By Brandy Gill
Garrison Public Affairs Office
Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series on preparedness for the devastating natural disasters Colorado can have.
It’s in the middle of the night, the whole family is sleeping and then it happens, the Mass Warning and Notification (MWN) system or “Giant Voice” blares a message about a developing emergency situation.
Perhaps it’s a severe storm, a major power outage, a flood or even worse – a terrorist attack. These may seem like far-fetched scenarios, but they’re all real threats that could impact Fort Carson with little or no notice.
In these situations, installation leaders must decide whether it’s safe to stay or time to evacuate. According to Fort Carson Emergency Manager, Charles Aucoin, the decision is based on the nature and severity of the incident.
“Long-term power outages (more than a few days), wildland fires, earthquakes, hazardous material spills and weapons of mass destruction are several types of crises that would make evacuation necessary,” Aucoin said.
Once the decision is made, personnel could receive an evacuation message from a variety of sources including the MWN, external media, social media or ALERT! email and text messages if they’re registered for the service. If there’s a power outage, emergency responders may go door-to-door to notify those in the impacted area.
“It’s important to pay close attention to the whole message because information on safe haven locations, evacuation routes, lists of personal items to bring or information on Family reunification may also be provided,” Aucoin said.
Families should review emergency plans regularly in case a disaster strikes while Soldiers and spouses are at work or children are at school, so that everyone is prepared to cope if they are temporarily separated.
According to Dr. Montina Romero, deputy superintendent for Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, if an incident develops that impacts installation schools, the district will respond immediately to protect students.
“The schools on Fort Carson will initiate a safety protocol — most likely a shelter in place or a lockout,” Romero said. “If there was time, we would want to run a controlled release from the schools, so parents could pick up students directly from their school.”
If a controlled release isn’t possible, school and post officials will work together to ensure the safety of students, but parents may not be able to get to their children immediately.
“If all individuals on Fort Carson had to evacuate the installation, we would dispatch buses to Fort Carson to take kids off the installation to a secure location in Fountain and run a reunification process,” Romero said.
There are two designated safe-haven facilities on post. If the incident is too large to manage on post, some personnel may be directed to a civilian shelter off post.
Regardless of where evacuees go, emergency responders and volunteers will be staged to receive them and ready to provide shelter, food, water, medications and essential sanitation facilities.
These arrangements are temporary and only designed to meet immediate basic needs.
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2020 11:44 |
| Story ID: | 365156 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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