Be Ready!
Personal Emergency Preparedness
We are what we have in an emergency!
Don Fisher of the Southold OEM joined a large group of Fishers Islanders on Sunday, September 13, 2026 to explain how to prepare for the next storm or emergency. He outlined the plan for individuals to follow to be ready in the case of an emergency such as a storm or power outage.
The Training Covered:
- personal home preparedness
- using our FI Community Shelter
Please review the resources here, obtain any supplies you might not yet have on hand, and print out any material to keep handy should the power go out.
If you want to help your friends and neighbors when it counts, Community Shelter Volunteer training will be held later this fall. When the Fishers Island Emergency Shelter at the School needs to be opened, perhaps because of a longer term power outage or hurricane, these volunteers will help set up the shelter and welcome the community members upon arrival, among other activities. Year-round and seasonal residents will be trained to have the greatest number to call upon in a situation. Please email Kate Stevens at KateS@southoldtownny.gov if you would like to be notified of this training.
About the Instructor:
Don Fisher, N2QHV — ARES Emergency Coordinator, Town of Southold Emergency Management Committee
Mr. Donald Fisher began his fifty-four-year avocation in Emergency Services by joining the Southold Fire Department in October 1972. As a Protection Engine Company member, his interest in the Rescue Company and Emergency Medical Services led him to serve for twenty-five years as an Emergency Medical Technician and Advanced Emergency Medical Technician.
During his tenure in the fire service he held the positions of Training Officer, Captain and Assistant Chief. For twenty-two years, Mr. Fisher served the East End and Suffolk County as a Certified Instructor Coordinator for NYS EMT classes. He taught American Red Cross First Aid and CPR classes at the Plum Island Animal Disease Laboratory and in Adult Education Programs at the Southold School District. Additionally, he worked as a Southold Town 911 Public Service Dispatcher and Fire Department Radio Operator.
In 1993, Don joined the Southold Town Emergency Management Committee as an Emergency Coordinator (EC) for Communications. He leads our local Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) Group and served at the 1995 Westhampton Wild Fires, the TWA Flight 800 disaster, the Y2K Experience and the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center as well as numerous hurricane call-ups over the past thirty-three years.
Since 2013. Mr. Fisher has served on the Emergency Management sub-committee for Shelter Operations in the Town of Southold.
