| County EMA holds large-scale shelter drill, with pets welcomed |
| By Alison Aloisio |
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| READY FOR THE PETS—A practice exercise to set up an emergency shelter at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School took place Sunday. Here, James Morrison, a member of the Community Animal Response Team (CART), prepares cages to house dogs and cats during the two-hour event.
Photo by Alison Aloisio
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Last Sunday, the Oxford County Emergency Management Agency conducted a disaster shelter drill at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.
Had the recent train derailment in Gilead and the tornado in Paris happened in slightly different locations, said EMA director Scott Parker, the exercise might have turned into reality.
“If the train derailment had happened in Bethel — we dodged a bullet,” he said Tuesday. “And if the tornado had been half a mile south and east, it would have been in downtown Paris. We could have been doing some serious sheltering after those events.”
As it was, the drill “event” was an ice storm, a disaster that many local residents dealt with for real in 1998.
Oxford Hills was set up with 100 cots, a play area for kids, dozens of crates for dogs and cats, a food canteen, a health service center and other resources.
Fifty volunteers staffed the “shelter.” They represented such organizations as the American Red Cross, the Oxford County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Community Animal Response Team (CART) and the Amateur Radio Emergency System team (ARES).
Police, ambulance and fire personnel also participated.
About two dozen people and a dozen dogs and cats played the role of displaced victims. The volunteer staff checked them in, took medical and contact information and directed them to the resources available in the building.
“It went great. It was the best exercise in sheltering we’ve had so far,” said Parker.
Other drills have taken place in recent years in other parts of the county.
Telstar High School is a designated shelter for the Bethel area. Parker said he expects a practice exercise to take place there in another year. |
