September is National Preparedness Month in Cambridge

This September marks the thirteenth year for National Preparedness Month (NPM), a month-long effort that encourages households, businesses, and communities to prepare and plan for emergencies. As part of this year’s initiative, public safety agencies in the City of Cambridge are stressing the importance of building emergency tool kits.

There will be three community events during National Preparedness Month where City of Cambridge public safety officials will provide examples and help residents create their own emergency tool kits. 

• September 16th – PARK(ing) Day (Third Street between Binney & Broadway)
• September 17th - Danehy Park Family Day
• September 24th – The Port Pride Day (Sennott Park on Broadway)

“Building an emergency tool kit is an important component of personal and family preparedness,” stated Deputy Chief Brian Gover of the Cambridge Fire Department. “One of the best ways to help first responders following an emergency is to be self-sufficient. This takes the pressure off first responders and they can focus on the most critical situations first.  Whether it’s at home, at work, at school, or in the community, there’s a lot that you can do to be ready and help others be ready too in the event of an emergency.”

“Preparedness is a collective responsibility that requires input and involvement from the entire community. Resilient communities are prepared for emergencies and that preparation cannot be done exclusively by the local officials. Individuals, families, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, and community-based organizations must join together and get involved. Efforts by all are necessary to ensure that community operations can recover and continue during the aftermath of an emergency,” stated Cambridge Emergency Communications Department Director Christina Giacobbe.

In addition to visiting Cambridge public safety officials at community events, we encourage residents to follow the City of Cambridge on social media throughout National Preparedness Month to receive tips on staying prepared and how to get involved. 

Twitter                                   Facebook                                            Instagram

@CambridgePolice                facebook.com/CambridgePolice          CambridgePolice
@CambridgeMAFire              facebook.com/CambridgeMAFire         CambridgeMA911

Use the hashtags #NatlPrep and #CambMAPrep to demonstrate what steps you are taking to become prepared and help our community. 

To learn more about how you can prepare for emergencies, visit www.fema.gov, www.ready.gov, and http://www.mass.gov/eopss/agencies/mema/.

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