Family Emergency Preparedness Day for National Preparedness Month
Free, family event features information, demonstrations, and activities for all ages.
To celebrate September as National Preparedness Month, more than 45 public safety agencies, nonprofits, and utilities will join together for the 18th Annual Family Emergency Preparedness Day on Saturday, September 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Brecknock County Park, 80 Old Camden Road, Camden, Delaware. There is no cost to attend and free parking is available onsite. There is no rain date.
The event offers attendees a chance to meet first responders and public safety experts in a fun, friendly environment where families can find a wealth of information and resources to promote emergency preparedness and help them “make a plan, build a kit, and stay informed” by visiting PrepareDE.org. The first 500 people to complete an activity challenge can earn a free treat from Kona Ice.
Family Emergency Preparedness Day is sponsored by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), Kent County Parks and Recreation, Kent County Department of Public Safety, Delaware State Fire School, and the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Office of Preparedness.
Kids of all ages can meet Smokey Bear (Delaware Forest Service) and Sparky the Fire Dog (Delaware State Fire School) or take a ride on the Jump on Over Mini-Train. The Camden-Wyoming Fire Company will demonstrate a live vehicle extrication to show how first responders can free occupants trapped in a car. Bayhealth Healthcare will conduct sessions on how to “Stop the Bleed” and Kent County EMS will provide “Hands Only CPR” training. The Delaware State Police will showcase its maritime scuba trailer, mounted patrol, and K-9 unit. Chesapeake Utilities and Delmarva Power trailers will demonstrate gas and electrical safety while the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement invites the public to try its Impaired/Distracted Driver Simulator. The public can also explore heavy equipment and emergency apparatus from numerous local fire companies and EMS agencies, including ladder trucks, engines, ambulances, and the Christiana Care Life Net helicopter.
Numerous public agencies and nonprofits will be on hand to inform the public about their many services and resources, including Dover Air Force Base, Delaware 2-1-1, DNREC (hazardous materials), DelDOT (drones), Delaware Office of Highway Safety, DPH Office of Animal Welfare, Delaware Animal Response, Dover/Kent MPO, Delaware Department of Corrections, Kent County Amateur Radio Emergency Services, St. Francis Hospital, YWCA, and many more (see list below).
National Preparedness Month
Launched in 2004, National Preparedness Month (NPM) is FEMA’s national annual preparedness outreach as part of FEMA’s Ready Campaign. In conjunction with the Ad Council, NPM aims to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks. National Preparedness Month culminates on September 30 with National Preparedness Day. The 2024 theme is “Start a Conversation.”
The importance of being prepared for emergencies is underscored by the FEMA National Household SurveyOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader, an annual snapshot of how well families are prepared for disasters and emergencies. The 2023 responses indicated 51 percent of adults believe they were prepared for a disaster and 57 percent had taken three or more preparedness actions in the last year. The results offered both encouragement and a need to take more action: there was a large increase in the percentage of people who assembled or updated supplies, but also a large decrease in the percentage of people who signed up for alerts and warnings. Only 50 percent of respondents believed that preparing can help in a disaster and were confident in their ability to prepare.