Emergency Ready: Meath Response

Being emergency-ready is a priority for Meath County Council. In this episode, listeners are encouraged to sign up to MapAlerter.ie to receive free text alerts from the local authority so they too can prepare for adverse weather, possible power outages and other unusual events.

Joining the discussion on being emergency-ready are the Chief Executive of Meath County Council, Kieran Kehoe, the Chief Fire Officer, Sheila Broderick, and the Civil Defence Officer, Shane Quinn. We hear about their respective roles, their responsibilities, and how they work together, and they share important advice so listeners can be as prepared as possible for emergencies.

Keith Leonard, National Director for Fire & Emergency Management, outlines the national perspective, including how they work with local authorities during emergencies.

The role of members in the community is also emphasised and a Civil Defence volunteer talks about how he changed career, and met his future wife, as a result of joining the organisation.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

National emergency preparedness framework defined.
Climate adaptation for local authority response.
Council's speedy, local-knowledge crisis management.
Community response centres support vulnerable people.
Civil Defence's role and volunteer career change.

QUOTES

"The action happens through the local authorities. They lead at a local level." - Keith Leonard
"We are the principal response agency for severe weather across the country." - Kieran Kehoe
"If you do have a monitored alarm to make sure that you provide a number that you could be contacted on..." - Sheila Broderick
"One of the things that that happens in an event, is that we set up what we call a severe weather assessment team initially, but then when we get into that major emergency mode or there's a severe event, we have a crisis management team." - Kieran Kehoe
"We would advise people to keep some ascent to keep some essentials in the home, really about two to three days supply, just drinking water." - Sheila Broderick

MORE INFORMATION

Local government affects almost every aspect of our daily lives, yet many remain unsure how decisions are actually made. We dive into the delivery of over one thousand services and the vital role of your elected representatives. Discover how local democracy functions behind the scenes in Meath. Listen to the full episode. Search “Local Lens” on your podcast app now.

Visit our website; meath.ie

This podcast was produced by dustpod.io

KEYWORDS

#EmergencyPreparedness #MeathCountyCouncil #CivilDefence #FireSafety #ClimateAdaptation