City mails out more than 100 emergency packets, only one returns
More than 100 emergency packets designed to assist residents and city rescue workers have hit a snag: No one is filling them out. So far, the city has received only one completed packet from the Points of America community.
Since the city manager’s office and fire rescue department partnered to create the Condominium Preparedness Initiative program in 2007, more than 100 packets were mailed out to condo buildings around the city. However, getting boards to fill out the packets has been another problem, according to emergency management coordinator Freddy Zelaya.
“That’s the challenge. We’ve put the packages out there but we’re not getting them [back] completed,” Zelaya said.
The program is actually a simple idea, whereby board members or property managers fill out packets containing information about the building or buildings, including gate codes, floor plans, and detail directions of entrances and exits. All the information and photographs in the roughly 40 page report are bound in a folder and loaded onto a compact disc. Completed packets will then be available in every rescue truck and condo office and accessible through the city’s computer system.
Zelaya said his staff is available to help condos complete the packets, which could cost as much as $50,000 with a private consultant. Depending on the size of the building, the packet can take up to a month to complete.
“The packet itself is an all-hazards approach,” he said. “A lot of people focus on hurricanes but it helps with fire and medical calls too.”
Call 954-828-6700 for information on the Condominium Preparedness Initiative packet.
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DON CRINKLAW