Autumn Years Summer 2023

volunteers could help. After this winter’s massive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, or the devastation from tornados and hurricanes, responders have to go to areas where familiar local landmarks were destroyed and roads blocked. “Advance teams could go through communities and create a GPS map that will guide responders,” he says. Volunteer and grieving mother Sally

“You extinguish the char on the outside, but the heat keeps moving through the timbers,” he says. One reason firefighters stay dedicated and have a good image is their immediate care for fire victims. “The fire department encounters people at the worst moment of their lives. We give them hotel vouchers,” he says. Thinking ahead to responses to other disasters, he says community

HOW TO KEEP YOURSELF SAFE

Regenhard worked with Glenn in calling for high-rise safety improvements after 9/11 because her son Christian, a probationary firefighter, died when the Twin Towers collapsed. Glenn notes that of any other college, John Jay has lost the most 9/11 students and alumni who responded. He witnessed the attacks while going to the city in a bus on the Lincoln Tunnel helix. The tunnel was immediately shut; however, the driver of an out-bound bus opened its doors to help people return home, and in his case, await instructions to respond to help in New York City. Due to his advocacy, he was sought out and quoted by a Daily News reporter, and a few days later Sally called Glenn. She channeled her grief into the Skyscraper Safety Campaign. “She had the moral authority, I had the technical ability,” he says of their December 2001 press conference. This got the attention of a New York legislator, who understood that a new agency was needed that would have review and analysis authority similar to the National Safety Transportation Board.

• Have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at home and work. Watch the practical advice given on Science Goes to the Movies at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-AH3F_HEw4 • Sleep with your bedroom doors closed and do not open them to an active

fire. That helps prevent flames from invading your bedroom. • In case of fire, call 911 immediately and leave the building.

• Charge all lithium battery-powered devices while you are home, never while you are away. Use only batteries and chargers recommended by the manufacturer. Charge e-cars and e-bikes outside of the building. Remem ber that a lithium battery fire is a chemical reaction and cannot easily be stopped with water.

ARE YOU MOVING? QUESTIONS TO ASK

• In a multi-story facility, explicitly ask about alarms, exit paths and sprinklers. Which ambulance corps or ambulance service do you call? The facility should let you know if it has a private or contract transport service and who pays for that transport since working people who staff volunteer ambulance corps will get burned out after multiple calls per week. • In the countryside, examine your new residence: Are the roof and siding ma terials fire-resistant? Where is the nearest fire hydrant or fire department? How long does the local ambulance corps take to respond? Can the respond ers find your home quickly? • In very rural areas without municipal systems, does the home have a good well? Can you rely on the electricity grid that powers your well’s pump and your home? Is the area around the house weed-and-shrub-free, and can you keep up with yearly yard-clearing costs? Is the network of escape roads ad equate? (Residents of Paradise, California, died because there was only one road in and out of the community.)

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AUTUMN YEARS I SUMMER 2023