Town seeks special-needs info in case of emergency Volunteer heads up project on behalf of township office BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE - A longtime township volunteer is heading an effort to compile a list of residents who have special needs. The database is part of a state and county program to develop a master plan for large-scale situations and provide emergency workers with the information they need in order to plan for emergencies, according to Dominic Cicio, municipal coordinator of the Old Bridge Office of Emergency Management. Local volunteer Aaron Schlissel is leading the effort. "He is a … gentleman with experience, who is active in the community," Cicio said. "We picked him to head this up. He is committed to it." The lists allow first-responders to identify people at a given scene with special needs in the event of an evacuation or a power outage, for example, Cicio said. "We are very active with it in New Jersey," Cicio said of the program. "We're identifying all residents for special needs into police CADs [computer-aideddispatch systems]." Cicio said his office has maintained a list of residents with special needs for several years, but it is far from complete. "There are probably a lot more out there," he said. "We've had the program for years, but it is a small amount of people [on the list]." Schlissel said Cicio approached him last year about compiling a list of residents with special needs, so that they can get the help they need in the event of a flood or hurricane, man-made occurrences like terrorism, or other situations. In those scenarios, the capabilities of various agencies would be stretched to the limit. "With the project I'm running now, we are trying to identify those who could not safely evacuate their residence without danger to their well-being," said Schlissel, who has enjoyed volunteer service for many years. Schlissel currently runs errands at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division, that range from answering phones and manning the radio to supporting patients. The work is familiar territory for the former first-aid squad member. "After years of being on the front line, I couldn't give it up that easy," Schlissel said. The 73-year-old Brooklyn native moved to Old Bridge in 1968 at a time when his marketing job with a pharmaceutical company kept him from his love of serving as a first responder. He became an active member of the Old Bridge Red and White Volunteer First Aid Squad, serving from 1983-90, after his company granted his request for a local assignment. "I worked up the ranks to captain of the squad," Schlissel said. Schlissel stayed on as a trustee and also joined the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management as deputy coordinator of EMS, working his way up to chief by 2001. As another example of his service, he is board chairman for Congregation Beth Ohr on Route 516. "I have been fully committed to volunteerism," Schlissel said. With the special-needs program, information that residents submit to their local office of emergency management is entered into the CAD system, so that emergency responders will know if someone at a given scene needs assistance, such as with evacuating a building, Schlissel said. "The problem is, with senior citizens, they don't want to evacuate," Schlissel said. "When you're a senior, your whole life is tied up in the little residence you have, and getting them out can be difficult." Young people with special needs are invited to register, and every effort will be made to protect the confidentiality of all people who submit information to the Office of Emergency Management. Each municipality in the county has taken on this assignment, Schlissel said, and anyone who wishes to receive an application to register can do so by contacting the local office of emergency management. In Old Bridge, that number is (732) 721-5600, ext. 3072. Cicio said the program will help firstresponders expand their database, which serves the purpose of informing them of how many people in a given location are in wheelchairs, or who will require a different evacuation procedure. Cicio said he is attempting to get more people to participate and to inform him of residents with special needs in the township, since it is to the public's benefit that emergency workers know where they are located. "We want to identify all residents with special needs," Cicio said, including those with mental and physical handicaps.