Latest Updates

Severe weather or an earthquake WILL create these Vashon conditions: The power out for days or longer Homes damaged, some roads closed Phones not working well or at all Vashon Island Fire & Rescue overwhelmed Ferries stop serving Vashon – docks may be damaged or the boats needed elsewhere Gas, supplies and groceries not arriving from the mainland Families separated – some folks stranded off-island; many folks can’t get to work Learn the ropes to be resilient – not to mention well-fed! Four hours packed with resources, advice & island...

Thanks to All Who Participated What a team! How is it possible that so many people can work together for four days and achieve so much?

The answer: It's what Vashon is all about, isn't it? Neighbors helping neighbors.

Many thanks to everyone who came to "play" in Vashon's Cascadia Rising earthquake exercise.

We had many new faces and our mailing list (http://goo.gl/qk7zTf)...

Best practice: get informed about local hazards, and how to mitigate them for your home and neighborhood.

Best practice: celebrate milestones together, and reward outstanding accomplishments!

After some 7 years in a conference room in VIFR’s main Station 55, the Vashon Emergency Operations Center (EOC) may be relocated next year to the VIFR Association Building across the street. Slightly larger, the room would be shared with King County...

 

Nearly a hundred islanders took part in the regional Evergreen Quake on June 5th & 6th at the Vashon Emergency Operations Center.

It was fairly historic for a number of reasons:

- Initial test of Operation Lifeline (King County’s redirecting their passenger ferry or hiring a barge – to support emergency needs on Vashon) - The Planning Section has adopted the standard ICS Planning Clock - and had the 1st real run-though of this during a major exercise - The Public Information Team...

As mentioned at last night’s annual meeting, preparedness efforts on Vashon made strong strides over the past year. These successes are only partially due to VashonBePrepared’s efforts, and mainly by our various partners, including some independent accomplishments by others in our community. Here’s the listing presented:

Business Neighborhood Emergency Response Organization created, numerous meetings led by Vashon Chamber of Commerce Enhanced relations with King County Office of Emergency Management: Operation Lifeline - Plan & contract for hiring a barge or dedicated ferry to shuttle supplies if normal ferry operations are down MOU with Vashon Island School District to serve as a Disaster Campus MOU with Camp Burton to house disaster workers from off island Vashon integration w/ county computer alerting/management systems Enhanced integration of CERT & MRC & EOC Team with VIFR ops Disaster Emergency Response Trailer...

VashonBePrepared is celebrating our 5th anniversary by sponsoring two of the state's foremost experts on Vashon's unique earthquake and tsunami risks. Recent scientific reports, a number based on lessons from Japan's devastating Tōhoku...

The new Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) district cook book, “What’s Cookin’ at VIFR” is now here! Find a wide variety of savory and sweet treats inside with names such as Hanks’s Homemade Salsa, Duey’s Margarita, Milt’s Rib Roast for 1,000, and the infamous “Mom’s Hamburger and Biscuit Thing”! There are sections on appetizers, soups & salads, main dishes, breads and rolls, desserts, cookies and candy, and ‘this & that’.

The...

Over the last year Debi Richards, the Vashon Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Director has been thinking about how to encourage businesses to get better...

The residents of Vashon and all the volunteers and organizations under the VashonBePrepared banner were honored Friday, September 30th by King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott - the final day of National Preparedness Month. As described by the actual 2011 King County Executive Award for Community Preparedness, and by the official King County press release, the award was to the entire community and emphasized the many contributors to Vashon’s preparedness. The Carnation-Duvall Citizen Corps Council was likewise lauded with a similar award.

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On September 30th, King County Executive Dow Constantine presented the citizens of Vashon and the organizations that comprise VashonBePrepared with his 2011 Award for Community Preparedness as noted in the King County press release and my comments on...

Sept. 30, 2011

Two King County organizations honored...

John Galus will give an Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) to VIFR firefighters and EMTs at VIFR Fire Station 55 at 7 PM(?) on July 5th.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

For details on the Western Washington Section see: www.arrl.org/Groups/view/western-washington or wwa.arrl.org. Washington State ARES info is at: www.wastateares.org

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Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Recruit Video









Vashon's Jojo has produced a great new video aimed at helping recuit volunteers to help the community with the vital work of fighting fires & helping provide medical help. Congratulations!

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VashonBePrepared is delighted to partner with the Vashon Island School District (VISD). We added them about a month ago to our list of key partners (see list with their logos on our home page), in recognition of their vital role in the island’s disaster preparedness and response roles.

In reality, the VISD have long been an informal partner, through their participation...

Susan Wolf, Linda Hamilton & Barb Cooper have been working to collect recipes for a cookbook, the sales of which will go towards providing an Explorer scholarship.  Everyone is encouraged to submit a recipe toward this great cause! Though no publishing date has yet been set, you can check with Barbara Cooper at 463-2405 for the latest information, and to reserve your copies.

At their 2010 Awards Ceremony yesterday at Camp Burton, the Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s 2010 Commissioners Award was bestowed upon VashonBePrepared. Fire Commissioners Rex Stratton, Gayle Summers, Ron Turner, David Hoffmann and Neal Phillip presented the award to General Joseph Ulatoski, Catherine and Michael Cochrane, Richard Wallace and myself on VashonBePrepared’s behalf. The award was clearly in recognition of all the volunteers...

Thanks to Phil W7PDZ, Tim W7TRH, Jim WA7KYI & VIFR’s Bob Larsen...

Yes, 2012! More is to come, and you can consult Chief Lipe or Exercise Czar Rick Wallace for all the details, but for now please just add the following dates to next year’s calendar:

2012 Exercise Series Functional Exercise: June 5-6 Logistics Drill: June 12-14 Recovery TTX: August 15 & 22 Overview Evergreen Quake is a series of three exercises that is intended to test the ability of local, state, federal and tribal governments, as well as select private sector entities located within the eight-county...

At the 2/8 refresher, Rick & Deb Brown of VIFR kindly came with their daughter and helped local Vashon CERT members practice first aid and bandaging techniques on each other – including participant Rex Stratton. Here are a few photos (click on them to open larger pictures):



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NOTE: Vashon EOC and CERT volunteers are generally NOT Emergency Responders, so do not attend the following presuming you’ll be ready to jump into action locally! Instead consider this as a way to learn what the professionals will be doing and use the opportunity to learn the proper vocabulary and potential situations that can arise around this type of accident.

There are openings still available for July/September Emergency Responder Training The course provides information firefighters, police and other emergency response personnel will find useful when confronted with an incident involving natural gas or high-voltage power-lines. The half-day training session will provide an overview of the properties, equipment and emergency procedures necessary to identify hazards and reduce the risk to people and property. Program format will include classroom instruction using energized high-voltage equipment and video re-enactments of natural gas incidents and response scenarios. Training held at PSE's Seattle...