| City of Manassas brings ‘Ready Virginia’ to the local level |
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Manassas, VA — The City of Manassas is the first municipality in the Commonwealth to tie the state’s Ready Virginia campaign to a local community event. The City’s third annual Neighborhood Conference, with the theme, “Ready Manassas,” is Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club, 9501 Dean Park Lane, Manassas. To share the family emergency preparedness message of the Ready Virginia campaign, the City of Manassas Neighborhood Conference will feature:
Emergency Management Deputy Coordinator/Planner Robert Halsall is part of the conference planning team. In 2004, a tornado spawned from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan ripped through Halsall’s Manassas neighborhood in late afternoon on a work day. At the time, Halsall worked as a firefighter in Arlington County. “I was on the phone telling my youngest son, Jeremy, who was playing on the computer and totally oblivious to the situation, to go to the basement. At the same time, my oldest son, Matt, got home from football practice. I told Jeremy to let me talk to his brother. Matt said, ‘Dad, I can’t talk, its right over top of us.’ I could hear Matt yelling at Jeremy through the phone to come help him close the door. And then the phone went dead,” Halsall says. “My heart was in my throat,” he continues. “I tried to call back, but there was no answer. I phoned my wife, who was working at a bank in the Manaport Shopping Center. She was in the vault, where the quick-thinking manager had herded all the employees. We were both going out of our minds.” The Halsalls didn’t know if the boys were alive until the family was reunited at the American Red Cross shelter set up at Metz Middle School, where the boys related their harrowing escape to the basement and their shock at emerging just seconds later to what resembled a war zone. “My 30-foot camper was blown seven feet back off a concrete tongue block and was pushed into the side of my garage wall and on top of my air conditioner unit,” relates Halsall. “It came that close.” As the City of Manassas’ point of contact for Emergency Management, Halsall was part of the multi-jurisdictional mock drill on Nov. 10 at the Prince William County Fairgrounds that tested the Pet Friendly Evacuation Sheltering trailer. The one used for the mock drill was the one Halsall made possible for Arlington County, and is similar to the new one he secured for City of Manassas. “Currently, Emergency Management is working with the City of Manassas Public Schools system to establish a designated school facility or structure to be incorporated into the emergency shelter program which would include domestic pets,” explains Halsall. "We want to save lives, and we've seen too vividly following disasters like Katrina, that many pet owners, especially the elderly, won't evacuate if they have to leave their pets behind. We want to encourage them to make the right choice, and being able to take their pets with them and care for them at the shelter will do that." The Nov. 14 conference is an excellent opportunity for volunteers interested in Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and Fire Corps to find out more. The CERT training program could begin as early as January 2010. Organizers hope each conference participant takes away Ready Virginia's simple three steps to protecting loved ones in an emergency: 1. Get a kit. 2. Make a plan. 3. Stay informed. The City of Manassas Neighborhood Conference is sponsored by Ameriprise Financial Planner Glenn C. Moore and the City of Manassas. Attendance is free, but you must register to ensure that enough food is planned for lunch. Register by calling Neighborhood Services Specialist Deleney Ritter at 703-257-8315 or online at: www.manassascity.org/conference |