BLOCK CAPTAINS PROGRAM & EMERGENCY PREP/RESPONSE PROGRAM

In 2010 the WHCCA Board of Directors resurrected a volunteer Block Captains program that focusses on within-block communication and neighborhood cohesiveness. An older program that focussed on "Emergency Preparedness and Blockwatch" activities had drifted away from the WHCCA board and had become largely inactive. Going forward, the WHCCA Board will manage the volunteer group and a board member will serve as official liaison to this group and will facilitate their efforts.  

Because emergency preparedness is an important and often neglected activity in any community, the board will also work towards building awareness and work with the city to encourage neighbors to become knowledgeable, trained, and to volunteer for emergency response roles.  The WHCCA board will attempt to maintain a member as liaison with the city and the block captains for issues of emergency preparedness.

• Maintain a current list of block captains by block,
• Update annotated block maps annually with updates provided by block captains so they can be distributed to block residents by the block captain,
• Alert block captains of local safety and crime concerns,
• Keep close contact with Bellevue Police and Fire Departments, provide an avenue for inputs and outputs to and from them,
• Encourage the block captains to maintain a friendly and concerned neighborhood.

Emergency Preparedness (currently outdated; in an emergency, consider this informational only)
The WHCCA Emergency Plan has not been maintained or updated in several years, so it cannot currently be considered to be an active document.  However, with a renewed WHCCA board focus on this topic, hopefully 2011 will see it become updated and effective.  The original plan can be found here: 'Emergency Plan for the Whispering Heights & Collingwood Community'.  The following is a brief summary of the Plan.

Every household should be prepared to handle and emergency, be it of short duration, such as a power outage, or of longer duration and greater severity, such as extremely heavy snowfall or a sever earthquake. The City of Bellevue, working through its Fire Department, sponsors the Strengthening Preparedness Among Neighbors (SPAN) Program. This program is designed to assist households and neighborhoods in preparing for the most feared emergency in our area, a severe earthquake. In preparing for the worst, the lesser emergencies will most probably be handled as well. To quote a SPAN flyer, "Following a moderate to major earthquake, emergency services will be overwhelmed. Through the SPAN program, neighbors learn how to get personally prepared and an easy method to organize into safe and effective response teams to meet their own immediate needs." The WHCCA is engaged with the Bellevue Fire Department to implement the SPAN program.

Block Captain is not necessarily an emergency responder
The Block Captains program provides an ideal organization for relaying emergency information and helping to faciliate and encourage planning and training.  However, the Block Captains are not expected to be emergency responders unless they also participate in the Emergency Preparedness program.  

Emerency Preparedness Team
One or more WHCCA board members will serve as liaison to the Block Captains, to the city, and to the WHCCA Emergency Prep/Response Team comprised of residents with interest and expertise in emergency planning and emergency response. The team will attempt to provide vital emergency functions including:

The Whispers will periodically provide more specific details for the Emergency Preparedness Program, including the names and phone numbers of the people taking responsibilty for these and any other functional areas. In the meantime, any questions or suggestions may be directed to the appropriate board member listed on the contacts page.

If you are interested in participating in one or more of the Emergency Preparedness and/or Response topics listed above, please volunteer!

In the future, the person storing the kit may be the block captain or it may be someone else, but each Block Captain should ensure the his or her block residents know where it is. Please make sure that everyone in your household knows both the name/phone of your captain and the location of your block's first aid kit.  It is also to your benefit that the block captain and your immediate neighbors know of any special needs of your family members that may be relevant to an emergency response.
 

NOTE: FOR ANY EMERGENCY, DIAL 911!

• Bellevue Office of Emergency Management on facebook
• Bellevue Fire Department (425-452-6892)
• Emergency Preparedness Program and steps to create your own
• Preparing for extreme weather
• Eastside Fire and Rescue (425-313-3200)
• King County Emergency Management (206-296-3830)
• Bellevue Police Department (425-452-6917)
• Issaquah Police Department (425-837-3200)
• Seattle Red Cross (206-323-2345)

These contacts last confirmed Feb 15, 2011