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FIRE PREVENTION, Friday October 17, 2008 9 Fire Protection & Prevention Services Develop a Family Emergency Plan Emergency planning can help to ensure an effective response to emergencies and disasters. Have a family meeting to discuss potential emergency situations. Talk about what each family member should do in different situa- tions. Develop your plan based on an assessment of the kinds of emergencies that can occur in your community. Natural events can include winter storms, floods or tornadoes. Secondary events, such as toxic spills can exacerbate a weather-related event and prolong a state of emergency. While the emergency incident may vary, the elements of an effective response are often the same. Ensure elderly family members, who may not live with you, are included in your emer- gency plans. Conduct a hazard audit of your home. Review fire safety features such as smoke detectors and how to monitor them. Check for frayed electrical cords or overloaded circuits. Don't keep flammable materials near electrical equipment or your furnace. Learn how to safe- ly turn off the main water and electrical switches in your home. Locate the safe areas in your home in case of a tornado (ie: interior bathrooms, closets and lowest floor level). Select a predetermined meeting place if a fire or other event forces your family out of your home. Ask someone outside your imme- diate area to act as a central point of contact for your family members, relatives and friends in an emergency. How to get started Meet with your neighbours. Plan how the neighbourhood could work together after a disaster. Know your neigh- bours skills (medical, technical). Consider how you could help neighbours who have spe- cial needs, such as elderly or disabled persons. Make plans for childcare in case parents cant get home. Practise and maintain your plan Disasters happen anytime and anywhere, and when disaster strikes, you may not have much time to respond. A highway spill of hazardous material could mean instant evacuation. A winter storm could confine your family at home. An earthquake, flood, tornado or any other disaster could cut off basic service (gas, water, electricity and telephone) for days. Supplies There are six basics you should stock in your home: Water, food, first aid supplies, clothing and bedding, tools and emergency supplies. Keep the items that you would most likely need dur- ing an evacuation in an easy to carry container a large, covered trash container; a camping backpack; or a duffle bag. One (1) week supply of any medications. Since its introduction, the 911 emergency telephone number has proven to be a very effective tool during emergencies. The 911 emergency number provides instant access to emergency services should the need for immediate police, fire and ambulance response arise. This service, like any useful tool, does have its limita- tions. If the service is flooded with non-emergency calls, then the emergency calls will have a more difficult time getting through. The most significant thing about a flood is its sudden- ness. In a situation like this, residents can be so over- whelmed that they may unwittingly tie up the emergency services with non-emergency calls. Some examples of these are to locate relatives, to ask about the availability of gas at local pumps, to find out the location or availabil- ity of shelters and other services. Calls like these, though important, could be handled through other means. Using our available non-emergency numbers would leave the 911 service available to handle the calls it was designed to service. How do you know when you should call 911? When a situation requires the immediate response of: Police, fire- fighting, and/or ambulance personnel. Some examples of these calls are: to report downed power lines, to report criminal activity, to report injuries and life-threatening emergencies and to report fire. Proper use of 911 Emergency Telephone Number