WELLSVILLE CITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

Cache Valley is beautiful, and Wellsville in particular, is a very peaceful place to call home.
Unfortunately, events can happen which disrupt that peace and it’s important that people be
prepared to respond. Cache Valley is an area that is prone to earthquakes, heavy snowfall, strong
winds, among other possible natural disasters. As with any other community, man caused
catastrophes are always possible as well.

Wellsville City, in partnership with the Wellsville Utah Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
Day Saints (LDS), has formed a response plan in the event of such emergencies. In order to make
this plan work it will need the cooperative efforts of everyone in our entire community.

We need to assume that in a major event, emergency response personnel from the fire department,
first responders, and ambulance services may be overwhelmed. Power, water, and sewer could be
disrupted. People could be trapped in their homes or finding themselves displaced due to damage, all
while trying to deal with injuries and the shock of what has happened. To make an event like this
more manageable, neighborhoods will need to look after each other.

Cache County is divided into areas known as “Districts” for fire and other emergency responses. The
Wellsville Utah Stake is comprised of the same land area as the Wellsville Fire District; from the
Meridian Road on the East, to the Maple Rise area on the North, then South and West to the County
Lines.

Wellsville City has created the following plan to define neighborhoods or areas within that district
along with a chain of command. During an event, all residences and property within Wellsville City
boundaries will be subdivided into smaller more serviceable areas. These areas will utilize the
existing boundaries of the LDS Church known as wards. For the sake of this plan, they will be called
ward areas, not wards.

The Wellsville City Office Building will serve as the Central Command Center (CCC) operated by
officials from the city. The LDS Meetinghouses within city boundaries will be designated to serve as
evacuation centers as well as Area Command Centers (ACC). The Area Command Center will
maintain communication between their assigned boundaries and the Central Command Center who
will in part maintain communication with Cache County’s Emergency 911 Center. This will prevent
Cache County’s Emergency 911 Center from becoming overwhelmed with less urgent calls.

This is where you as an individual comes into the plan. In the event of a catastrophic emergency, you
will first, take care of your own family and home; second, make sure your neighbors and their homes
are okay, then as soon as it is possible for you to respond and go to the Area Command Center in
your area, you are being asked to step forward and fill a role as either an area leader, scribe, or
neighborhood assessment team. Due to the unforeseeable nature of emergencies, no roles are pre-
assigned to any residents.

As additional volunteers come to the Area Command Center, they will be assigned as members of
these neighborhood assessment teams. These teams will consist of two or more people with the goal
of reporting damage and/or injuries within their assigned boundaries to the Area Command Center
for assessment. There may be some situations where these teams and the Area Command Center
will be the first or only help available for extended times.

What will happen inside each of the Area Command Centers?

If there is a catastrophic emergency, stake or ward officials will need to unlock the building and ward
clerk’s office ASAP, which is where you will find the ‘Emergency Response Tote’. If you arrive at the
building and the door is locked, contact a Ward official that has access to keys to unlock the building
and clerk’s office. In the event of a power failure, the electronic door locks on the church buildings
will operate for several hours.

The first person on the scene is now the designated Area Leader. There is no pre-assigned
leadership inside the Area Command Centers. The Area Leader will remove the emergency response
tote from the appropriate clerk’s office, then go to the assigned classroom designated on the tote
label to serve in the area command center. The area leader will then follow the instructions inside of
the Area Leader’s Binder, making individual assignments and distribute binders as directed.

The Area Leader’s responsibilities are:

1. Establish communication with the Central Command Center located at the Wellsville City Office
2. Organize personnel

1. Assign two scribes to sit at the Enter/Exit door
2. Assign one or more individual(s) to stay and help you

3. Assign and record Neighborhood Assessment Teams

1. Verify each team has a mobile device with text messaging & photo capability to
communicate with their Area Command Center

4. Contact the Central Command Center at the Wellsville City Office with the high priority issues
from the final analysis on the Home Assessment Form when they are returned to you

The Scribe responsibilities are:

1. Establish one Enter/Exit door in the building. (East door)
2. Assign someone to make sure all other doors are locked and tape signs on doors found in the
folder directing them to which door is open for access to building.
3. Get a table out of a classroom and establish an area in the foyer of the building. Display the
sign from your binder for which Area you represent, because you will be sharing this space
with other Area Scribes
4. Record everyone entering and exiting the building for your specific Area to keep an accounting
of people’s status and whereabouts.

(No one will be turned away if they reside outside the evacuation area, they are to be
identified and reported to their own ACC in the boundaries which they live for tracking
purposes in the event of a search.)

5. Hand out Home Assessment Forms to everyone that comes to your building to complete on
their own home or residence.
6. Deliver the completed forms to the Area Leader so they can determine if concerns need
communicated to the Central Command Center.

The Area Leader will then make the assignments for the Neighborhood Assessment Teams consisting
of these volunteers who have responded to the Area Command Center and be in communication with
them by cell phone or text message, complete with pictures of damage, if possible.

 

Each Neighborhood Assessment Team will:

1. Establish communication with your Area Leader
2. Use Neighborhood map to identify your assigned neighborhood

As a member of a Neighborhood Assessment Team, you are going to identify hazards, evaluate
damage, and then return and communicate any problems that are discovered. You should accomplish
your tasks from the outside of any homes or structures if possible.

1. First, you will be assessing medical needs

Our initial actions should begin with assessing or “sizing up” the medical conditions of those around
us in their homes, places of employment, or recreation. We can safely stabilize breathing, stop
bleeding, bandage wounds & broken bones, and relieve what pain and suffering we can. We then
quickly seek for greater assistance from trained medical professionals for those injuries and medical
conditions beyond our capabilities to stabilize or restore. After resolving immediate danger to life and
limb, if conditions warrant or when needed, we can then direct displaced people to the Emergency
Evacuation Shelters in the Area Command Center.

2. Second, you will be Assessing Home and Surroundings

Preventing further harm to ourselves or others by mitigating hazards that we find keeps the danger
from spreading. What is the hazard status of homes or current locale? Is it safe to remain in for
immediate, short-term or long-term shelter? Is the building still structurally sound (i.e., stable walls,
intact windows, firm flooring and sound utilities)? Houses and buildings should be assessed from the
outside if at all possible. Never enter a home that is heavily damaged. If any walls or roofing is
leaning, crumbling, or sagging, we should leave the immediate area carefully and move ourselves
and others to more safe surroundings. Broken windows and sharp shards of broken glass or wood
can make walking, climbing, and moving hazardous if we bump up against them. As we leave, we
should note the overall damage to the current building and report it to the Area Command Center.
The building damage that you may see will fall under one of three categories, Light, Moderate or
Heavy Damage.

“Light Damage” (conditions are stable and allow us to remain in it, or live in it safely),

“Moderate Damage” (currently stable, but may be cracked or leaning or may move, shift, or
crumble again if the wind blows, the fallen tree continues to lean, or another earth tremor occurs),

“Heavy Damage” (most of the structure is collapsed to the ground, engulfed in fire, or living space
is compromised in some fashion).
Once evacuated to a safe location, we can report the building’s conditions to authorities, government
officials, or neighboring property owners at the first chance we get to make a report. Awareness of
building damage also helps others from entering these hazardous conditions, and thus prevents
possible subsequent injury to them through becoming secondary disaster victims.

3. Third, you will be assessing utility problems

Multiple dangers and hazards arise in buildings when day to day utility systems which provide us
electrical power, heat or cooling, culinary water, sewage, shelter, or communication become broken,
blocked, or disrupted by the disaster’s powerful forces. We assess the conditions of the utilities in our
homes and places of existence by conducting visual checks from safe distances, if at all possible. Life
safety hazards can exist from escaping flammable or toxic gases, burning fires, arcing electrical
power lines, pressurized water leaks, or blocked & backing up sewage flowing into the room. When
hazard conditions warrant, and if safely possible, we can shut off utilities remotely, or extinguish
small fires. If we cannot stop the presence of these hazards from growing or spreading, we evacuate
immediately from the area, and warn and keep others from entering any of these dangers.

4. Fourth, you will be looking for stray or loose animals or pets.

Frightened and loose animals may cause additional injury or concerns if they have escaped their
kennels, coops, pastures, or places of security. Do not approach them or seek to capture them, but
note their presence and location so we can report their location to owners and community
authorities.

With this information, the Neighborhood Assessment Team will then:

1. Fill out a Home Assessment Form for each home in your assigned neighborhood. If the home
“Needs Help”, tie a red ribbon on the home in a location which can be viewed from the street.
If the home is “Okay”, tie a green ribbon on the home
2. Record your final analysis on each home on the “Summary Home Assessment Form”
3. If the home assessment requires immediate assistance, contact the Area Leader by text
message, along with a picture if possible
4. Return Home Assessments to the Area Leader where you were assigned

Wellsville City will provide a Central Command Center

The Central Command Center is located within the Wellsville City office and will be manned by
Emergency personnel from the city, who will coordinate communications.

In the event of the loss of electricity the Central is equipped with a backup generator to power CB,
ham and emergency band radios to stay in contact with the citizens, emergency responders and
Cache County’s emergency services.

Availability of ambulances, fire trucks, and fire fighters may be limited.

Remember, in a city-wide catastrophic event, no one is telling you to not call 911 in a life-
or-death situation or circumstance.

As devastating as a collapsed garage, uprooted trees, or power outage can be, they may not be the
highest priority for a 911 call. That’s why we are asking that in a City-wide event we go through the
Area Command Center, and they relay the information to the Central Command Center. In that
manner, injuries, dangers, and damage can be triaged or prioritized in order of need.

Please take time to study and learn this plan. It will aide our community should the need arise.

Now, Mayor Thomas Bailey and Stake President Jed Hancock encourage each community member to
be willing to participate in the Wellsville City Emergency Response Plan.