The best time to plan for disasters — whether a fire that displaces multiple tenants or spring flooding that impacts a community — is prior to them happening. That’s the message being shared this week across Aroostook at COAD meetings facilitated by Dixie Shaw, director of hunger and relief services for Catholic Charities.
“COAD stands for Community Organizations Active in Disasters. We’re holding three sessions this week: one Feb. 9 in Presque Isle, one in Houlton Feb. 10 and the third will be Friday, Feb. 13, at 10 a.m. at the Fort Kent Town Office. We’ve asked representatives from various agencies who typically assist in emergencies, such as the flooding in 2008 in the St. John Valley, to attend,” said Shaw.
Joining Shaw for the meeting in Presque Isle Monday were: Rod Thompson, Northern Maine Development Commission; Kathy Poitras, Stepping Stones; Joyce Finland, (Aroostook) Emergency Management Agency; Richard Higgins, Maine Emergency Management Agency; Laurie Levine and Bill Thomas, Red Cross; Lynn Turnbull, TAMC; and Claudia Stevens, United Way of Aroostook.
Shaw said due to the size of Aroostook County, the decision was made to create three COAD groups, to better address emergencies in different areas of the county.
“It’s unlikely what happened in The Valley in 2008 will happen again. This week’s meetings are a matter of coming together to see what we have to offer and can do, in the event something like that occurs in the future,” said Shaw.
Shaw said the goal is to create a network of agencies that can be called upon to assist when disaster strikes.
“To work properly, COADs require the four C’s: collaboration, cooperation, communication and coordination,” said Shaw.
Thomas and Levine discussed recent fires — both locally and downstate — that claimed several lives and the effort the Red Cross is making to provide homeowners with working smoke detectors. Levine said the state Fire Marshal’s Office has “jumped on board, donating smoke detectors, and to date about 5,000 have been installed.”
“These are at no cost. Anyone interested can call 498-5050 here in The County,” said Thomas.
One of the main concerns at the Presque Isle meeting was the need to feed the public. The group discussed various agencies with commercial kitchens that could meet the need, in the event of an emergency, including: campuses and local schools.
“We also have some fast-food restaurants on our list that can provide quick access to food — places like Subway, McDonald’s and Taco Bell,” said Levine. She said the need for food is more prevalent during a disaster than the need for shelter, since many people try to “tough it out” in their homes, despite the loss of power or water.
“In an emergency, we’ll help feed those people. It’s neighbors helping neighbors,” said Levine. “More people come for meals than shelter. They come to eat, rather than stay.”
Higgins said COADs are important to long-term recovery.
“A COAD is a microcosm of the community. It looks out for the most vulnerable: the elderly, people with physical and mental issues. Everyone in the COAD needs to know where agencies are to meet the needs of those in distress, whether it’s a housing authority, hospitals, campuses, etc.,” said Higgins.
“It’s important to make key players aware of other services — groups like ACAP, Aroostook Agency on Aging, United Way of Aroostook, faith-based organizations, health care people, tribal representation and city officials, for example,” said Shaw. “We also should consider local service agencies, like Rotary, Lyons, Elks, Kiwanis and the chambers (of commerce), and how they could help in such situations.”
Higgins noted the need for animal care as well.
“About 60 percent of people won’t go to shelters if they can’t take their pets with them. It’s not just natural disasters but in cases of fire,” said Higgins.
Thompson suggested including insurers on the list of agencies to have on board, to help those affected file insurance claims.
Higgins said libraries not only serve as shelters, but provide entertainment through books and games. Levine added they’re also a great source of information. Thompson said the USDA would be another good agency to add to the list.
Shaw suggested the VFW and American Legion could be of assistance as well.
“We may want to reach out to the Customs and Border Protection people, since we’re close to the border,” said Higgins. “It wasn’t just Fort Kent that flooded, folks got it on both sides of the border.” He indicated having a plan in place with regard to crossing the border in an emergency would be a good thing.
“At a Maine Preparedness Conference in Augusta, police spoke of the Lac Megantic train disaster and the things that had to happen to cross the border in the spur of the moment. They needed our help and we provided it,” said Shaw, adding it wasn’t without difficulty. “Their equipment operates using the metric system. Our emergency equipment didn’t fit their systems. To compensate, plans need to be made in advance.”
The group discussed other agencies that should be included as contacts, such as law enforcement agencies, scouts and regional transportation.
Shaw asked participants how best to explain the goal of the COAD, with Thompson responding “to coordinate disaster resources and mitigation services.”
Shaw indicated while she’s overseeing these meetings, she’d like to see someone else step in to oversee the COAD as a whole. She indicated in coming weeks she and others with the group would be reaching out to area agencies to bring them on board to begin coordinating plans, so things will run smoothly in the event of a disaster.
“We met in Presque Isle for an initial meeting in November, with a lot of interest in setting up these groups county-wide. It is imperative that we do this now while times are quiet. The more we do now to prepare for the worst, the better prepared we’ll be, should something occur,” said Shaw.
Shaw said the next round of three meetings is tentatively set for the week of April 13.
“I really encourage anyone who can attend, to go to the seventh annual Maine Partners in Preparedness Conference, April 21-22, at the Augusta Civic Center. It’s free to attend and they’ll feed you breakfast and lunch if you sign up early. There’ll be a lot of interesting workshops and demonstrations,” said Higgins. For more information or to register, visit www.maineprepares.com/conference/.
For more information on COAD or how you or your agency can participate, email Shaw at dshaw@ccmaine.org.
