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West Bloomfield Board of Trustees member Michael Patton holds up a crank radio as he makes safety recommendations during National Preparedness Month at a special board meeting, Sept. 16.
Photo taken from board meeting video
WEST BLOOMFIELD — Last month was National Preparedness Month, and at a special meeting of the West Bloomfield Board of Trustees Sept. 16, the former police chief and current trustee Michael Patton urged the public to take steps to stay safe.
Central to his advice was mapping out a plan for the entire home or business and having an open dialogue with one’s family members or employees about what to do if disaster strikes.
“We encourage all of our residents to improve their sustainability and resiliency in case of an emergency,” Patton said.
To this end, he recommends a portable radio that does not rely on an external power source. He showed a hand-crank radio, which only requires a few turns of the crank to generate enough power to receive new broadcasts, public safety alerts and other potentially lifesaving information.
He also recommended visiting nixle.com, where one can sign up for emergency alerts sent directly to their electronic devices, as well as reviewing emergency resources available at michigan.gov/miready and fema.gov.
If anyone in the home or business has special needs, such as regular access to medication or medical devices, prioritizing the availability of those items is key.
Having first-aid kits readily available — and knowing where they’re located and how to use them — is also crucial.
“I’ll expand on what you always tell me: keep your gas tank above half-full, and always have more water in your home then you’ll need,” said Debbie Binder, the township clerk and a board trustee, during the meeting.
Patton agreed with his colleague.
“You wake up one morning and the water main breaks somewhere in the area, and you’ll be out of water for three days. You think, ‘I’ll just run down to the local store and get water.’ (But then) everybody else had that idea and you probably won’t be able to get a case of water,” he said.
Patton also recommends reviewing the website do1thing.com, which outlines a specific task to complete each month in order to be better prepared.
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