By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — When disaster strikes, whether it’s a local emergency like a house fire or regional event such as a hurricane, many people may not realize there is a wide and varied network of organizations and agencies ready to help.

More than 200 representatives of emergency management teams from a 14-town area stretching from Monroe to Greenwich — including Westport — met at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield on Dec. 18 to discuss how they can collaborate in responding to all kinds of emergencies.

These teams of emergency management experts attending the meeting, headlined “A Seat at the Table,” came from social-service agencies, churches and synagogues, and various nonprofit and government groups as well as police and fire officials. 

Westporters ttending the meeting included representatives from the Aspetuck Health District, Homes with Hope, the Representative Town Meeting, Temple Israel, United Methodist Church, the town’s Department of Human Services and others.

“It was an information-gathering panel, a community discussion so we could build partnerships in an environment that’s not an emergency. So that when the emergency occurs we’re ready,” said Fire Chief Nicholas Marsan, who also is Westport’s emergency management director.

The meeting featured four panel discussions on immediate issues that arise during a disaster:

• Collaborating with government agencies.
• Using communication networks.
• Food distribution for victims.
• Addressing problems created by large, damaging fires, particularly in multi-family buildings or covering a large area. 

The goal was to focus on “partnerships that ideally should be in place [when a disaster occurs] and to figure out where the gaps are,” according to Michele DeLuca, deputy director of emergency management for Norwalk, who coordinated the meeting.

“The theme throughout the day was building partnerships … so when an emergency occurs, our communities can quickly communicate and mobilize to assist residents, especially those who are most vulnerable,” she said.

David Rosenwaks, a Westport RTM member from District 6, said he felt the meeting was very worthwhile. “I learned a lot,” said Rosenwaks, who grew up in New York City and has been a Westport resident for three years.

He was impressed that representatives from individual municipalities’ emergency management teams were interested in questions and comments from so many different organizations in each town or city. “The state is ready to go [in an emergency], but they’re still looking for feedback,” he said.

“I left knowing that Connecticut is in good hands. We have real leaders in this state in emergency services.”

Marsan said Westport, and each municipality, has mutual-aid agreements with neighboring communities to help each other in the event of an emergency. And Westport has a detailed emergency plan of its own. 

But getting together with representatives from a wide spectrum of groups around the region was beneficial for creating a larger and more comprehensive network, he said.

“It’s good for relationship building and networking to have all these organizations come together. It’s extremely helpful,” he said, particularly in regional emergencies, such as a hurricane or blizzard, that not only have an impact on many people immediately, but also may have a long recovery period affecting the entire region.

“I think the biggest take-away is that people should know that even on days when there is no emergency, their emergency management team is working hard to provide for them,” he said.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.