Be Prepared, Not Scared

Suddenly the whole house erupts in confusion. Someone banging on the front door has aroused you and your family from their sleep. The dog is barking, the kids are crying and in your half awake state you trudge downstairs to the front door. Through the front window you see the red and blue flashing lights of a police car and wonder what’s going on.

 “Evening sir,” states a police officer. The police officer continues, “Sorry to wake you but there has been a major train derailment about a mile from your house. You and your family need to evacuate the area. You have 20 minutes to leave your home. Please hurry.” “Where do we go? How long will we be gone for,” you ask in shock. “I don’t know sir. Just please hurry and get your family to safety. Head to the school about 20 minutes from here. You’ll be given further instructions there.”

When faced with the situation above what would you do? For many it would be chaos as we try to grapple with the reality of leaving our home and having our lives turned upside down. Many families locally or in other parts of the province have recently been forced from their homes due to fire. It is scary standing outside watching things go up in flames but where to start.

Fortunately one of the first calls is the Red Cross. The Red Cross disaster management team members stand ready to help with one person, one family or hundreds of families. Placing a call to 1 888 800 6493 gets some help. No matter when or where, the Red Cross is ready to help.

Emergency Preparedness starts with you! Make sure that everyone in the family knows what to do in case of an emergency. The Government of Canada encourages us to be prepared for 72 hours. Www.getprepared.ca has a lot of great information.

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Hazard-proof your home – anticipate what could go wrong and take corrective action.

Do you have a back up heat or power source?

Post emergency numbers – clearly beside the phone emergency and important family contact numbers

Do you have a designated meeting area if you evacuate the home?

Check your insurance

Prepare an emergency kit – some of the contents might be:

• Personal identification or important papers
• Medications and a battery powered radio
• Change of clothes, toiletries
• … And more!

Check the house before leaving.

• Is everyone including family pets accounted for?
• Did you shut off the water, gas and electricity supplies?
• Did you secure the house and leave a visible note saying where you’ve gone?

Preparing for a disaster and knowing what to do doesn’t have to be complicated however your pre-planning is critical.

To learn more drop by Parkland Ambulance and pick up some free resource information. Visit our web site at www.parklandambulance.com or consider taking a first aid or CPR class as a great first step. To register call 953-8358.