Technology Sectors
Disaster Preparedness 2011: Emergency road flares -- What’s your plan?
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Jay McLaughlin |
The frantic phone calls arrived on the leading edge of Hurricane Irene’s assault on the East Coast.
“We are out of flares and need to re-stock fast.”
“Can we drive to you and pick them up at your warehouse?”
“Do you have distributors or retailers in our area and do they have stock?”
Within hours after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, urgent phone calls occurred and several tractor trailer loads of flares left the warehouses of Orion Safety Products, the world’s largest manufacturer of emergency road flares, and were on their way to emergency responders in Washington, DC, and New York City.
With Orion headquartered in Easton, MD, in these instances the proximity of the events requiring the flares to Orion’s manufacturing location was fortuitous, but even relative proximity isn’t enough when many are clamoring for product.
Emergency road flares serve as a primary tool of emergency responders to identify and communicate emergency situations. Flares have been used to designate safety zones, channel and re-direct traffic, close roads, identify intersections when power is eliminated for traffic lights, identify flooded roads, pinpoint locations for ambulances and other responders when chaos reigns and a host of other uses.
Few other products are as adaptable as a flare in unpredictable emergency situations, or as universally understood. It is this simplicity of use, the fact that flares have a self-contained ignition system and are not battery- or electricity-dependent and the clear communication of “Emergency…Caution” that make flares one of the first items deemed critical when disasters strike.
For this reason, Orion maintains an exhaustive distributor network across the United States. In addition, Orion supplies flares to many states and municipalities through direct contracts. These distribution channels only work; however, if distributors and procurement offices (whether for state, county or municipal police, National Guard, fire departments, tow and ambulance operators, departments of transportation, etc.) regularly warehouse flares and are attentive to maintaining an adequate inventory, both for regular use and disaster preparedness.
Hurricane Irene provides a good illustration. Many states, counties and cities had been operating with reduced budgets, fewer procurement officers and less inventory. The distributor network, also affected by a depressed economy, similarly reduced inventories to preserve cash.
When the storm was imminent, emergency road flare inventories were checked and the alarm bells began to ring. Suddenly, emergency funding became available, but time became the limiting factor. In the end, Orion was able to allocate flares and rush orders to critical jurisdictions affected by the storm, but certain agencies received less product than they desired and some had to beg, borrow and steal from neighboring jurisdictions.
While we are all good at improvising when required, being forced to improvise in life-threatening situations, when a low-cost, long-lasting, proven product is readily available (when planned) is not ideal and could prove to be dangerous.
Unlike many disaster preparedness products, such as sand bags, water pouches, etc., flares have proven everyday uses such that the product need not sit idle on the shelf, waiting for the disaster to strike. To prove the effectiveness of flares and to develop metrics that clarify what flares can accomplish, Orion commissioned an exhaustive study by Penn State. The study, available at www.orionsignals.com, shows that the use of emergency road flares causes:
- A 16% reduction in the speed of passing traffic;
- An 85% increase in lateral separation from a disabled vehicle;
- An 89% reduction in right lane traffic volume (people move over, away from the scene).
Taken together, the data shows that emergency road flares create a significant “safety zone.” It is this ability of flares to grab attention, communicate a universally understood message and generate a predictable and quantifiable change in the actions of others that makes flares critical -- not just in disasters, but also in everyday roadside situations.
At Orion, we take great pride in the quality of our product and in the fact that emergency road flares have saved countless lives in diverse and dire situations over the years. We know flares are used heavily in natural disasters, as we track demand caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, mud slides and flooding and, regrettably, terrorist events such as occurred on 9/11.
We also take pride in servicing our customers quickly in regular circumstances and our ability to react to emergency situations to get flares into the hands of those most in need. In this regard, we need your help.
We urge all parties that are responsible for emergency preparedness to: (1) recognize the need and likely uses for flares within your area of responsibility; (2) question how and where you will acquire flares in an emergency situation; and, (3) create a plan that assures you have adequate inventory in the right locations long before the wind begins to blow and the rivers start to rise.
We urge customers to establish a “safety stock” threshold which triggers a re-order and guarantees a certain minimum inventory in your warehouse at all times. Remember, unlike battery-dependent devices, first aid kits and many other emergency supplies with expiration dates, flares will last for many years, if stored properly. We have burned Standard Fusee/Orion flares that were more than 40-years-old that had great candela and duration. Emergency road flares allow you to control your emergency and safeguard your people, and Orion wants to work with you to make certain you always have what you need.
Orion has been manufacturing and distributing emergency road flares for more than 100 years. We operate three domestic manufacturing plants and offer a full line of emergency preparedness products, including home and automotive emergency kits, lightsticks, air horns, first aid and U.S. Coast Guard approved marine distress signals.
Jay Mclaughlin is president of Orion Safety Products. He can be reached at:
