Updated Emergency Manual Available for Ridgewood

Electronic and hard copies of the Village of Ridgewood’s first updated emergency preparedness manual in nearly 15 years are now available.

The emergency planning guide offers checklists for preparations leading up to a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, as well as instructions for sheltering or evacuating during an emergency.

The update, completed last year, is one of several steps the village has taken to boost emergency preparations since Sandy.

An online version has been available online, but 500 paper copies were printed recently for residents unable to access the electronic guide, according to Heather Mailander, the acting village manager. They can be obtained at no cost in the lobby of Village Hall.

In years past, the guides were mailed to residents, but emailing the electronic version to those registered for emergency alerts has trimmed the costs of producing the manual, said Jeremy Kleiman, the coordinator of Ridgewood’s Office of Emergency Management.

He urged residents to sign up for the alerts by going to the village website.

The village council early last year declined a donation from Valley Hospital to print the booklets, citing the appearance of a conflict given the hospital’s application before the Ridgewood Planning Board to expand its facility.

Councilman Tom Riche is leading a fundraising effort to cover the expenses of printing. Donations may be made payable to Ridgewood Emergency Planning Guide, c/o Finance Office, Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450.