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Being prepared is part of who you are,emergency preparedness is no different.Join #30days30waysUK, the nationalcampaign of fun preparednesschallenges. The games begin on 1stSeptember and anyone can take part!You can find out more on the websitewww.30days30waysuk.org.uk/
Emergency Preparedness concerns us alland here you will find easy, fun andengaging resources. Follow#30days30waysUK throughoutSeptember on social media.
Each day in September there will be adifferent preparedness topic and gamesor activities to play with points to score.It's fun, easy and FREE to join and thereare prizes to be won! Get a head startand join us today: LIKE@30days30waysUK on facebook andFOLLOW @30Days30WaysUK on twitter
When people talk about emergenciesyou may think of recent tragic eventssuch as the attacks on London andManchester, recent UK storms and
flooding, the Nepal earthquake, theIndonesian tsunami or other globaldisasters. What if we told you that beingprepared is not just for those head-linegrabbing incidents? Power cuts, watermain bursts, gas leaks, fires, transportstrikes, road closures etc. can happenany day. Taking proactive steps to bebetter prepared will help you not onlywith everyday emergencies but also withfar less likely incidents.
Join the #30days30waysUK preparednessgames.
Get better informed and preparedthrough fun activities and games for all.
Helping You To Help Yourselves
Newsletter of the Devon Community Resilience Forum Page 1
DEVON COMMUNITY RESILIENCE FORUM
Autumn 2017
Devon Community Resilience Forum
The Devon Community Resilience Forumwill be holding the next event on the22nd November at the Kenn Centre,Kennford, EX6 7UE. Key agencies fromacross Devon: the Police, Fire & RescueService, Environment Agency, DevonCounty Council and District Councils, willbe providing advice and workshops forcommunity respresentatives.
This will be the fifth event and promisesto build on the success of the previousfour events. Presentations will include:
• Setting up a community rest centre.
• Role of Police and Fire & RescueService.
• Community plan case studies.
• Community risk assessments.
• Running a community exercise.
• Writing a community emergencyplan.
For more information visit:
www.bit.ly/resilience-forum
Devon CommunityResilience Forum
#30days30waysUKBoost your resilience in 30 ways
IndividualsPersonal Preparedness | Parents & Carers
KidsPreparedness for children 3 to 12
SchoolsPreparedness resources for teachers
Page 2Newsletter of the Devon Community Resilience Forum
As summer recedes and autumn is uponus, we start to think aboutlighting ourfires. Devon & Somerset Fire & RescueService have the following advice:
Keep it clean
A clean chimney can help prevent firesand structural damage to your property.Regular cleaning of your chimney or flueswill eliminate the build up of soot andclear obstructions such as bird or animalnests, leaves and debris. You will alsoreduce emissions into the atmosphereby assisting the complete combustion ofthe fuel.
It is not sufficient to use a vacuumcleaner and you should ensure yourchimney flue is inspected regularly toprevent fires breaking out. Rememberthat fire guards can prevent seriousinjury or death and spark guards canprevent a serious fire.
Chimneys should be swept:
• at least once a year when usingsmokeless fuels.
• at least once a year when usingbituminous coal.
• every three months when usingwood.
• once a year when using oil.
• once a year when using gas.
Make sure you are not at risk fromcarbon monoxide poisoning by havingappliances installed and serviced bycompetent engineers, never block airbricks, vents or flues and fit a carbonmonoxide detector.
Prevention
Don’t use flammable liquids such aspetrol or paraffin to light your fire.
• Don’t burn paper or rubbish.
• Do not overload the fire with fuel.
Go into the loft occasionally, when thefire is alight, to check for smoke fromcracks, defective brickwork or mortarjoints.
If a chimney fire happens:
• Leave the room, close the doorand alert other people in the house
• Get out of the house, call 999 andask for the fire & rescue service
• Stay out until the fire and rescueservice arrive.
• Always ensure you have a workingsmoke alarm in your property.
Always use a competent chimney sweepwho is able toprovideyouwitha certificateupon completion of their work.
For more informationdownload the leafletwww.bit.ly/chimneyfiresafety
The Met Office has some useful advicefor preparing for winter herewww.bit.ly/MetOfficeWinter
Advice covers:
• Travel
• Your home in winter
• Staying well in winter
‘Get Ready for Winter’ is a campaign runand implemented by the Met Office onbehalf of Cabinet Office.
Get Ready for Winter joins up messagesfrom Government and voluntary sectorpartners to encourage individuals,
families and communities to think aboutwinter preparations they can make tohelp them stay warm, healthy and safe.
Members of the publicvisiting the Met Officewebsite for the latestweather forecast are able toaccess up-to-date expertadvice from carefullyselected organisations toensure they can prepare forand respond to the weather,to stay safe and protect theirproperty.
#chimneyfiresafetyweek
•
4 - 10September
Page 3Newsletter of the Devon Community Resilience Forum
Winters can be quite harsh, especiallywhen there is wind or rain involved. Eventhe most well-insulated house will have aproblem staying warm without theproper amount of heating. That is whyyou should pre - order your winter fuel,to make sure you always have a steadysupply on hand and never have to shiverthe night away due to low or no heatcoming into your home.
Besides the fear of you and the familyhaving to go to bed cold, another reasonto order early is to beat the rush. Manypeople forget to buy early, so they endup doing so at the last minute. Thiscreates a logjam for deliveries, it can alsodrives up the total price to buy.
Purchasing ahead in the summer maybethe last thing on your mind, however, bydoing it this way, you beat the rush andpossible ensure a better price too.
Some fuel suppliers may even offerdiscounts if you can team up with otherhouseholds that use the same fuel (gas,oil, coal or pellets), so you can team upwith them to place a bulk order to saveeven more money. If a truck can deliverto several houses in the same area onthe same day, they may offer an evendeeper discount, since transportationcosts will be lower with a single delivery.
The flu vaccinationWINTER 2017/18
What is flu? Isn’t it just a heavy cold?How will I know I’ve got it?
Flu occurs every year, usually in thewinter, which is why it’s sometimes calledseasonal flu. It’s a highly infectiousdisease with symptoms that come onvery quickly. Colds are much less seriousand usually start gradually with a stuffyor runny nose and a sore throat. A badbout of flu can be much worse than aheavy cold.
The most common symptoms of flu arefever, chills, headache, aches and painsin the joints and muscles, and extremetiredness. Healthy individuals usuallyrecover within two to seven days, but forsome the disease can lead tohospitalisation, permanent disability oreven death.
What causes flu?
Flu is caused by influenza viruses that
infect the windpipe and lungs. Andbecause it’s caused by viruses and notbacteria, antibiotics won’t treat it. If,however, there are complications fromgetting flu, antibiotics may be needed.
Flu is unpredictable. It is not possible topredict fully the strains that will circulateeach year, and there is always a risk of achange in the virus. However, this doesnot happen very often. During the lastten years the vaccine has generally beena good match for the circulating strains.The vaccine still provides the bestprotection available against anunpredictable virus that can cause severeillness.
The most likely viruses that will cause flueach year are identified in advance of theflu season in the UK and vaccines arethen made to match them as closely aspossible. The vaccines are given in theautumn ideally before flu startscirculating.
Flu vaccines protect against the mainthree or four types of flu virus most likelyto be circulating.
Who should consider having a fluvaccination?
All those who have any conditionlisted in the leaflet, or who are:• aged 65 years or over
• living in a residential or nursinghome
• the main carer of an older ordisabled person
• a household contact of animmunocompromised person
• a frontline health or social careworker
• pregnant (see the next section)• children of a certain age
For more information and to downloadthe Leaflet explaining the importance ofthe influenza (flu) vaccination this winter2017 to 2018, especially for those atincreased risk, visit:www.bit.ly/flu-2017-18
Winter fuel
Would you know what to do if theunthinkable happened and you foundyourself caught up in a Paris-style terrorattack?
Many of us like to think we would knowwhat to do but in the heat of themoment, quick decisions could mean thedifference between life or death.
Recent events in the UK and around theworld remind us all of the terrorist threatwe face, which in the UK is considered as‘SEVERE’, meaning an attack is highlylikely. Police and security agencies areworking tirelessly to protect the publicbut it is also important that communitiesremain vigilant and aware of how toprotect themselves if the need arises.
Devon and Cornwall Police are amongforces promoting a video campaign, thatoffers guidance on what actions to takein the event of a terror attack as Britainremains on severe terrorism alert.
The video (www.bit.ly/stay-safe-RHT) iscalled Run, Hide, Tell and advises on the
best way to survive such an atrocity.There is also a shorter animated 30second version of the film:www.bit.ly/30sec-RHT There is also a
version for holiday makers www.bit.ly/run-hide-tell-holiday and a leafletwww.bit.ly/run-hide-tell-leaflet
For assistance with communityEmergency Planning your first point ofcontact is your City, District or BoroughEmergency Planning Officer.
You will find them listed below forreference and remember they are all thereto help you!
Don't forget, the DevonCommunities Together website has lots ofuseful information for both individuals andcommunities:
8 www.devoncommunities.org.uk
8 What we do
8 Devon Community ResilienceForum
Editor - Dom Maxwell-Batten [email protected]
Mid Devon East Devon North Devon TeignbridgeSouth Hams/West Devon
Torridge Exeter
Amanda Palmer01271 388760
James Kershaw01803 861287
Gill Wheelright01392 [email protected]
Pam Harvey01395 516551pharvey@
eastdevon.gov.uk
Julia Ryder01884 234997
Further information and support
Page 4
Environment Agency www.gov.uk/flood
Consumer Council for Water www.ccwater.org.uk
National Flood Forum www.floodforum.org.uk
Blue Pages Directory www.bluepages.org.uk
Association of British Insurers www.abi.org.uk or 020 7600 3333
British Insurance Brokers Association www.biba.org.uk or 0870 950 1790
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors www.rics.org/flooding
Know Your Flood Risk campaign www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk
Floodline 0345 988 1188
Useful information:
CLEAR Plan www.dcisprepared.org.uk/a-clear-plan
Richard Haste01237 [email protected]
Stay Safe: Fire Arms andWeapons Attack
