Domestic Emergency Planning
It can never happen to me!! But it might.
Have you an emergency plan?
- If anything happens to you, who will cope in your place? Who will tell them?
- Who will collect the kids from school?
- Who will feed the animals/ water the plants?
- Who will tell your next of kin?
- Who has the spare key to the house? Where is the other spare?
- If the kids can get home by themselves, whom will they contact and how?
- Do you know how to switch off all your electricity or gas and your water. Do the kids know ? Have you tried recently since water stopcocks can be very difficult to operate. Do you have the necessary phone numbers clearly listed somewhere. Do you have candles and matches in a secure place?
- Do you have an emergency torch (preferably a wind-up one)?
- Does your smoke alarm work? Where is your fire cxtinguisher? When did you last check it? Do you know how to operate it?
- If you are trapped upstairs by a fire, which window will you escape from? do you know how to get it far enough open? do you know it can be safer to drop than jump? do you know how? Is the area below your preferred window clear of hazards?
- If you normally lock your outer doors and put away the keys at night do your guests know where you put the keys lest they have to get out in an emergency (in the dark)?
- If you carry a mobile phone, do you have an I.C.E. number in it? How practicable is that number if you are out of action?
- Have you considered having a message in a bottle? The concept here is a note of all this kind of information in an obvious place in the house for the benefit of anyone coming in to help you. (however, think security as well.)