Emergency services are available on base in several
forms.
In the case of fire or medical emergency, the Fire
Dept is the point of contact. They can be reached at 911 from a base phone. If
calling from a cell, the number is (330)609-1117.
For crime or accident
type emergencies, Security Forces is the point of contact. They can
be reached at (330) 609-1299.
For family emergencies, the Red Cross and
your unit are the first points of contact.
Military members
should give their chain of command a heads up when they know there has been
something that is or may become an emergency situation. In doing so,
advise them an emergency message from the Red Cross may be
forthcoming. That way, if deployed, potential travel arrangements can
begun being arranged and manning issues can be sorted
out.
The Red Cross office to be called should be the one in
the area in which the emergency is taking place (for instance, if an immediate
family has a health crisis in Chicago, the Red Cross to be called must be in
Chicago). The national toll free number for the Red Cross,
1-877-272-7337, will rotate someone calling to the nearest Red Cross from their
phone number. The caller needs to have the military member's basic
information (full name, social), name of unit and base assigned to permanently,
TDY location if TDY, and contact information for someone to verify the emergency
(ie, a doctor who is working with the medical crisis). In the case of
dealing with medical issues, be aware that it is advisable to give the medical
staff permission to talk to the Red Cross. In the age of HIPAA laws, that is
necessary and not doing so can slow down emergency
notification.
It is very important families, especially more
than one person, is aware of the information needed to make emergency
notification. Write it out, leave a copy of orders with the
information highlighted, whatever works best. Then make sure the
family has the instructions for contacting the Red Cross down. Again,
the national toll free number is 1-877-272-7337.
Please note that Red
Cross notification is not an automatic notice of time off from work or return
from TDY. That decision is up to the commander and depends on
manning, the mission, and the nature of the emergency.
Questions about
any of this can be clarified, whether prior to or during an emergency, by
contacting the Family Support Office at (330) 609-1201 or our emergency cell
number (330)233-2128.