Officials Huddle to Plan for Emergencies

Madison's Local Emergency Planning Committee recently met to discuss emergency preparedness in the borough, covering topics such as short- and long-term emergency shelter options, dealing with power outages, checking on residents of senior housing facilities, and drafting "pre-event checklists" for residents.

Attendees included police and fire officials, department heads, Drew University's Public Safety chief, and a local pharmacist.

Madison Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Landrigan said action items that came out of the meeting included exploring the possibility of getting a generator for Madison High School if it were to be used as a shelter, obtaining air mattresses for the Emergency Operations Center in the Public Safety building, and setting up a purchase order with Stop & Shop to make stocking up on food supplies in the event of an emergency more efficient for the borough.

The committee meets twice a year, even in good weather. Last year, one of the meetings was preparing for Hurricane Irene.

Madison Mayor Bob Conley said the number of people from various departments and agencies that gathered for the meeting shows the amount of works that goes into planning for emrgency situations.