by Davy James, Staff Writer
The key to surviving an emergency situation is to be prepared for what may come.
In an effort to educate South Brunswick residents on how to survive an emergency, the township will hold a Preparedness Summit meeting 7:30 p.m. March 4 at the Monmouth Junction Fire Academy.
”This began a few years ago for pandemic preparedness but now it’s so far-reaching for any emergency, be it natural or, God forbid, a terrorist event,” said Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz. “We made this all inclusive to get people to come out, especially large corporations, neighborhood groups and homeowner associations.”
The program will cover how residents can prepare for emergencies and how to use the township’s emergency management system. The response and recovery for any emergencies that last more than 24 hours is managed by a local comprehensive management system. A film will be shown with interviews with four local officials responsible for South Brunswick’s emergency management system — Doug Wolfe from the Office of Emergency Management, Stephen Papenberg from the Department of Health, Director of Student Services for the Board of Education James Warfel and Mr. Schmalz.
”It’s very important for people who are interested to attend because there is a wealth of information,” Mr. Schmalz said. “For instance, there are miles of train tracks in South Brunswick and there could be a train accident where we have to evacuate parts of the community. Or there could be an ice storm where we lose power. So it’s critical for people to come out and hear our presentation.”
Mr. Schmalz said the township has set up an emergency transmitter set to broadcast messages on the radio at 1640 am in the event of an emergency.
”With anything that lasts more than 24 hours people need to know how to be prepared and what strategies will be used to get information out,” he said. “Every resident should have a battery operated radio ready. We’ll go through information like that to make sure people know how to be prepared.
The Monmouth Junction Fire Academy is located at 573 Ridge Road.

