By Melissa Wagoner
In May, fire season had already been declared in numerous areas throughout Oregon, which has many agencies – the Oregon Department of Forestry among them – gearing up for the worst fire season on record and asking residents to be prepared.
Which is Strong Silverton – a collective of both individual citizens and representatives from the Silverton Fire District, police cepartment, city and Red Cross, among others – has started a new platform. TBOne Ready is designed to help residents in the Silverton area prepare for the next emergency event.
“We were heavily involved with organizing disaster aid during the ice storm and, remembering the wildfires, recognized that everyone in the city was focused on survival issues,” Strong Silverton member and TBOne Ready initiator Mike Ashland recalled. “We did OK, but we were not prepared. We felt we needed to strike while the iron was hot.”
To that end, Ashland has created a TBOne Ready website – tboneready.com – that lists disaster preparation supplies and community resources.
More importantly, allows households to register, connecting them with neighbors and encouraging the organization of both private and community-wide resources.
“TBOne Ready is a simple way for people to know what to collect and be supported by their neighbors in their emergency preparations,” Ashland explained. “When disaster hits, the neighborhood will be better able to survive collectively until help arrives.”
While registration is absolutely voluntary, it is strongly encouraged as a way for neighborhoods to track supplies such as generators, ladders, CB radios, walkie talkies and cell phone chargers as well as information like emergency skills training and medical frailty.
“There are no requirements whatsoever,” Ashland stated. “TBOne Ready is based on building community, trust and skills.”
In an effort to spread the word about the program, and as a way to educate more people about the importance of disaster preparation, Strong Silverton is hosting a TBOne Ready training event at the Silverton Palace Theater on June 26.
“TBOne Ready is here to voluntarily build a sense of community within small neighborhoods,” Ashland said. “Hopefully that sense of belonging and trust will translate into cooperation in preparing the whole neighborhood for a disaster.”
TBOne Ready Training Event
City-wide disaster preparation
Silverton Palace Theater 200 N. Water St., Silverton.
Saturday, June 26 at 10 a.m.
Free! Donuts and coffee provided. www.tboneready.com
