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| Community disaster planning for animal
issues involves a wide number of people with a variety of interests and
responsibilities. Residents should know that disaster management
necessarily involves a well defined incident command system with protection
of human lives as the first priority. Animals and property are
obviously of great concern to the many people throughout the community, but
human lives cannot be unreasonably risked to save animals and property.
Prevention and preparedness are the greatest assets in saving animal lives,
By creating and practicing a plan to help animals that is an integral part
of the overall community emergency plan, there is a much greater chance of
resources being available to safely address animal issues. In Colorado, there is now a statewide organization to help create community level disaster response teams that work within the overall emergency management system. The Colorado State Animal Response Team (SART), a program of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Foundation, is helping to create County Animal Response Teams across Colorado. More details on this process is available on the SART Website. Jefferson County has one of the most well-developed CART programs at this time in Colorado. Park County has done some initial work on this front. Persons interested in working with IMHS on disaster issues should contact IMHS at 303-838-2668. Persons interested in working with CART programs or SART should contact 303-539-7633 or 1-866-854-SART (7278). Their are numerous sources for information on community disaster preparedness planning, covering both human and animal issues. Some useful organizations in planning information include The Colorado State Animal Response Team (SART), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the Red Cross, American Humane and the Humane Society of the United States. A more thorough listing of Internet links is included in our links area. Along the Highway 285 Corridor community, we recognize wild fire, floods and severe weather (including lightning, thunderstorms, high wind and blizzards), and transportation related incidents as our most likely disasters. By preparing our organization and cooperating with the County Animal Response Team program in both Jefferson and Park County, we hope to make an effective contribution to emergency preparedness in our region. |
Last Update April 10, 2004