TRUMBULL COUNTY Issue of shelters is raised at lecture

Community leaders aren't doing enough to tell people how to prepare themselves, a Warren man says.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
WARREN -- Jim Carano of Boardman had one question at the end of a presentation on the threat of biological and chemical terrorism.
"Where are the shelters?" he asked.
There are no longer any shelters to protect the public during attacks, Paul Minton, director of emergency medical services at St. Joseph Health Center, told the people attending his lecture Saturday at Warren-Trumbull County Public Library.
Carano, owner of Health Environmental Loss Prevention and an adviser to the Greater Cleveland Safety and Health Council, said businesses are being told to develop shelters, but schoolchildren and the general public have no place to go if there were an attack with biological or chemical weapons.
Even safety services should have a shelter so they could have somewhere to put on the proper gear, he said.
"This blows my mind," he said.
Removed: Minton said he thinks the bomb shelters of World War II were removed because the country no longer felt in danger.
The shelters that the area did have in recent years were neglected, he said. He was involved in dismantling one shelter in 1999 which had canned food that was dated from 1961.
Minton gave the audience some tips on how to prepare a safe place in their homes, but Rick Ritchie of Warren said public officials and the press aren't doing enough to tell people how to prepare themselves.
"I'm really saddened that this hasn't happened, and it's been over a month," he said.
He said community leaders need to discuss how they are going to get this information out.
Tips: Although there aren't specific brochures on how to prepare an in-home shelter in case of a terrorist attack, there are other brochures at community agencies such as the Red Cross that provide information on what to do in natural disasters, Minton said.
"We need you to prepare yourself for 72 hours," he said. People should:U Be ready to go into the basement.U Have these supplies there: blankets, pillows, water, batteries, a radio and food, such as canned items and cereal.U Be prepared to use a 5-gallon bucket with trash bags as a toilet.UIdentify how air gets into their homes so they can seal them off as much as possible in case of a biological or chemical attack, he said.
Minton said in his presentation that it isn't a question of whether there will be another terrorist attack in this country, but where and how serious it will be.
He said people in Trumbull County shouldn't be lulled into false security by thinking an attack can't happen there. There are plenty of places where people gather -- the mall, library, hospitals, high school sporting events -- where someone trying to make a point could attack, he said.
He said there is a fine line between preparedness and paranoia, but people should do what they can to be prepared and be cautious.
shilling@vindy.com