Fourteen months after Hurricane Katrina and less than one month after a consulting firm gave Boston’s emergency plans a failing grade, four Boston emergency management officials emphasized the importance of citizen planning to approximately 100 students and community members at a preparedness forum at Emerson College last night.

“It is impossible to help a million people overnight if they don’t help themselves,” said FEMA’s New England Communications Director Marty Bahamonde, adding that emergency management “is not a government job. It is everybody’s responsibility.”

Focusing on evacuation, fires and flu pandemics, the speakers said each individual and family must prepare their own plan in the case of an incident.

In the case of an emergency that leaves people stranded in their homes, Bahamonde said residents should “be prepared for three days. Then we’ll come and get to you.”

Bahamonde — who emphasized that the tragedies of Katrina could have been lessened by better awareness on the part of everyday citizens — was the only FEMA official in New Orleans at the time of Katrina, and spent five days in the Superdome, where masses of New Orleans residents were stranded without food or water.

His email warnings to FEMA director Robert Brown in the first days of the disaster were ignored, and were then released by the media, exposing Brown’s alleged lack of concern for the situation and lead to his resignation, Bahamonde said.

Lt. Arthur Torigian, the Mayor’s Office manager for emergency preparedness, said students especially should have food and supplies ready in preparation for an evacuation situation. Also, as information would be spread via AM or FM radio, every home should have a battery-powered radio.

For both emergencies and public health issues, the city has an all-hazards plan in place, which provides one basic infrastructure for emergency response, as opposed to having separate plans for different problems.

“We’re working on this as we speak,” Torigian said, discussing the many possibilities that are being explored to aid in evacuation plans — including the use of taxis, school buses and the state police.

He referred several times to the recent bad publicity surrounding Boston emergency plans, and pointed out that Boston’s plan was approved and even praised by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

In case of an emergency, Bostonians could go to one of 75 Neighborhood Emergency Centers located in schools and community centers across the city, according to Torigian. The city would then notify people of the disaster through a system that can call up to 60,000 phones in a few hours.

Torigan said in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the city “revamped the emergency management plan.” It has been retooled to focus on residents, whereas before the commuters were the main concern.

“We test them pretty much everyday,” Torigian said.

In July, Mayor Thomas Menino brought the Police Department, Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services together under the umbrella of the Mayor’s Office for Emergency Preparation to better coordinate responses to natural disasters and other incidents. This new agency is prepared to respond to a variety of incidents ranging for small local issues to city-wide emergencies.

Hugh Drummond of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay said “the greatest threat in this region is a house fire,” so families should prepare fire escape plans, which are the foundation for other emergency plans. There is a house fire every 79 seconds in the United States, he added.

Drummond also emphasized the impact of Katrina on emergency planning.

“It forever changed the way we think and forever changed the way the Red Cross thinks,” he said.

According to the Red Cross website, the group aided the victims of approximately 73,000 disasters.

All of the officials said plans are constantly being reconsidered to ensure public safety.

Associate Director for the Boston Public Health Commission John Jacob also spoke about the city’s efforts to monitor health issues throughout the city.

Because Boston is “probably a little bit overdue for a flu pandemic,” the Commission is constantly in contact with city hospitals, ambulances and poison control centers to keep track of potentially dangerous health trends, Jacob said.

“We will plan for the worst but certainly hope for the best,” Jacob added.