There were nearly 10,300
fires each year, from 2011 to 2013, during the three-day period around
Halloween. These fires caused approximately 25 deaths, 125 injuries, and $83
million in property loss.
In order to keep your family safe, consider the following
Halloween fire safety tips:
- Choose a costume without long trailing fabric. If you make
your own costume, use materials that won’t catch on fire easily if they come in
contact with heat or flames.
- Give your children flashlights or glow sticks so they can see where
they are going.
- Keep decorations away from candles, light bulbs, or heat
producing equipment.
- Consider using battery-operated flameless
candles or glow sticks in your jack-o-lantern.
- Keep exits clear of decorations and furnishings.
- Make sure your smoke alarms
operate properly, and replace them when they are ten years old.
Join FEMA for a webinar to honor the preparedness efforts of the 2017 FEMA Individual and
Community Preparedness (ICP) Award winners and learn about their programs on Tuesday, October 31, at 2 p.m. ET. FEMA will host the webinar with the awardees to generate
conversation, and share ideas, insights, and experiences. Winners will provide
models of preparedness programs to help others take similar actions in their
community.
The FEMA ICP Awards highlight innovative local practices and
achievements of individuals, communities, and organizations throughout the
country that made outstanding contributions to prepare their community. A list of the FEMA ICP Awards recipients and
the honorable mentions for each category is available at www.ready.gov/awards.
How to Join the Webinar
- Please register for the
event https://icpd.adobeconnect.com/awards20171/event/registration.html using
the Adobe Connect registration web link.
- Be sure to test your Adobe Connect connection prior to the
meeting.
- This webinar will offer
captioning.
FEMA Seeks Input on Fiscal Year 2018-2022 FEMA Strategic Plan
FEMA's Administrator believes in the importance of hearing external partners’ perspectives
to help FEMA improve the way business is done. Throughout the next few months,
FEMA is inviting its stakeholders and partners from across the whole community
to help shape the Fiscal Year 2018-2022 FEMA Strategic Plan. In an
effort to reach as many stakeholders and partners as possible, FEMA is
accepting feedback via IdeaScale – an
interactive, web-based application that allows idea sharing, collaboration and
engagement.
FEMA is looking for input
and engagement on Simplifying Recovery
and Reducing Disaster Costs. How could FEMA simplify
recovery programs and reduce disaster costs while ensuring accountability,
customer service, and fiscal stewardship?
Buying Down Risk
through Preparedness and Mitigation
- How should risk be calculated in awarding grants?
- What type of grants are
best suited for effectively reducing risk?
- How do we incentivize
more investment in preparedness/mitigation prior to a disaster (not only
federal investment)?
- How should the nation,
including but not limited to FEMA, train and credential a surge disaster
workforce ahead of major disasters?
- What are new ways to
think about a true culture of preparedness?
We value the input and diverse perspectives that
you bring to help inform this process, the final product, and our efforts. Our IdeaScale campaigns will be open until October 31, 2017. We look forward to your
ideas and suggestions.
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Applications Open Until November 14
The application
period is open for two competitive Hazard
Mitigation Assistance grant programs. Eligible applicants including
territories, federally recognized tribes, and states and local governments may
apply for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Flood Mitigation
Assistance (FMA) and Pre-Disaster
Mitigation (PDM) grants at https://portal.fema.gov
through 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on November 14, 2017.
FMA grants are
available to implement measures to reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to
structures insured by the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP). For FY 2017, $160 million is available,
including $70 million for community flood mitigation activities that address
flooding on a neighborhood level, such as floodwater diversion and localized
flood-control measures as well as advance assistance for mitigation design and
development of community flood mitigation projects.
PDM
grants are awarded for all-hazard mitigation planning and projects, such as the
construction of community and residential safe rooms for tornados, and wind
retrofits, which are enhancements made to strengthen the roof, walls and doors
of structures to minimize damage caused by high winds. This year, $90 million
is available, including $10 million for federally-recognized tribes. States,
tribes, territories and the District of Columbia may apply for the statutory
allocation of up to $575,000 federal share. Visit www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program for additional details about the grants.
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