Propane Tank Alert

For those of you who like to grill it up during the summer, here's a safety announcement you should be aware of. Please put this information out to ALL personnel. For those of you who exchange your propane tanks, this is something you definitely need to be aware of, especially in light of the recent news of 'Meth-labs' in our area. Meth cooks are getting propane tanks from exchanges at Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, etc. and emptying them of the propane.

Then, they are filling them with anhydrous ammonia (which they now have a recipe for by the way). After they are finished with them, they return them to the store. They are then refilled with propane and sent back for you and me to buy. Anhydrous ammonia is very corrosive and weakens the structure of the tank. It can be very dangerous when mixed with propane and hooked up to our grills, etc. You should inspect the propane tank for any blue or greenish residue around the valve areas. If it is present, refuse to purchase that tank. Check out the following website for more details. They also have pictures.

<http://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=529 >

Americans Are Not Prepared for Emergencies, Expert Says

Disaster is all around us these days, from the cyclone in Myanmar to the earthquake in China, not to mention the tornadoes and floods in the United States. So why aren’t most Americans ready for emergencies?

In an article in the Washington Post, emergency preparedness expert John D. Solomon says too many Americans are watching the devastation unfold in Asia “from relative safety and, if I had to guess, with a certain sense of complacency, a feeling that disaster on that scale isn't likely to happen to them. But it could.”

Solomon warns that even after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, 93 percent of Americans still aren’t prepared for a natural disaster, pandemic or a terrorist attack. “This is troubling,” Solomon says, “because the more prepared a population is, the more effective the response to and recovery from a catastrophe will be.”

He also warns that readying the public for our 21st century emergencies might be one of the most complex socio-education challenges the nation has faced. In the article, Solomon offers 10 suggestions for helping make the public more prepared, including:

1. Make public preparedness a priority
2. Make preparedness part of 21st-century citizenship
3. Get back to the preparedness ethic from WWII and the Cold War
4. Increase public education
5. Teach children about preparedness
6. Try the carrot and the stick
7. Bring in business to help make the sale
8. Use 21st-century technology to prepare for 21st-century emergencies
9. Teach everyone the drill
10. Create a National Preparedness Day

CERT Final Exercise June 7, 2008

Our latest CERT Class had their CERT Final Exercise on Saturday June 7th at the Jackson Fire Department Training Center. It was hot, dirty and sweaty...just right for a good emergency drill.

CERT Team Members received a safety briefing and instruction on small fire suppression from Terresia Reasons, Jackson Fire Department inside the Fire Training Center classroom before deploying to the back-lot for live fire suppression. CERT Members learned the different types of fire extinguishers for use with different types of fires. Terrisia Reasons and George Conner were the coach/instructors for the fire suppression drill.

After fire suppression, CERT Members were instructed on the proper use of 'cribbing' in the extraction of an injured victim from under a fallen object, such as a wall or collapsed part of a building. Cribbing is used to support and lift the object off the victim safely for both the victim and the CERT Team. Alan Castleman, Madison County Sheriff's Department was the coach and instructor for this part of the exercise.

Following fire suppression and cribbing, the CERT Team performed a 'Search & Rescue' and Triage and Medical Treatment drill. "Victims" were staged with various injuries, located in a training house built for the purpose and extracted by CERT Members and taken to a Triage area for treatment by the medical team. Alan Castleman and Don Friddle, Jackson Fire Department served and coach instructors for this part of the Final.

All CERT Members got a chance to participate in all phases of the exercise.

Congratulations and thanks to all who completed the Final Drill for CERT, and many thanks to the dedicated and hardworking volunteer instructors for the important program.

G. Michael Winslow
CERT Coordinator
Jackson-Madison Co. EMA
Tennessee Homeland Security / District 10