Getting to know your neighborhood can be life changing.
It can also be lifesaving.
That’s the message Town Emergency Management Commission charter member Jerry George is sharing at the advisory panel’s regular meetings and during bi-monthly public forums at La Conner Swinomish Library.
Thus far, several neighborhoods — including George’s on Center Street and one on nearby Tillinghast Drive — have begun the mapping process. His hope is that other residential areas in town will follow suit.
George knows it’s an ambitious and challenging task.
“To get neighborhood mapping going in La Conner,” he said last week, “it must be done strategically. We all tend to procrastinate, to deny threats, because they’re too painful to think about. It’s hard to overcome procrastination.”
Yet the steps involved in neighborhood mapping — during which residents of 15-20 households band together to list their unique skills and needs — are anything but painful. Citing his own experience and a Washington State Department of Emergency Management information video, George points out that neighborhood mapping can build the camaraderie and healthy sense of interdependence that were casualties of lengthy COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
“La Conner was always very neighborly and still is to a degree,” said George, “but some of that was lost during COVID and hasn’t been totally recovered.”
That’s where neighborhood mapping comes into play, with the added benefit of preparing residents and first responders to manage a range of emergencies from earthquakes and fires to windstorms and extended power outages.
Plus everything in between.
Mapping begins quite simply. Establishing neighborhood boundaries comes first. George said 20 or fewer households are recommended so that emergency responses can be more easily coordinated.
Next, neighbors should be personally invited to attend a mapping meeting in a host family’s home. From there, creating the neighborhood master map ideally will identify streets, blocks, and lots included in the chosen area. Neighbors are encouraged to walk the mapped surroundings together when convenient.
Identifying individual talents and needs among neighbors is important, said George, adding that such inventories reveal how certain skill sets — such as the ability to administer first aid — can help others in an emergency.
George said that a neighborhood map can also inform responders which addresses might have children, elderly, or disabled persons home alone.
George often references the deadly 1991 wildfire in the Oakland, California. hills that quickly razed a wide swath of homes. Neighbors there lamented that if they had spoken before the blaze as they did afterward that the scale of the tragedy would have been reduced.
Especially poignant was the story of an 85-year-old woman who perished in her house because none of her neighbors knew she was there and needed aid.
“When the ashes cooled,” George said, “the people of Oakland developed a plan. FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) came in and took it national.”
George pointed out that neighbors become emergency responders when 9-1-1 systems are overwhelmed. As a result, he said, it’s important that neighbors routinely practice emergency procedures since rational thought can be impaired in times of stress.
During a neighborhood mapping meeting last summer at the home of Jim and Renee Matthews, George donned a distinctive black helmet. He did so only partly for effect. Residents are encouraged to place a hard hat, gloves, and sturdy shoes beneath their beds for quick use in an emergency. George said it is essential to protect one’s head, feet, and hands from shattered glass in such situations.
One idea is to use a hard hat or helmet as a gift basket. Once the gift inside is removed, the protective headgear can be stored for easy access in case of an emergency.
George and Emergency Management Commission Chair Doug Asbe will continue their advocacy of neighborhood mapping and offer additional preparedness tips at the upcoming April 12 “Meet the Mayor” program at the library.
All are welcome to attend. In fact, the public is urged to do so.
Bill Reynolds: bill@laconnercommunitynews.org. Bill is a general assignment reporter who covers Town government, schools, and spot news.
