Family Emergency Planning

While I’ve never had a major emergency in my home, I can tell you that I have always had a family emergency plan for all kinds of situations. Unfortunately fires, floods and major storms can impact your house, or anyone’s house, in catastrophic ways. It is best for you and your family to have a plan on paper that makes sense to everyone and is easy to remember. Consider the steps you will need to go through to make a good plan.

Why Is This Important?

I have small children and pets. You also likely have small children and/or pets that you must care for in the event of an emergency. This means that you must teach your children where to go and what to do in the event of an emergency. The eldest child can lead smaller children if appropriate. Also, someone can be assigned to get the pets and bring them out of the house or take them to safety. In essence, your plan saves the life of everyone in the family.

What Details Do You Need?

I have fire safety ladders on the upper floor windows so that we or our kids can climb out the windows if there is a fire. We also have a family meeting place outside in case everyone has to evacuate the house. We have assigned someone to get our pets out of the house, and we have also ensured that one of the adults always has a cell phone so that we can call 911.

What Kinds Of Plans Are There?

In the event of a fire at the house, you should always have a plan to get out of the house and meet somewhere on your property or at a neighbor’s home. However, when there is a flood or major storm and you are trapped inside your home, I recommend that you prepare to stay inside the home for your own safety.

You can set up your attic as a shelter where you can have sleeping gear, food and supplies ready for everyone in case water comes into the home and you cannot escape. However, it should be noted that you need to evacuate your home if local authorities tell you to do so.

When major storms roll through, you need to have a bathroom or basement to hide out in that will have a flashlight and other supplies in case you get stuck in there. These are the safest places to hide when strong winds are pelting the house.

In each of these situations, you are faced with making sure that you and your family are safe in the event of an emergency. Teaching small children the emergency plan and sticking to it will keep the family safe, get you somewhere where you have supplies and allow for help to get to the house faster.