The Potter County Commissioners signed a Declaration of Disaster this
morning for the flooding which began on Monday,
January 25, 2010.  Please see attached. (http://des.pottercountypa.net/images/stories/docs/2349_001.pdf)

All municipal officials are reminded to take pictures of the damaged roads
before they are repaired and to submit the necessary documentation to the
Potter County Department of Emergency Services as soon as possible.  Potter
County DES will be working with the PA Emergency Management Agency in hopes
to obtain federal funding to assist the local municipalities.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact this Office.

Glenn D. Dunn; Acting County Coordinator
Potter County
Department of Emergency Services
20 Mockingbird Lane
Coudersport, PA  16915
814-274-8900 (voice)
814-274-8901 (fax)

A copy of the latest situation report can be found at:

http://www.des.pottercountypa.net/images/stories/Documents/sitrep05.pdf

This was updated at 1800 hrs on 1-26-10

The newly revised Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was released December 16 by the US Department of Transportation. Jack Sullivan CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) Director of Training and member of the National Committee that edits the MUTCD completed a preliminary review of the document. His initial comments follow. Links to download the entire document are posted on this site.

The ERSI has received a Firefighter Safety Grant through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administer by FEMA to prepare training materials based on the MUTCD. With our partner Fire Service Publications at Oklahoma State University we will be publishing an Essentials Manual based on the material in the MUTCD to assist in the training of firefighters and other roadway responders.

Check this site for expanded information as the ERSI analyses the material in the MUTCD. Meanwhile here are our initial observations:

· Public Safety Vests-ANSI 207 are included and as approved PPE

· Requires High Visibility Garment on all roadways, Deletes “federal-aid" highway reference

· Allows for use of Stop/Slow paddles with strobes

· Allowing for the use of flares and emphasis on us removing flares from roadway upon leaving the scene (a significant training point)

· Retained the wording that allows the use of whatever traffic control devices available in the early stages of an incident

· Black text on pink signs used for temporary traffic control

· Defines the term “Safe-Positioned”—the positioning of emergency vehicles at an incident in a manner that attempts to protect both the responders performing their duties and road users traveling through the incident scene, while minimizing, to the extent practical, disruption of the adjacent traffic flow

Other important considerations for responders include: MUTCD 2009 Final Rule - Section 6D.03 Worker Safety Considerations

Holiday Fire Prevention Tips

Harrisburg – While the holidays bring festivities and good cheer, it is also a season of increased risk for home fires, according to State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann.

“Christmas trees, candle usage and holiday decorations significantly contribute to the seasonal causes of home fires. When you add to that the distracting nature of the holidays, the risk of home fires increases,” Mann said. “But by taking preventative steps and following simple rules, you can prevent most home fires.”

Mann suggests that simply paying closer attention when decorating, cooking and entertaining can significantly increase safety.

With unattended cooking being the leading cause of U.S. home fires and home fire injuries, Mann advises:

* Be attentive when cooking. Turn off the stove when leaving the kitchen.
* Keep anything that can catch fire away from the stove top.
* When simmering, boiling, baking or roasting food, check it regularly and use a timer to remind you that food is cooking. If frying, stay at the stove.
* Create a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food and drinks are prepared or carried.

December is the peak month for home fires caused by candles. Statistics from the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA, show that more than half of all candle-related fires start because of candles that are placed too close to flammable items.

ATLANTA - The U.S. Small Business Administration announces today that federal economic injury disaster loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes located in McKean, Pike, Potter, Warren and Wayne counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a result of excessive rain, flooding, flash flooding, high winds and hail that began on May 16, 2009.

“These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in the State of New York.  The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included,” according to Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to assist small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes affected by the same disaster,” said Skaggs.