An Inside Look at Southington's Emergency Management Response System

Town Attorney and Assistant Town Manager, Marc Sciota
also serves as Town Emergency Manager
Sciota articulates Southington's emergency readiness

Are you prepared at home and at work for a weather emergency at any time?  Read what Southington and other towns in Connecticut are doing.

By E. Richard Fortunato

The following news report was published in the Southington Citizen on Friday, August 24, 2012.

Based on early reports of a severe storm (possibly a Category 2 hurricane) is approaching the southeast and  possibly veering north to New England sometime this week, it might be worth your while to become aware of Soutthington's recently tested readiness for a hurricane or other emergency situation might be well worth your while.

A busy man, Marc Sciota is not only Southington’s Town Attorney and Assistant Town Manager, but he is also charged with the responsibility of Town Emergency Manager.0

In an interview, Scotia spoke about virtually every detail of an updated emergency management program which is now in place in Southington and is in compliance with the latest standards of safety and preparedness.

This year, Connecticut Governor Daniel P. Malloy decreed that all towns participate in an emergency disaster exercise, an result of a Category 3 hurricane alert with a force not witnessed here since 1938.

Town department heads came together with Sciota for a series of meetings to develop new and updated emergency preparedness and response procedures.

A two-day exercise was scheduled to take place on July 30 and 31st.  Town business was to continue without interruption with the drill taking place invisibly to all but the Emergency Management Team,

 “For several days before July 30th, we were receiving (false) weather reports. A faux storm was brewing off the coast of the Cayman Islands. The mock storm would run the exact same track as the Hurricane of 1938, approaching California then taking a course to the east coast and up to Connecticut. The reports even told us that the storm would hit us on Tuesday, July 31st.” Sciota said.

A week before the drill date, Sciota convened the executive committee of the EMT consisting of the Police, Fire, Health and Public Works Departments and the Calendar House Senior Center for a run-through of  their check list for hurricanes, last used for Hurricane Irene in 2011.  Their goal was to go over every step of an emergency response so that the exercise would be executed correctly.On Monday, July 30th, the town emergency manager would alert the full emergency management team including the Police, Fire, Highway, Health and Parks Departments, Water Pollution Control, Board of Education, Calendar House Senior Center, Southington Community Services, the Library and the Town Emergency Manager.

The Fire Department plays two roles in an emergency: public safety, and activating the Community Emergency Response Team. CERT works with local government in preparing for emergency situations.

CERT did not have advance knowledge of the exercise, but they would receive an email blast from Sciota and would respond, advising which of their teams are available to work with Southington.

All communications during the alert would repeatedly say, in bold caps: “EXERCISE” so that all involved, CERT and town department heads, would understand that a simulation of an alert was taking place. But, everyone would be expected to respond with due dispatch, as though it was actually happening.

Calendar House would mobilize its shelter and stores of food, water and blankets ready for use.  The Library would be an emergency cooling station in readiness for any power outages based on notification from the state.

Backing up the CERT teams, the town staff would ready to be called in to help, should the need arise. In this case, the Tax Assessor’s Department was designated to play back up team. Meanwhile, all department heads had advance knowledge of a Hurricane Exercise.

Sciota said the absolute imperative in dealing with this kind of catastrophic phenomenon is total preparedness. “If everything is not in place in the planning, nothing is going to work for you," Sciota said.   "Preparedness is paramount in an emergency crisis. If we are prepared, we will prevent loss of life and property, and that is our purpose.”

Accordingly, as the alert went out, first on the check list is Police, Fire, AMR and Public Works. All are immediately placed on standby. Manpower is everything in mobilizing all departments.  The Fire Chief immediately mans all firehouses. The Police Chief and his captains call in all police personnel. Public Works deploys its people to readiness at the garage. AMR alerts all ambulance units.

In an actual emergency of this nature town employees stay home or are assigned to places where they can help, such as Calendar House, the Library and Southington Community Services.  Each of these facilities is prepared to offer help to those who may be without power or safe access to their homes.  Calendar House is the official shelter, offering food and a place to sleep.  In severe weather, The Library acts as a cooling station or a warm place for relief from the elements while Southington Community Services is equipped to dispense food and water.

Towns must be self-sufficient for the first 72 hours of an emergency.  This is known as the “Rule of 72”.

Meanwhile, the state will be responding to its state wide needs of communications, transportation, power outages, public safety, etc. After 72 hours the state will be positioned to assist towns as needed.

Citizens at home or at work are advised to be prepared for the first 72 hours of an emergency when they hear the first alert. Stores of food, including non-perishable foods not requiring refrigeration, and water for the first 72 hours, along with flashlights, batteries, cell phone, battery-powered radio, blankets and first aid supplies.are strongly recommended to be at the ready.

The results of the emergency drill were excellent according to Marc Sciota.”Everything ran smoothly and without a glitch, notwithstanding the fact that during the mock emergency we had a very real disaster with the major fire at the Rex Forge location that same day,", Sciota said.

We sincerely hope the southeast is prepared for an effective response to Tropical Storm Isaac. Let's be sure we in the northeast are equally prepared for this storm which has the potential to develop the force of a Category 2 Hurricane, like Hurricane Irene last year.