Everyday Wellness in Brecksville: Dealing With Emergencies

I recently had a frightening experience at a park. I was there picnicking with a group of friends and we went for a little hike. Suddenly, I realized that my son was missing.

My friends were trying to reassure me, but all I could hear was the beating of my heart. I turned into one of those people who could lift a car off of her child. I decided to run back to the picnic area, but instead of taking the trail, I scaled what couldn’t exactly be called a cliff. Let’s call it a very steep, rugged hill. Then I ran a quarter of a mile at super-human speed to find my son, safe with my husband. But my friends at the bottom of the hill already knew he was safe because they simply placed a call to my husband with a cell phone.

The moral of this story is that I’m not the person to call in an emergency. When I’m panicked, I either freeze or run. But I’ve decided that I’m going to learn how to be level-headed and prepared for emergencies.

I dug out my emergency preparedness manual that was sent to me in the mail a few years ago by the city of Brecksville. The manual has specific information for how to cope with floods, power outages, winter storms, tornadoes, earthquakes and fires. It also has a section on general emergency preparedness with detailed information on things like creating a family communication plan, assembling a first-aid kit, turning off your utilities, operating a fire extinguisher, lists of important phone numbers and more. 

The manual also has information on Brecksville’s CodeRED emergency notification system. If you are registered for this free system, you will be called in the event of severe weather, drinking water contamination, floods, gas leaks, hazardous material spills and any other community emergencies. If you’re not already receiving their test calls twice a year, you can sign up at the website.

Our community also has something called the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. It is a volunteer group of citizens who are trained in basic disaster response skills, so that they can help others when professional responders are not available right away. The team's website says that they are looking for volunteers and the Brecksville Fire Department’s website has more information on how to become part of this team.

I may not be the person to call in the event of a disaster, but I think by educating myself, I can at least remain calm and not add to the chaos of an emergency situation.