Podcast Season 3 episode 13

Release Date 092122

Knowing what to know. Interview with Audrey Grey from Municipality of Anchorage Office of Emergency Management.

Alrighty then, we’re back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am Murphy Ganz, the Alaska Outlaw and today I’d like to talk about …

Before we get after it today, I’d like to make sure that, for those of you who need peace and harmony, or help in making sense of life, be sure to check out the Alaskan Ulfhednar podcast at https://akulfhednar.com. After 30 years of spiritual searching and discovery, he has arrived home. Check out his theories of finding peace and harmony, with a true understanding of co-existence and universal love. Some great stuff for you there. 

Each week we look at a different facet of what being prepared looks like in the real world of everyday. It is absolutely awesome to be back with you guys here for another adventure of discovery and obtaining the super power of common sense. Today I want to put a new lens on the old eyeballs and look at the topics with a different perspective.

Today I have the honor of introducing:

Audrey Gray is an Emergency Programs Manager for the Municipality of Anchorage Office of Emergency Management.  She grew up in Wyoming and later attended Colorado State University where she earned her B.S. in Microbiology.  She is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and has worked for the Casper-Natrona County Health Department (Casper, WY) as an Environmental Health Specialist and the Public Health Preparedness Manager for 16 years.

She has managed the volunteer Natrona County Medical Reserve Corps and the public health response to H1N1 Influenza, Zika Virus, Ebola, Hepatitis A as well as many hazardous materials incidents.  She moved to Anchorage to pursue her career in Emergency Management, assisting with the response to the MLK wildfire COVID-19 pandemic, Hiland Avalanche, and Elmore Fire.  She is the Public Information Officer, Training and Exercise Coordinator and Planning Section Chief for the Anchorage Office of Emergency Management.  Audrey is passionate about helping her community be prepared for disasters and enjoys using her emergency management superpowers to help people work together to solve difficult problems.

1. Some homes now-a-days have power delivered into the home underground (which offer a different set of concerns). however, some still have overhead wires. What would you say are some good ideas about doing homeowner inspections of the incoming utility connections to our homes prior to a disaster event occurring?
2. Understanding that there are differences between winter and summer especially here in Alaska, are there any differences in safety concerns when it comes to the pre-event inspections of utility connections to our homes?
3. The major topic today is utility connections. We all know that voltage traveling through the wires that power our lives is dangerous. What are some areas of concerns for your team when it comes to electrical power or natural gas during disaster type events?
4. As you know, this show is all about being prepared for natural and man-made disasters. Are there things the homeowner should know about making sure they are prepared for utility issues? Things to check. Things to frequently check on.
5. Having set the groundwork (no pun intended) for our being prepared for disasters, are there some general practices we should consider during, and immediately afterwards of a disaster when it comes to our utility connections? Let’s consider a large-scale earthquake.
6. Let's talk about the streets after a disaster, and just for discussion’s sake, let's consider the 7.1 quake we had here in South Central, Alaska a couple of years ago. What are some of the ideas you would offer our citizens to consider when venturing out onto the streets of Anchorage following a large-scale disaster?
7. While not super probable, especially here in Anchorage, let's consider for a moment, flooding. Again, not probable here in Anchorage, but certainly possible in the Matanuska Susitna valley. For those of you not familiar with Alaska, the "MatSu" as it’s called here, is a very large borough (like a county) just north of us here in Anchorage. Are there any special safety considerations we should put into our plan about our utilities in a flooding disaster?
8. OK, so we've talked about being at home and how to keep ourselves safe there, what about being out in public? What are some of the situations we should always be aware of when moving around our beautiful city when it comes to the utilities?
9. Are there things that we should report to our utility should we notice them when traveling around the city or state?
10. In my neighborhood last winter, one of my neighbors had something plugged into a consumer-level surge protector. My assumption (based on my little electrical knowledge) was that a short occurred, and in a matter of moments the home was engulfed in flames. Are there any safety considerations we should implement in our homes to ensure we are making smart utility choices?
11. Final question, if you were speaking to a group of kids at say, an elementary school, about safety with our utilities, what would you tell them?