communities and harm

Today I met a friend in fire service colleague for another “lunch and chat session” at Sokolata. one of our nice eateries in South Charleston, West Virginia. Whenever I finish one of these sit downs with Chris Collins, a lieutenant with the St. Albans (W.Va) Fire Department whose current job is that of Fire Marshal, I come away refreshed and excited about the fire service again. See, Chris is pretty much a “one man band” as the Fire Marshall doing fire safety inspections, code enforcement, fire investigations, and public fire and life safety education presentations. And he does all that with a level of commitment, passion, and enthusiasm that I wish I could bottle and sell!

In the words of noted public safety risk reduction expert, Gordon Graham, “Predictable is preventable.” What are you and your family doing to prepare yourselves to “rough it” when a disaster strikes your community? Don’t just think about it. Do something about it!

With increased tourism comes a greater life safety risk when a major emergency, like a wildfire or hurricane, threatens a resort community. While the local population may be informed, and educated based on their experience as full-time residents, tourists are living temporarily in an “unknown” land.