Hazelwood Fire Dept. Joins Effort
to Prepare Students & City for Earthquakes

On April 28, the Hazelwood Fire Department partnered with Hazelwood School District and the American Red Cross in helping local school children, faculty members and the community prepare for earthquakes.

They participated in the "Great Central U.S. ShakeOut," a public earthquake drill involving 11 states in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and more than three million Americans in K-12 schools, colleges, universities, and businesses throughout the region.

Students and teachers at McNair Elementary School and Armstrong Elementary School in Hazelwood participated in an earthquake preparedness assembly conducted by American Red Cross disaster relief experts. The lesson they learned was to Drop, Cover and Hold On. They were instructed to use this technique for the region's first multi-state earthquake drill. Everyone was told to drop to the ground, take cover under a table or desk, and hold on to something sturdy for at least 60 seconds, which is the duration of most major earthquakes.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano were the ones who initially called on schools, colleges and universities to participate in this April Earthquake Drill, scheduled precisely at 10:15 a.m. (CST). They co-signed a letter that was sent to every school and institution on higher education in the central U.S., where many states would be impacted if a major earthquake hit the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

"As adults, it's our responsibility to make sure students are prepared, both at home and in school, for a possible emergency," said Secretary Duncan. "The ShakeOut drill is an important exercise for parents, students, teachers and school leaders across the country. And, I hope it encourages more schools to develop, implement and evaluate their emergency plans."

"As the recent earthquakes in American Samoa, Haiti, New Zealand, Chile and now Japan remind us, earthquakes can strike at any time," said Secretary Napolitano. "It's critical that all members of the nation's emergency management team -- including the federal government, state, local and tribal officials, the private sector and the public -- are prepared. Learning how to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event of an earthquake or other disaster is a vital life skill -- and we look forward to working with schools, colleges and our other partners to strengthen the resiliency of communities across the central United States."

Hazelwood Emergency Management is given the responsibility of helping the City of Hazelwood save lives, minimize injuries, protect property, preserve a functioning civil government, and maintain economic activities essential to the community's survival and recovery from a natural disaster. This organization worked in cooperation with the Hazelwood Fire Department, Hazelwood School District and the American Red Cross in setting up these school assemblies at McNair and Russell for the "Great ShakeOut" event.  It also encouraged all City employees to take part in this public earthquake drill.

Participating states included Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.