‘Government can’t do it all’

Governor Tim Kaine on Friday addressed at the Commons Plaza what has occupied many Virginians’ minds since tropical depression Ernesto: safety and emergency preparedness.

As part of the Interactive Safety and Preparedness Fair, which VCU and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management sponsored, the governor’s keynote speech stressed the importance of preparedness at the individual level.

“We can have the best plan. We can have the best state agencies. We can have the best information to put up on the radio or TV or Web page,” he said to the crowd of students, faculty and staff. “But the key part of preparedness is individual and family preparedness.”

Kaine focused on environmental disasters, mentioning Ernesto and the 2004 fire that destroyed Ramz Hall. Despite this month’s fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, he made few remarks about terrorism.

The fair’s other participating public, private and nonprofit groups endorsed a message of personal responsibility similar to the governor’s. To promote September as “National Preparedness Month,” the fair featured information tables and representatives from a number of agencies including the American Red Cross, VCU Office of Environmental Health and Safety, Virginia Citizens Corps and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Michael Cline, state coordinator of emergency management, said, “The key, the real emphasis today, is you. It’s on individual preparedness. The government can’t do it all.”

Cline, who spoke before introducing Kaine, urged residents to have preparations for at least the first 24 hours of an emergency. Government agencies are most overwhelmed during this time period, he said.

“Take responsibility for the things you can do, and then know that government is going to be able to do for you the things you can’t do,” Cline said.

But as several of the fair’s participating groups pointed out, the government is not the only response mechanism to emergencies.

Andrea Gaines, director of Virginia Corps, said volunteers have played an increasingly important role in emergency responses since Sept. 11. Former governor Mark Warner created the volunteer-based Virginia Corps in September 2002 to capitalize on the spirit of volunteerism that emerged from the terrorist attacks.

Gaines said Virginia Corps attended the fair to encourage students to take a more proactive role in volunteerism related to emergency preparedness.

“A lot of times, when you’re a student, you think nothing can happen to you,” she said. She encouraged students to be aware of and involved in the community beyond the campus.

Lt. Keith M. Vida of the Richmond Fire Department said he has also observed a nonchalance among students, particularly related to fire safety. Nationwide, he said, fire-related emergencies remain a major college campus concern.

In the VCU campus area, he said, one of the most important issues related to students is the old age of many of the apartments and houses in which they live. Some older facilities lack the safety infrastructure of newer ones, he said.

Marc LaFountain, public affairs coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said he observed a genuine interest on behalf of students to learn more about safety and preparedness while they browsed the fair.

“To really touch students,” he said, “it’s good to come where they are.”

Pat Kane contributed to this article