed that in a crisis, people may respond in ways you would not expect. During a disaster, you see the best and the worst in peoplemost particularly, in the way they respond during the moment of crisis. Some manage better than others, and not necessarily the ones you would expect. The common difference seems to be in how well prepared they are for the unexpected.

A 2009 Citizen Corps National Survey demonstrated that a majority of people rely on emergency responders (fire, police, and rescue) in the first 72 hours of a disaster. However, findings show that in the initial response, those individuals are too involved in actual search and rescue to handle the immediate needs of most of the public. This highlights the need for personal responsibility.