2009 News

January 6, 2009

Commissioners to Bucks Countians: Now’s The Time! Resolve To Be Ready In 2009

Nearly 50 percent of Americans will make at least one resolution as they begin the New Year. The Bucks County Commissioners, Jim Cawley, Charles H. Martin and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, are joining with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force (SEPA RTF) and Bucks County Emergency Management Agency to encourage residents to make a resolution that is both important and easy to keep: preparing for emergencies.

Emergency Management Agency Director John Dougherty urges residents to ask themselves, “Are you and your family prepared for an emergency? If you had to stay in your home for a few days, would you have what you need to stay safe, comfortable and healthy? If you had to leave your home suddenly, without time to pack anything, would you be ready to go? The time to start planning for an emergency is not in the middle of one. In an emergency, you’re either ready… or you’re not.”

In a national survey conducted by the Ad Council, 91 percent of Americans agreed that taking some simple steps to prepare could help protect themselves and their families in the event of an emergency. However, only 54 percent had taken at least one of the three steps recommended by the Ready Campaign, including getting an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan, and being informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur.

To learn how to prepare your family for all types of emergencies, visit www.readyregion.org. There are links to useful forms and checklists that you can use, to make your resolution even easier to stick to. 

Residents can receive important emergency messages to your mobile phone or email by subscribing to ReadyNotifyPA at www.ReadyNotifyPA.org.  The SEPA RTF program is free and simple to use. Text message fees from wireless carriers may apply.

Now’s the time.  Resolve to be READY in 2009.