Emergency prepareness

[Cybrvanr]

There's all sorts of talk lately about having fresh water and all that stuff in case there's a hurricane or terrorist attack, but there seems to be a few things they've left out. I've decided to outline some of the things I feel are just as important.

Do you know where your water main shutoff valve is?

Have you operated the valve recently to check and see if it works -in older homes, valves can get stuck, or bad gaskets can fail to shutoff the water.

Are there any keys/tools needed to operate the valve, and are they easily accessable?

Do you know where your gas line or oil line shutoff valve is?

Again, have you opreated the valve to see if it works?

And again, are there any special keys or tools needed to operate the valve, and are they readily accessable?

Is there a fire extinguisher in the house?

Have you checked it lately to make sure it's still charged?

Do you know what types of fires it will work on?

Do you have a land-line phone that will work when the electricity is out?

Do you have a means of communicating with another party if land lines are down? (IE cel-phone, HAM radio, CB, FRS radio, etc)

Is there a first aid kit in your home?

Do you know what is in it, and if the supplies are are fresh and useable?

Do you know how to use the materials in the first aid kit?

Do you have a form of lighting that can be easily accessed if the electricity were to go out?

 

[Cybrvanr]

Left out some other important stuff...

Do you know where and how to shut of the electricity to your home?

Have you operated the device to see if it works properly?


...and most importantly, have you made sure that OTHER people know this stuff about you and your home. This can be friends, neighbors, etc. For example, if water is running out your back door, would a a neighbor know how to turn the water off to your home?

 

[tolivac]

Cell phone systems may go down in an emergency-but it is worth a try.Ham radios are good-but remember you need a license from the FCC to use it.CB may not be so good-some CBer's have laughed off emergency calls-even on the Ch#9.If you do use land line and Cell phones in an emergency-keep the use breif since these will be running on battery or gen power.If you have a HAM radio set or CB set-be sure to have one that can be run from batteries or a generator--And can your generator charge the batteries when they run down?

 

[toggleswitch]

Great ideas! Thanks.

And for those of you with vacation/ full-time homes in cold climates....

Have you added a check-valve and anti-freeze to your hot-water-heating (hydronic) boiler? This will prevent freezing of heating pipes should the heat fail.

Your service rep can do this professionally.. (recommended).

 

[dalangdon]

Don't forget your pets!

When emergencies happen, you need to remember the needs of your pets as well: extra food and WATER. Even cats and little dogs need at least a gallon of water a day - more for bigger dogs.

Also, it's a good idea to have a sign of some sort by your door to let emergency workers know that you have pets in the house. While they can't always get to them, if they know they are there, it will help them do their job.

 

[frigilux]

And where did I put that extra case of Bombay Sapphire, dammit!?

I kid, I kid. It is good to be prepared. I keep 200 bottles of water (cases of the carry-round size, not gallon bottles) on premises at all times. I keep using the water and replacing it so it doesn't get old. There's also a good 3-month supply of food in my pantry. And candles. Most of us forget that eventually, batteries run out.

I also want to pick up a crank-powered radio and I've seen a multi-tasking solar charger that powers up iPods and batteries. That would be handy.