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8 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | DECEMBER 2024 | On Oct. 17 at 10:17 am, Sun Lakes EPAP (Emergency Preparedness Action Plan) conducted an Active Shooter/Shelter in Place Drill. Why did we choose this scenario? "Shelter in Place" is an emergency protocol that instructs people to remain in a safe location indoors and wait for the all-clear or an evacuation order to be given. There are several reasons to shelter in place. The two that would most likely affect us at Sun Lakes would be (1) an active shooter or dangerous intruder or (2) an air quality issue from a fire, chemical spill, or dust storm. In the first situation, active shooter, you would go into your house, close and lock all doors and windows, close the blinds, curtains or shutters and take shelter in an interior room until an "All Clear" is called. The second situation would be implemented during a chemical or air quality situation. In this situation, you would need to go into your house, close all doors and windows, turn off your A/C in your home and at the A/C unit and electrical panel to stop the recirculating air and close all the vents in your home. Then, you would go into a room with no windows, seal off the doors and vents, so no outside air can enter your home, and wait for the "All Clear." After conferring with our EPAP Coordinators, the active shooter scenario was chosen, primarily because we want our residents to be prepared for all types of emergencies. The EPAP Executive Team held trainings for the residents and EPAP volunteers. Then EPAP Coordinators, Radio Team, and Zone Captains applied the skills to communicate the "DRILL" information with each other and then to the residents regarding the Shelter-in- Place protocol. EPAP's primary goal is to prepare the Sun Lakes residents for an emergency event, whether it is an earthquake, fire, chemical spill, or an intruder in our neighborhoods. We want all the residents to be prepared and self-sufficient for as long as needed. This could be minutes, hours, or days. We would love to hear from you regarding your thoughts on the drill. Did you participate in the drill? Did you participate for the duration of the drill? Did you think the drill was necessary? Did you receive enough information and guidelines for the drill? Please email your answers, comments, concerns and/or ideas to Janis Rice at j.e.rice1954@gmail.com. We, the EPAP Team, will continue to provide the best possible educational training opportunities, articles, and drills to you, our Sun Lakes' residents. We believe that being prepared WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE! ~ Janis Rice, EPAP PIO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS EPAP PREPAREDNESS DRILL RECAP "But even aer planning, training, advertising, e-blasts, Facebook messages, and the District's EPAP Coordinators and Zone Captains contacting our residents, only about 50 percent of our residents took part in the drill? Did they feel it really wasn't necessary? Did we not educate them enough or provide enough information about the drill?" EPAP ANIMAL RESCUE GROUP We meet at 10 am in the Multipurpose Room on the third Monday of the following five months each year: September, November, January, March, and May. We strive to bring interesting and informative guest speakers to our meetings to help you keep your animals safe and healthy. For more information or to volunteer, contact Sandy Burgon at (909) 855-0226.

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