Putnam’s Emergency Preparedness and Fire Discussion Postponed
The Putnam County Emergency Services emergency preparedness and fire discussion meeting scheduled for this Thursday 28, 2012, in Carmel has been postponed to a later date.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather officials to discuss building construction standards and safety in the wake of two recent fires in the county that have resulted in losses due to fire.
Officials were unable to pull together the anticipated industry experts that were originally invited to speak on construction, sprinklers or proposed recommended changes to codes. In addition the investigation on both fires remains open; therefore the complete fire reports are not available for discussion; although the causes of the fire(s) have been both been ruled accidental.
“Immediately following tragic fires of these sizes and impact to a community we wanted to get out and speak about their causes; what can be learned and what steps are needed to be taken; However, at this time with all the best intentions the time is just not right,” stated Adam B. Stiebeling, deputy commissioner of emergency services. “All aspects of a response to serious incidents need to be understood before any conclusions are made or changes made.”
This past week County Executive MaryEllen Odell and County Bureau of Emergency Services Officials met with residents of the Laurel Farms neighborhood regarding the May 1 fire to answer firsthand questions that the residents posed regarding the fire. The Bureau of Emergency Services is continuing to work with representatives of the homeowners to address specific items that were raised; as the community healing process to the losses continues.
The Putnam County Bureau of Emergency on behalf of all fire departments urge residents to review home and business fire safety plans, detection equipment and alarm systems. Smoke detectors and alarm systems are the first line of defense in notification of fire to alert occupants.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
