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City resilience staff outline renter-focused emergency-preparedness resources
Summary
Bryce Froelich of the City of Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability & Innovations outlined household preparedness measures for renters — including local alert systems, air-quality monitoring, and emergency kits — and offered follow-up resources and workshops for distribution and training.
Bryce Froelich, community resilience specialist in the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability & Innovations, told the Renters Commission on June 18 that renters can take simple, renter-friendly steps to prepare for disruptions such as extreme heat, power outages and wildfire smoke.
"We want to make sure folks can prepare in advance for any disruptions that may affect your household," Froelich said, describing OSI work to distribute emergency kits and to develop localized alerting. He said the city uses county Everbridge push notifications, federal wireless emergency alerts and a 22-siren outdoor warning system, and that OSI operates 10 air-quality monitors across the city and is building a Clarity-based air-quality alert service.
Froelich framed preparedness as practical and household-specific: choose a meeting place, identify needed supplies, and tailor a kit to pets, children or medical devices. He described the kit baseline as weatherproof storage plus a hand-crank radio/charger, first-aid supplies, a can opener and an emergency blanket, and said the office aims to distribute 1,000 kits by 2030. He also said the Office of Emergency Management runs workshops and that OSI will follow up with the commission by email with worksheets and resource links.
Commissioners asked about indoor air quality and whether landlords or tenants should provide HEPA or higher-MERV filtration. Froelich said indoor air guidance should follow public-health professionals and EPA standards and recommended residents sign up for localized alerts and follow county advice on masks and indoor protection during smoke events. On the question of how people without reliable transport can reach cooling or warming centers, he pointed commissioners to Washtenaw County resources for center locations and hours and offered to follow up with more specific contact information.
Froelich said OSI relies on partners such as GLISA (the Great Lakes Integrated Science and Assessments team at the University of Michigan/NOAA) for local climate projections and emphasized that OSI itself has not modeled large-scale displacement impacts. He closed by offering to return to the commission for further discussion and to share slide materials and worksheets.
The commission noted the value of consolidating emergency and renter resources in one place; staff recommended following OSI and the Office of Emergency Management communications for event notices and sign-up details.
