Mapleton City forms new preparedness committee

In November of 2022, Mapleton City held the inaugural meeting of its new Mapleton City Community Preparedness Committee. This committee’s mission is to prepare citizens to confidently respond to emergencies and disasters.

Under the direction of the Mapleton City Public Safety Director and Police Chief John Jackson, the committee will serve as a volunteer extension of the Mapleton City Public Safety Department.

This committee is dedicated to being a touchstone and organizer for public service organizations, religious groups and volunteers to identify issues of citizen concern and coordinate existing entities under the umbrella of the city organization to more fully inform and encourage citizen emergency preparedness.

The committee is made up of volunteers with various skill sets, spheres of influence, concerns and interests. It will work to provide education, training, event support, fundraising, strategic planning and advocacy.

Its members are Paul Budrow, Sue Dyle, Donna Ferguson, Melanie Bott, Phillip Kleinman, Rhodri Purcell, David Bailey and Steve Hatchett. Mapleton City Council Member Jessica Egbert serves as the city council liaison.

Among many other activities, the Community Preparedness Committee will specifically support the Mapleton Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT), coordinate the block captain program and educate citizens on preparing households, organizations and animals for natural disasters and emergencies.

Supporting CERT includes encouraging local residents to become CERT trained. The CERT program is a national FEMA-supported, locally implemented initiative that teaches people how to better prepare themselves to respond to hazards that may affect their communities.

The ability for CERT volunteers to perform these activities frees up professional responders to focus their efforts on more complex, essential and critical tasks. CERT training covers team management, basic fire prevention and suppression, light search and rescue skills, and first aid.

With a consistent, standardized nationwide curriculum, CERT volunteers can be trained in one city and serve in another city with locally specific updates. Trainees spend seven weeks in specific hands-on training. The training culminates in a mock mass casualty disaster simulation where volunteers serve as victims so CERT trainees can practice their skills on them.

The training is fast-paced and engaging and appropriate for ages 15 through older adults. CERT volunteers can be called upon to serve in various capacities such as at community events and in public safety support and education. The training is free, but there is a small charge for the basic gear that is furnished. Classes are taught twice a year. Send an email to CERT@mapleton.org for dates and details.

Another area of focus for the commit- tee is to strongly encourage ALL citizens and Mapleton businesses to sign up for the city’s citizen alert system so they are properly notified in an emergency. Through this system, residents receive notifications, instructions and follow-up information in the event of an emergency in their area.

The citizen alert program is a key component of Mapleton City’s emergency response, yet only about one third of Mapleton’s citizens have signed up for this free service. It takes only a minute or two and a cell phone to sign up; to do so, go to the “I want to” tab at mapleton.org and then click on “Get emergency alerts.”

If you have concerns or suggestions for items that you’d like to see addressed by this citizen volunteer board, please let one of the committee members know. They will be responsive. Citizen grassroots interest and training is vital to the interest of Mapleton City as the city grows larger and its emergency needs widen. Citizen engagement and communication is paramount to seeing that concerns and needs are being addressed.