October 31, 2007—The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) is offering an extensive Web resource that could help school districts and communities recover from the devastation being wrought by wildfires sweeping across Southern California.
The CEFPI Disaster Planning, Management and Recovery Guide provides critical information for school districts and their communities on how to plan for, survive and recover from natural disasters. Educational organizations and other public and non-profit entities involved in assisting people affected by the California fires also can make use of the information available on this Web site, which lists eleven critical categories that educators and community officials should pay strict attention to before, during and after natural disasters.
The site was established after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. In an effort to aid school districts hit by the unprecedented storms, CEFPI Southern Region members, in collaboration with the CEFPI Foundation & Charitable Trust’s Paragon Project, mobilized to help the St. Bernard Parish Public Schools in Chalmette, Louisiana rebuild. CEFPI created the Katrina/Rita Task Force to support those efforts, and the Disaster Planning, Management and Recovery Guide is a result of that endeavor.
Indoor air quality, mold, ventilation and structural integrity are among the issues educators should be concerned with after the clean up begins.
