City of Oldsmar, Florida Disaster Prep, 31 Dec 2015

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From YouTube: Prepare to Survive - El Niño | Staying Safe

Description

During this El Niño season, flooded roads and downed power lines are just a few of the hazards Pinellas County residents may encounter. In this special edition of Prepare to Survive, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Chief Craig Maciuba and Pinellas County Sheriff Cpl. Spencer Gross talk about how to stay safe in the home and on the road during severe weather. Pinellas County Animal Services Director Doug Brightwell also explains how to prepare your pet for flooding at home or in an emergency evacuation.

Check out all six segments of Prepare to Survive – Special Edition El Niño here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2oRjtRi088Dl-HLroX7jEoovAg1mlvnf

For more information on El Niño, visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/El-Nino.htm

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Libby: welcome back., I'm libby bolling with pinellas county communications.. We've been talking about the possible effects of el nino this winter and spring,, including colder-than-normal temperatures,.

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Heavy rain, and possible flooding.

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joining me now to talk about how to keep you and your family safe.

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Is chief craig maciuba with palm harbor fire rescue.

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Thank you for joining us. craig: certainly. libby:, corporal spencer gross with the pinellas county, sheriff's office. thank you, spencer, for joining us. spencer: thank you., libby: and because pets are part of the family, too, doug.

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Brightwell, bureau director at pinellas county animal services.

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doug: thank you. libby: thank you, gentlemen, for joining us today.

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now, chief maciuba,, with the cold weather that they are.

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Anticipating this winter and spring,, you know, here in.

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Florida, we don't have much heating, requirements, obviously,.

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But people pull out the space heaters..

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What should people be mindful of?, craig:, well, particular with space heaters or ancillary.

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Heating is to ensure that, a, if it is an electric and plugged.

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In, that that cord is in good shape.

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It's not cracked or has any kind of wear and tear that might.

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Cause some kind of ground fault or short.

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additionally, it's to keep the space heaters away from.

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Combustible materials., so the standard is three feet away from bedding materials,.

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Drapery, carpets, toys,, whatever it may be.

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That's kind of the target with all of ancillary heating is a.

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Three-Foot source. certainly,: you want to seek a heater that is ul certified and.

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Has been certified by some third-party agency,, whether it.

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Be electric or fuel-fired, what have you.

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And that helps ensure that it meets some higher level of.

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Libby: and typically when we first turn on our heating.

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System,, if we have central heat,, that smell comes up.

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And people get concerned about that.. Can you talk about that?.

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Craig: yeah, definitely. over a year of running the air-conditioner -- here,. Our air-conditioning units are the same as our heating units,.

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And the dust just builds up on the coils within the unit.

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And when the heat strip in the unit is turned on,, it burns off.

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The dust that has built up on those coils.

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So for the first few hours, or so that a heating source like that.

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Is used, it does give a smoke smell, and people are concerned.

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That there might be a fire. and certainly we can check it. Out.

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Libby: um-hum. now,, with this possible threatening weather,. We can.

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Also lose power.

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and people might resort to using candles, and things like that in.

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Their home., what are some safety concerns? There? craig: well, candles would be the same. Thing.

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You want to keep it away from combustible materials.. You want to make sure, of course, children can't access it and knock it over..

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There are certain fuel-fired,, such as oil or gels, space.

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Heaters. and those, again,, you want to make sure they're --. There are pretty newer units that have the safety features built in,. So if.

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It's knocked over,, it automatically shuts off.

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Inspect and make sure that it's working, properly. and, again, keep it away from any combustibles.

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Libby: um-hum. and with heavy rain this winter we might get,. We've had some.

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Flooding issues., and I know that the heavy rain event we had last summer in july.

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And august, palm harbor fire rescue went in and helped.

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Evacuate people in different areas.

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What should people think about if they are seeing floodwaters.

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Craig: well, one,, certainly based on this summer, people, should realize that they are susceptible to rising waters.

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And when they see that occurring is to get out as quickly as.

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Possible before it gets to a point where it's unsafe to walk.

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Through or drive through. there are all kinds of hazards under the water that you cannot.

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See and hazards within the water,, whether they be contaminants or electric sources,. What have you.

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So the key is really as soon as you realize it's happening,.

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You have to evacuate.

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Libby: corporal gross,, with the thought of heavy rain, that.

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We might experience this winter and spring,. Can you give us some.

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Advice about how to stay safe when we're moving around, when.

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We're driving out in this kind of weather?

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spencer: well, our main concern for the safety of the.

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Drivers on the pinellas county roadways would definitely be.

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Flooding, standing water., whether it be standing water or moving water,. We like to use the.

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National weather service logo "turn around don't drown.".

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We attribute that to -- more than half of the deaths.

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Attributed to flooding result to people who are trapped inside.

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Their vehicles., that is a good slogan to live by,, especially when you're.

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Traveling on the roadways- and you see standing water,. If you can't see the depth and determine what the depth of the water is,, you should turn around and use an alternate route.

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Take a different, -- or not even drive at all.

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You know, take shelter in a situation with inclement weather. and if you must drive, be cognizant of your speed.

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We would suggest that people drive slower in weather, where.

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There are issues with rain and visibility.

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Libby:, because a vehicle is amazingly, buoyant, isn't it?.

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Spencer: it is, yeah.

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When a vehicle enters water,, it could be up to 18 to.

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24 inches of water., the buoyancy force of the water can lift the vehicle up off the.

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Ground where the tires are not even touching the roadway.

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And that's where the safety concern is.

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the vehicle for some time will float.

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and that's where we see fatalities where vehicles can be.

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Swept off the roadway.

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Libby: and we've seen it in the news., I mean,, you see it all the time where flooding in, I think,.

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Texas and people's vehicles are swept away, and they are having.

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To rescue them by air and risking other people's lives.

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Well,, that's very good advice. well, doug,, our most important members of the family, --.

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Our pets., how can we prepare our pets in case,, you know,, our homes are.

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Threatened,, let's say, with flood or we experience some.

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Heavier-Than-Normal rainfall, tornadoes?.

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Anything we need to understand about our pets in those.

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Doug: absolutely. any precautions that you're going to take for your family members,. Any preparations for your family members, make those same preparations for your pets.. If you have to stockpile food or medications for a few days,, do.

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That for your pets and have leashes and a collar and a.

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Kennel available, so that, if you do need to evacuate,, you've got the ability to take your pet with you.. Never leave them in place, because if the situation is that.

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Dangerous,, no one can go back in to rescue the pet., so you don't want to leave them unintended in the home.. Take them with you when you evacuate. libby:, and I understand that pinellas county did assist.

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Victims of flooding by helping them house their pets for a.

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Short amount of time?.

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Doug: yes, ma'am. during the rain event, when we had a couple of families who went to the shelter,, we housed their pets in our facility, while.

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They were at the shelter until they could get back to more permanent housing.

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Libby:, so if a shelter is open,, there are pet-friendly.

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Shelters, aren't there? doug: for a mass evacuation,. There will be pet-friendly.

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Shelters. for a small-scale,, just one shelter opening,, we would provide service where we would go and take the pet from the shelter where the family is and house them in our facility. Temporarily. libby:, all right.

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Well, thank you, gentlemen, for being with us today.

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We really appreciate all the advice that you've given us.

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If you'd, like more information about safety and preparing for our possible el nino, weather,.

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