In Case of Emergency
EMERGENCY INSTRUCTIONS
In the event of a medical or property-threatening emergency, DIAL 911
In the event of a general emergency, such as an ice storm, see below:
These instructions are intended for interim use during the review and update process of the Emergency and Preparedness Plan for Clermont.
Please keep this information in an accessible place so that it can be easily found when you need it.
- If the emergency does NOT include a loss of power, call 518 537-6868. This is the main number at the Town Hall, and the recorded message will be updated as quickly as possible after Supervisor Raymond Staats has declared an emergency, with instructions for how and where to receive information and aid.
- If the emergency DOES include a loss of power, call Supervisor Raymond Staats' office telephone number: 518 537 5526. Supervisor Staats has generator power at this location and will update the recorded message with emergency instructions as quickly as is possible after he has declared a town emergency.
During the December ice storm and power outage, it was clear that Clermont's Fire Company and Clermont's Highway Department are prepared to function in an emergency, but the Town of Clermont is not. Many fundamental elements of the existing Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) are not in place, for example:
Our main Town of Clermont telephone number did not function because the battery back-up for the telephone system is inadequate.
The Town Hall Command Center, as designated by the 2005 Emergency Preparedness Plan, does not have and has never had a generator and was therefore without power.
Our designated Main Shelter, Fire Station #2 on 9G, has sufficient generator power to operate minimally as a fire station, but not to operate as a shelter.
Our agreement with the Carmelite Sisters, our designated overnight shelter, has not been updated since 1962.
The December storm underscored the immediate urgency for addressing communication issues and problems with designated shelter facilities. These Temporary Emergency Instructions, effective immediately, provide working phone numbers (essential in an emergency), while shelter sites are being evaluated, and their needs assessed and addressed. A comprehensive, updated emergency plan also requires a careful review and update of all of the other aspects of the present EPP. This effort involves input and cooperation from all EPP personnel, other agencies (e.g. the American Red Cross), and the community.
Submitted by Councilwoman Dianne O'Neal