City of Redmond
In the case of an emergency, the protocol is to call 911.
It usually takes first responders 4-6 minutes to arrive on the scene of an emergency, but Janeen Olson said in the case of a disaster such as a major earthquake, first responders may not even be able to get to the scene as they could be responding to a more serious situation somewhere else in town or their route may be blocked.
Olson, police programming coordinator for the Redmond Police Department, said depending on the scale of the disaster, it could take anywhere from a few hours to several days — or longer — before emergency services can respond to everyone.
Because of this, she said it is important for people to be prepared if this happens.
To help Redmond residents and businesses with this, the city’s Office of Emergency Management(OEM) offers various training opportunities that people can take part in to learn what to do in the case of a disaster. Read More >>
The first one is Redmond Ready Day — which includes CPR and first aid training as well as information tables covering various aspects of preparedness and volunteer opportunities.
Olson said at Redmond Ready Day, people can learn about various components that make up a disaster preparedness plan such as how to communicate with family members, where to keep emergency supplies and what kind of supplies to keep on hand in the case of a disaster.
The most recent Redmond Ready Day event was held Sept. 12.
The OEM also offers Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. According to the city’s website, this 24-hour program trains participants in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. CERT members will be able to “assist others following an event when professional responders are not immediately available” and “are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community,” the website states.
Olson said her grand idea for Redmond is to have teams of people — civilians — who are trained for disasters and able to perform tasks such as search and rescue, damage assessment and communicating information to emergency responders.
In addition to preparedness training, Olson said the city also has a medical reserve corp. She said this is a volunteer group that would be called into action to provide medical care at shelters after a disaster. The OEM is also working on forming disaster animal response team to take care of people’s pets and livestock.
“Animals are important in a disaster, as well,” Olson noted.
While these are all services and opportunities offered with the city, she said there are also things people can do at home to ensure they, personally, and their loved ones can stay safe. These include having nonperishable foods on hand to last about 72 hours. And when stocking up on the nonperishables, Olson said to keep in mind the kinds of food you and your family would actually like to eat as well as any dietary restrictions people may have such as a low-sodium diet or diabetes.
Those with small children should also stock up on things such as diapers, and Olson said to keep in mind the diaper sizes they are purchasing and make sure to plan ahead with larger sizes.
She said anyone taking any sort of medication should also make sure to have at least a seven-day supply on hand.
For more information, visit redmond.gov/PublicSafety/DisasterPreparedness.
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