Let the response to Thursday’s gas leaks in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts serve as one more example of why preparation is so vital. While I didn’t see the response first hand, we all saw it nonetheless as the night, then the following days, went on.
Emergency responders were right on top of things and got a command center going right away. For an incident like this to have just one life lost is actually pretty amazing (as sad as losing even one life is, and my thoughts are with that person’s family and friends). The property damage was significant, but that can be rebuilt. We can live with that.
You could tell that practice for just such an occasion was well-done and paid off immensely.
I was at my office when an announcement came over the loud speaker to evacuate immediately due to an emergency. I had no idea what was going on, and there was no sign of anything as I left – no emergency personnel apparent, and I saw none approaching our facility as I went away. I had no idea the magnitude of what was happening until a few hours later.
Preparation, of course, is often talked about, though sometimes not enough. In sports, it comes up all the time; the saying, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” has been uttered many times. But what preparation looks like varies greatly depending on the mission at hand; it looks different for a baseball team trying to beat an opponent whose starting pitcher is a Cy Young candidate than it does for a retail company on Black Friday. Its importance, however, is quite similar: it is vitally important.
I have done a lot of preparation of late for things that have been on my docket. There have been events to attend, writing to be done, small things around the home, and more. All of the preparation I have done thus far has paid dividends, and watching the great response to a very bad situation is one more reminder of its importance in the grand scheme of things.