If you could get past the NY mosque and koran burning BS that dominated the media you might have noticed that several people died, many were injured and multiple families became homeless this week.
Emergency response in San Bruno, CA and Detroit, MI were overwhelmed by 2 relatively small disasters aggravated by a combination of a neglected infrastructure and economic cutbacks. Ironically, the disasters occurred in 2 of the states hardest hit by financial decline. Not only were the local Emergency Response departments overwhelmed but officials had no choice but take resources from other areas.
In Detroit, winds fueled a fire that was started by downed power lines. 85 separate fires were reported, and 70,000 people were without power. At least 20 homes are now being demolished by the city that laid-off firefighters earlier this year. Firefighters from surrounding areas were called in to assist.
The San Bruno explosion was caused by a large, leaking gas main. A water main was damaged in the blast so water to control the fire had to be brought in from other areas. The local fire authorities requested 25 additional trucks from the CA State Fire Department. The event covered approximately 15 acres.
Get an emergency plan ASAP folks. In fact, get several plans. This is basic preparedness. I know that I say that alot on this blog but I’m willing to bet that 99% of us that consider ourselves prepared don’t even have the basics covered completely. Apparently, the folks that are still living in Red Cross shelters today didn’t.
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There aren’t enough fire engines to go around if there are more than a couple of large fires going at any time. Each town only has one or two fire engines per station. The state fire department has about 400 engines. Other than disasters like this pipeline, people need to have space cleared around their homes and be prepared to protect themselves.