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Emergency Preparedness
Submitted by pwave13 on October 10, 2008 - 11:55am.
I would like this forum to be a place where people can ask questions on the subject of preparedness, give their personal opinions, thoughts or tips and also tell their own story about safety and preparedness.
Re: Emergency Preparedness
There was a thread on one of the other boards about creating '72-hour backpacks' which I thought was a really handy way to deal with emergencies that might necessitate last-minute travel, like hurricanes, disasters, and such. Each person in the family had their own emergency travel backpack, all were stored in the pantry or whatever room would likely survive the most in a disaster. Here's the list of what would be dispersed throughout the family members's bags. Everyone got food and clothing. Dad got most of the heavier tools and some copies of the important papers. Mom got most of the bulkier first aid stuff.
Emergency travel backpack:
bottled water (not too much, very heavy)
copies of home insurance policy and other important documents
first aid kit
duct tape
hammer
screwdriver
sweatpants
nylon outerwear
socks
underwear
shirt
sweatshirt
t-shirt
powdered gatoraide
canned or packeted chicken
tuna or salmon in packets
vitamins
contact solution
soap
energy bars
hand sanitizer
water purifier
toothbrush
toothpaste
comb
little shampoo bottle
radio
flashlight
rope
batteries
social security cards
prepaid phone card
cash in small bills
emergency phone numbers
several copies of pictures of everyone in the family to hand out in case you're separated for ID and location.
baby wipes
allergy meds
dust mask
disposable gloves
plastic silverwear
handwarmer gelpacks
pocket knife
warm hat
local map
perm marker
tape
drug allergy list
medication
house and vehicle keys
matches / quicklight sticks
Re: 72-hour backpack & wills
really helpful list. thanks for sharing this with us!
re: Mark 2x2 on the will thing, yes, we just went through this. it was kinda weird to go through it, but also helpful and reassuring to have all the bases covered. Brought on some good (and potentially sensitive) conversations with relatives. I went through a legal insurance company (pay $30/month for access to legal aid if needed) to get it done, after going through it, I probably would have done it myself - lots of templates online that walk you through it. There's also a savvy daddy article on how to write a will here.
Re: Emergency Preparedness
Along the lines of emergencies, has anyone tackled the idea of a will and who to entrust your children to, should the need arise?
Mark
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Dad of 2-yr-old twin boys, Jonathan & Josiah.
Re: Emergency Preparedness
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/186622/how_to_assemble_first_ai...
Re: Emergency Preparedness
It seems like there are different types of emergencies, too:
- financial: having a 3-6 month cash cushion, having life insurance, a will, all that stuff
- physical: I've seen those all-in-one emergency kits on amazon that has the batteries, water, flashlights, energybars, first aid kits. seems like a good thing to have at home and in the car. I've got a (paranoid or smart?) friend who has a store of water/canned food/etc in his basement just in case. My wife and I also have a meet-up point (her sister's place) just in case anything happens and there's isn't access to cell phones.
another good resource is this sesame street disaster prep website for kids/parents to get more aware together.
Re: Emergency Preparedness
If there is one thing that causes me anxiety about being a dad, it's having an emergency and not being prepared for it. I'd love to hear some ideas here from some experienced dads! Maybe a list of "must haves" around the house?
Re: Emergency Preparedness
I have been giving this a lot of thought myself lately...I have made sure I know where the nearest emergency room is and the fastest way to get there. I noticed like me, you have an infant and a toddler.
Are you CPR certified for infants and toddlers? Thats a pretty big one...prevention is key as well with child safety locks inside of cabinets with hazardous chemicals etc. My daughter was burned with scalding hot tea at my in-laws home and thankfully they knew to take off all her clothes immediately and run her under cool water.
I keep a gun in my home for security for my family. I have sat and tried to think of every possible scenario, even involving natural disasters, if there is a tornado does your family know the best place in the house to go to be safe? What about if there is a fire, do you all know how to escape from each room assuming your normal entry route could be blocked.
I have also heard suggestions of having a designated meeting area in case of natural disaster. If for example there were a serious disaster of some kind and there is no phone service of any kind available and your wife and kids went out to the store...how will you know where to find them? Have a landmark picked out, if this happens, our family rally point will be here at X.
Those are some of the things I have been thinking of on the topic...
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