Red Cross, Rural/Metro provide emergency tips

Yuma-area residents were given important information about how to prepare for natural disasters, and what services are available to them in the case of emergencies, during an open house at Rural/Metro Fire Station 2 on Friday.

The event was presented through a partnership between the American Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter and Rural/Metro Fire Department.

Event organizers also learned “what the community is looking for, expecting, and what they are interested in” concerning disaster preparedness, said Charly McMurdie, Rural/Metro public information officer.

“People are very interested about what to do in case of an earthquake and heat- related emergencies.”

Attendees learned they needed to be prepared for the first 72 hours after a disaster, said Andretta Schellinger, the Grand Canyon Chapter emergency services specialist for Yuma County.

Residents need to have a “go bag” filled with enough food, water and medications to make them self-sufficient for three days because, depending on the severity of the catastrophe, it can take time for relief efforts to arrive, Schellinger said.

The most common disaster families face in Yuma are house fires, so in addition to a go bag, residents should have a separate “kit that you can grab with important documents in it — birth certificates, marriage certificates, medical records — so if you have to leave your house, you have all that together.”

For information about disaster preparedness or to volunteer with Red Cross to help during disasters, visit www.arizonaredcross.org.