In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the devastating impact of this disaster, the residents of Wantage Township have been contacting the municipal building with questions about how Wantage Township would handle an emergency situation that may involve the need for mass evacuation. Please accept the following information, in the hopes of answering your questions and providing you with the information you need to make sure that you, your family and your neighbors are best protected in the event of an emergency.

Q: DOES WANTAGE HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN?
A: YES. The State of New Jersey requires every municipality to have an Emergency Management Plan, which is sometimes referred to as the “Emergency Operations Plan” or the “Emergency Response Plan”. The Township Of Wantage is in compliance with this requirement. A Copy of the Plan is on file in the office of the Municipal Clerk.

Q: WHAT DOES THE PLAN SAY?
A: The State of New Jersey provides the format for all emergency management plans, and each town then provides its own, local information to create a written plan for all possible emergency situations.
The Wantage Emergency Management Plan consists of a Basic Plan, which explains how the municipality will respond to a disaster, and how it intends to meet the disaster-related needs of individuals and the community-at-large. After the basic plan, there are a series of Annexes, which are individual plans for specific emergency responses – for example, the Fire Annex, the Police Annex, the Radiological Annex, etc.

Q: WHAT ROLE DOES THE MAYOR PLAY IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT?
A: If the local emergency warrants it, either the Mayor or the Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC) has the power to enact an official “Declaration of Local Emergency”, which provides broad powers for local officials to provide the quickest possible response for the good of the community. The Declaration may also provide broad police powers to specific individual named in the proclamation, to implement the emergency response plan as quickly and efficiently as possible. If a Declaration of Local Emergency is made, it remains in effect until the Mayor or EMC provides a second declaration, ending the emergency on a specific date and time. Sometimes, in extreme situations, the declaration of a local emergency by a Mayor will provide justification for the town to seek recovery funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Usually, the decision to put an official Declaration of Emergency into place is made after discussion and agreement between the Mayor and the EMC.

Q: HOW DO WE KNOW “WHO’S IN CHARGE” DURING AN EMERGENCY?
A: Some emergencies are clear and simple on this point. The traditional “house fire” emergency response has a clear chain of command involving the Fire Department as the lead agency for response; automobile accidents are clearly a police-related command situation; etc.
A situation requiring “emergency management” refers to a situation where the scope of the problem is so large, that it will require the resources of more than one emergency response group, sometimes involving local, regional, county state and/or federal personnel, and will require on-site command coordination. The Emergency Operations Plan is for situations that could involve difference of opinion regarding “who’s in charge”.

Q: HOW DOES WANTAGE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL COMMUNICATE WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS AND COUNTY, STATE OR FEDERAL PERSONNEL?
A: If an emergency occurs on the county or state level, the county and/or state agencies will coordinate response activities with each local Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC). The Wantage Township EMC is Joe Konopinski. As the situation required, Joe would implement the appropriate emergency response plan for Wantage.

Q: DOES WANTAGE TOWNSHIP HAVE SHELTERS FOR THE USE OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC?
A: The Township Of Wantage does not have shelters that would accommodate mass relocation of the entire population of the Wantage general public. Nor, for that matter, would most any other town in the country. The scope of the Shelter Plan for the Township Of Wantage, as prepared within the Evacuation Annex of the EOP, is designed to accommodate the relocation of various sectors of the Township in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. The shelters include the High School, the Wantage School, and the Sussex Fire House, among others, but there is no shelter that is currently designed, constructed or equipped to house and handle thousands of people. Attempting to create such a shelter would be extraordinarily costly, require considerable time, and ultimately become a logistical nightmare in the event of an actual emergency, as people within Wantage – 67 square miles in size – as well as members of the public from surrounding communities, might attempt to reach such a shelter and place themselves in a situation of greater hazard than they would have faced if they had simply remained in their own homes, and taken the precautions that are being recommended by the State Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare for an emergency.

Q: COULD SITUATIONS OF MASS EVACUATION HAPPEN IN WANTAGE?
A: Evacuations are more common than many people realize. Hundreds of times each year in America, transportation and industrial accidents release harmful substances, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. Fires and floods cause evacuations even more frequently. And almost every year, people along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts evacuate in the face of approaching hurricanes.

In the Township of Wantage, the Wantage Fire Department in conjunction with the Wantage Office of Emergency Management is the lead agency responsible for carrying out evacuation functions within the Township. The Fire Department is supported by other municipal and volunteer agencies, including the New Jersey State Police, Wantage Public Works Department, Wantage First Aid Squad, and the Sussex County Sheriff’s Department.

When community evacuations become necessary, local officials provide information to the public through the media. In some circumstances other warning methods, such as sirens or telephone calls, are also used.

Government agencies, the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other disaster relief organizations provide emergency shelter and supplies. To be prepared for an emergency, you should have enough water, food, clothing and emergency supplies to last at least three days. In a catastrophic emergency, you might need to be self-sufficient for even longer.

The amount of time you have to evacuate will depend on the disaster. If the event can be monitored, like a hurricane, you might have a day or two to get ready. However, many disasters allow no time for people to gather even the most basic necessities. This is why you should prepare now.

Hazards which could require evacuation within Wantage Township are:

• Floods (along Clove Brook, Lake Neepaulin, and/or along the Wallkill River)
• Hazardous Materials Incidents: accidents or incidents at various facilities may require partial or full scale evacuation. This may include propane Refilling sites, areas of Chlorine Storage, and/or other chemical or manufacturing sites.
• Transportation Accidents: major roadways which might have accidents occur on them, which could lead to an evacuation being necessary, include State Highway Route 23, State Highway Route 284, County Route 565, and County Route 519.
• Airport: The Sussex Airport is located in Wantage Township, and an accident could create a need for a localized evacuation.
• Bioterrorism Threat: a point of main concern for the public in the 21st century. Some situations may develop where evacuation is called for, while others may develop in which your family’s safety would be best assured by “sheltering in place”, in the home. Communication will be the most important factor in responding to this emergency, so people will know if they should stay or if they should go.

Planning for Evacuation

1. The main identified routes for conducting an evacuation are State Highway Route 23, State Highway Route 284, County Highway Route 519 and County Highway Route 565.
   
   If you do not own a car, make transportation arrangements with friends or your local government. If you will need the assistance of Wantage Township in the event of an evacuation, the Township will make use of all available municipal trucks, Board of Education buses, private bus company resources, the New Jersey National Guard, and all other mutual aid resources at our disposal. Main staging areas for assisting people in the event of an evacuation are the Colesville Firehouse on Route 23, the Beemerville Firehouse on Route 519, and the Wantage Township Municipal Building on Route 23. If more staging areas become necessary to help people evacuate, Wantage Township will make use of the Wantage School on Route 23, the Church of the Good Shepherd on Route 23, and High Point Regional High School on Pigeon Hill Road. Make plans ahead of time to know the staging area closest to your home, so that you may travel to this location if you need assistance in an evacuation.
2. Talk with your household about the possibility of evacuation. Plan where you would go if you had to leave the community. Determine how you would get there. In your planning, consider different scales of evacuations. In a hurricane, for example, entire counties would evacuate, while a much smaller area would be affected by a chemical release.
3. Plan a place to meet your household in case you are separated from one another in a disaster. Ask a friend outside your town to be the “checkpoint” so that everyone in the household can call that person to say they are safe.
4. Find out where children will be sent if schools are evacuated. Again, this may vary depending on the nature and location of the emergency.
5. Assemble a disaster supplies kit. Include a battery-powered radio, flashlight, extra batteries, food, water and clothing.
6. Keep fuel in your car if an evacuation seems likely. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and unable to pump gas during power outages.
7. Know how to shut off your home’s electricity, gas and water supplies at main switches and valves. Have the tools you would need to do this (usually adjustable pipe and crescent wrenches).

What To Do When You Are Told to Evacuate
Notification of evacuation will be given to the affected population through local radio stations (WSUS-FM, WNNJ-FM), and on Service Electric Cable TV. Efforts will also be made through public address systems on public safety vehicles, and door-to-door canvassing. When advance notice can be given, local newspapers will also be utilized (New Jersey Herald).

During an emergency, listen to a battery-powered radio and follow local instructions. If the danger is a chemical release and you are instructed to evacuate immediately, gather your household and go. Take one car per household when evacuating. This will keep your household together and reduce traffic congestion and delay. In other cases, you may have time to follow these steps:

1. Gather water, food, clothing, emergency supplies, prescription medication and insurance and financial records.
2. Wear sturdy shoes and clothing that provides some protection, such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a cap.
3. Secure your home. Close and lock doors and windows. Unplug appliances. If a hard freeze is likely during your absence, take actions needed to prevent damage to water pipes by freezing weather, such as:
      • Turn off water main.
      • Drain faucets.
      • Turn off inside valves for external faucets and open the outside faucets to drain.
4. Turn off the main water valve and electricity, if instructed to do so.
5. Let others know where you are going.
6. Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
7. Follow recommended evacuation routes. Do not take shortcuts. They may be blocked. Be alert for washed-out roads and bridges. Do not drive into flooded areas. Stay away from downed power lines.
   
   Disaster situations can be intense, stressful, and confusing. Should an evacuation be necessary, we will do our best to notify the public, but do not depend entirely on this. Often, a disaster can strike with little or no warning, providing local authorities little time to issue an evacuation order. Also, it is possible that you may not hear of an evacuation order due to communications or power failure or not listening to your battery-powered radio.
   
   In the absence of evacuation instructions from local authorities, you should evacuate if you feel you and your household are threatened or endangered. Use pre-designated evacuation routes and let others know what you are doing and your destination.

Shelter
Taking shelter is often a critical element in protecting yourself and your household in times of disaster. Sheltering can take several forms. In-place sheltering is appropriate when conditions require that you seek protection in your home, place of employment, or other location where you are located when disaster strikes. In-place sheltering may either be short-term, such as going to a safe room for a fairly short period while a tornado warning is in effect or while a chemical cloud passes. It may also be longer-term, as when you stay in your home for several days without electricity or water services following a winter storm. We also use the term “shelter” for Mass Care facilities that provide a place to stay along with food and water to people who evacuate following a disaster.

The appropriate steps to take in preparing for and implementing short-term in-place sheltering depend entirely on the emergency situation. For instance, during a tornado warning you should go to an underground room, if such a room is available. During a chemical release, on the other hand, you should seek shelter in a room above ground level.

Long-Term In-Place Sheltering
Sometimes disasters make it unsafe for people to leave their residence for extended periods. Winter storms, floods, and landslides may isolate individual households and make it necessary for each household to take care of its own needs until the disaster abates, such as when snows melt and temperatures rise, or until rescue workers arrive. Your household should be prepared to be self-sufficient for three days when cut off from utilities and from outside supplies of food and water.

1. Stay in your shelter until local authorities say it’s okay to leave. The length of your stay can range from a few hours to two weeks.
2. Maintain a 24-hour communications and safety watch. Take turns listening for radio broadcasts. Watch for fires.
3. Assemble an emergency toilet, if necessary.

• Use a garbage container, pail or bucket with a snug-fitting cover. If the container is small, use a larger container with a cover for waste disposal. Line both containers with plastic bags.
• After each use, pour or sprinkle a small amount of regular household disinfectant, such as chlorine bleach, into the container to reduce odors and germs.

Managing Water Supplies
Water is critical for survival. Plan to have about one gallon of water per person per day for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. You may need more for medical emergencies.

1. Allow people to drink according to their need. The average person should drink between two and two-and-one-half quarts of water or other liquids per day, but many people need more. This will depend on age, physical activity, physical condition and time of year.
2. Never ration water unless ordered to do so by authorities. Drink the amount you need today and try to find more for tomorrow. Under no circumstances should a person drink less than one quart of water each day. You can minimize the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.
3. Drink water that you know is not contaminated first. If necessary, suspicious water, such as cloudy water from regular faucets or muddy water from streams or ponds, can be used after it has been treated. If water treatment is not possible, put off drinking suspicious water as long as possible, but do not become dehydrated.
4. In addition to stored water, other sources include:
   • Melted ice cubes.
   • Water drained from the water heater faucet, if the water heater has not been damaged.
   • Water dipped from the flush tanks (not the bowls) of home toilets. Bowl water can be used for pets.
   • Liquids from canned goods such as fruit and vegetable juices.
5. Carbonated beverages do not meet drinking-water requirements. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol dehydrate the body, which increases the need for drinking water.
6. If water pipes are damaged or if local authorities advise you, turn off the main water valves to prevent water from draining away in case the water main breaks.
   • The pipes will be full of water when the main valve is closed.
   • To use this water, turn on the faucet at the highest point in your house (which lets air into the system).
   • Then draw water, as needed, from the lowest point in your house, either a faucet or the hot water tank.
7. Unsafe water sources include:
   • Radiators.
   • Hot water boilers (home heating system).
   • Water beds (fungicides added to the water or chemicals in the vinyl may make water unsafe to use).
   • Swimming pools and spas (chemicals used in them to kill germs are too concentrated for safe drinking,
      but can be used for personal hygiene, cleaning and related uses).

Water treatment
Treat all water of uncertain purity before using it for drinking, food washing or preparation, washing dishes, brushing teeth or making ice. In addition to having a bad odor and taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis.

There are many ways to treat water. None is perfect. Often the best solution is a combination of methods. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom, or strain them through layers of clean cloth.

Boiling is the safest method of treating water.

• Boiling water kills harmful bacteria and parasites. Bringing water to a rolling boil for 1 minute will kill most organisms. Let the water cool before drinking.
• Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring it back and forth between two containers.

This will also improve the taste of stored water.

Water treatment “purification” tablets release chlorine or iodine. They are inexpensive and available at most sporting goods stores and some drugstores. Follow the package directions carefully. NOTE: People with hidden or chronic liver or kidney disease may be adversely affected by iodized tablets and may experience worsened health problems as a result of ingestion. Iodized tablets are safe for healthy, physically fit adults and should be used only if you lack the supplies for boiling, chlorination and distillation.

Distillation involves boiling water and collecting the vapor that condenses back to water. The condensed vapor may include salt or other impurities.

• Fill a pot halfway with water.
• Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup hangs right side up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water).
• Boil for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.

1. It is important to be sanitary when storing, handling and eating food.
   • Keep food in covered containers.
   • Keep cooking and eating utensils clean.
   • Keep garbage in closed containers and dispose outside. Bury garbage, if necessary.
      Avoid letting garbage accumulate inside, both for fire and sanitation reasons.
   • Keep hands clean. Wash frequently with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected.
      Be sure to wash:
       – Before preparing or eating food.
       – After toilet use.
       – After participating in flood cleanup activities.
       – After handling articles contaminated with floodwater or sewage.
2. Carefully ration food for everyone except children and pregnant women. Most people can remain relatively healthy with about half as much food as usual and can survive without any food for several days.
3. Try to avoid foods high in fat and protein, since they will make you thirsty. Try to eat salt-free crackers, whole grain cereals and canned foods with high liquid content.
4. For emergency cooking, heat food with candle warmers, chafing dishes and fondue pots, or use a fireplace. Charcoal grills and camp stoves are for outdoor use only.
5. Commercially canned food can be eaten out of the can without warming. Before heating food in a can, remove the label, thoroughly wash the can, and then disinfect them with a solution consisting of one cup of bleach in five gallons of water, and open before heating. Re-label your cans, including expiration date, with a marker.
     • Do not eat foods from cans that are swollen, dented or corroded
        even though the product may look okay to eat.
     • Do not eat any food that looks or smells abnormal, even if the can looks normal.
     • Discard any food not in a waterproof container if there is any chance that it has come into contact with
       contaminated floodwater.
     • Food containers with screw-caps, snap-lids, crimped caps (soda pop bottles), twist caps, flip tops,
       snap-open, and home canned foods should be discarded if they have come into contact with floodwater
       because they cannot be disinfected. For infants, use only pre-prepared canned baby formula. Do not use
       powdered formulas with treated water.
6. Your refrigerator will keep foods cool for about four hours without power if it is left unopened. Add block or dry ice to your refrigerator if the electricity will be off longer than four hours.
   
   Thawed food usually can be eaten if it is still “refrigerator cold,” or re-frozen if it still contains ice crystals. To be safe, remember, “When in doubt, throw it out.” Discard any food that has been at room temperature for two hours or more, and any food that has an unusual odor, color, or texture.
   
   If you are without power for a long period:
     • Ask friends to store your frozen foods in their freezers if they have electricity.
     • Inquire if freezer space is available in a store, church, school, or
       commercial freezer that has electrical service.
     • Use dry ice, if available. Twenty-five pounds of dry ice will keep a ten-cubic-foot freezer below freezing for
       3-4 days. Use care when handling dry ice, and wear dry, heavy gloves to avoid injury.

Staying in a Mass Care Shelter
The American Red Cross and Salvation Army, assisted by community and other disaster relief groups, work with local authorities to set up public shelters in schools, municipal buildings and churches. While they often provide water, food, medicine and basic sanitary facilities, you should plan to have your own supplies as well—especially water.

1. Cooperate with shelter managers and others staying in the shelter. Living with many people in a confined space can be difficult and unpleasant.
2. Restrict smoking to designated areas that are well-ventilated. Ensure that smoking materials are disposed of safely.
3. If you go to an emergency shelter, remember that alcoholic beverages and weapons are prohibited in shelters. Pets, except for service animals, are also not allowed in public shelters.