My street corner in Forest Hills, Upper Northwest DC, on Saturday afternoon, February 6th, during the Blizzard of 2010.
I started writing this True Green blog just about a year ago as a way to post sections of my forthcoming Best Practices Manual. Life, work and blog fatigue (both writing and reading them) got in the way and this is my first posting since August. Sometimes all it takes is a historic winter storm to reactivate my interest in writing! Washington D.C. and much of the mid-Atlantic have been snowed under since Friday (snowpocalypse, snowmageddon, snOMG) , and just when the Metro reopened today, we are expecting another 12 inches of snow in the next 24 hours. The good news – this has given me the time to finish my Best Practices Manual which will be posted on this site in the next couple weeks in its entirety; the bad news – many people, places and historic sites are confronting emergency and disaster situations.
Looking for my car on Chesapeake Avenue.
True White
The most popular blog I’ve written was one about how a snowstorm in Old Salem, North Carolina brought out the best in people and the features of a historic neighborhood. Well, it’s been no different here for me in the Cleveland Park/Forest Hills neighborhood of the District. We got 24” of snow here in 24 hours (February 5-6th) and even for an intrepid Buffalonian like me, this was extraordinary. My sister viewed my photos on Facebook and commented, “Come on, this doesn’t look real!” My beau and I spent a couple hours on Saturday digging my car out. This was the first year I decided NOT to keep my underground parking spot (“oh, it never snows here, I can save the $200 a month!”). When did DC become part of the snowbelt? Apparently both El Nino AND climate change are causing a one/two wallop here. But back to the shoveling – while we shoveled, at least 5 neighbors I never met came over to offer their help, their ideas and their support. And everyone rushed to the grocery stores – where even the massive crowds (our Whole Foods had to close the doors because they reached capacity) didn’t dampen the kindness we showed one another. But while the Blizzard of 2010 is bringing out the best of many of us in our neighborhoods, I want to remind everyone that this can also be a challenging and dangerous time. Below I’ve posted an abstract from Chapter 10 of my Best Practices Manual – “Disaster Planning.”
Confronting the Emergency or Disaster: the following abstract from my Best Practices Manual will be available in toto on this site in the next week or two (not sure when we’ll be able to get back to work and publication of the manual!)
Handling a Disaster or Emergency
How to respond and react when your site experiences an emergency or disaster: Disaster planning rule #1 – never endanger your life or someone else’s for a building, object or landscape feature. Disaster planning rule #2 – work in pairs, NEVER do anything alone.
Types of Emergencies
There are typically three general types of emergencies.
A. Minor to moderate, localized emergency within your site. This could be a fire, visitor illness or broken pipe, that only affects a specific place or location at your site.
B. Major disaster involving all or most of your institution. This could be a fire, flood, or electrical outage that causes a shutdown of the entire site.
C. Catastrophic event affecting your community and potential resources, such as a snowstorm, hurricane, or flood.
The following section has been inspired and adapted from Field Guide to Emergency Response: A Vital Tool for Cultural Institutions, prepared by Heritage Preservation in support of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force in 2006.
A "disaster" example - destruction of a shed at Belle Grove in Middletown, Virginia, last year after a wind storm.
Safety First!! When an emergency occurs, the first objective is to ensure that everyone is safe. Under no condition shall human life be endangered to save a building, landscape feature or collections item.
Stop, look and listen. Be alert to hazards such as downed power lines, frayed wires, and the smell or sound of leaking gas. Call 911!!
Never enter a damaged building or area alone or without the permission of authorities. Take a means of communication with you. Wear protective clothing. Depending on the specific emergency, you may need rubber boots, eyewear or safety glasses, gloves, hard hat and a N95 respirator mask.
Remain Calm
The shock of an emergency causes everybody to function at reduced capacity. Try to react calmly and deliberately to the situation and those around you. No one knows how he or she will react when confronted with an emergency, so be as supportive as you can to your colleagues and any visitors. Deep breathing will go a long way.
Think Ahead
After a major or widespread disaster, you probably won’t be able to get into the building/s or access your collections immediately. Use that time to get organized so when you re-enter the building, you can act more effectively. Don’t rush in to save treasured objects; assess the situation first and then make a plan. And don’t forget at all times to monitor the health and safety of your team! And if you do have an emergency – just remember, no one can ever imagine all of the possibilities. If all you are able to do is call 911, make sure everyone is safe, and call the insurance company, you have been successful.
Two great resources to help you get started preparing your disaster plan are:
Resources:
dPlan – www.dplan.org (free)
Field Guide to Emergency Response; https://www.heritagepreservation.org/catalog/product.asp?IntProdID=33
