First Responders Notified: Get Your Families Ready for Disasters

https://shepherdsheart.life/blogs/news/first-responders-get-notice-to-get-your-families-ready-for-disasters

by Celeste Solum February 01, 2020

This communique went out to First Responders:
Make a resolution to get your family ready for disasters this year
It’s still the beginning of the year, relatively, and not too late to start a New Year’s resolution. While getting healthy, getting rid of piles of stuff or finally traveling like you’ve been meaning to are all worthy goals, why not tackle something most of us preach regularly but never do ourselves: prepare yourself and your family for disasters and emergencies.
First responders can get called out at a moment’s notice at any hour of the day. Sometimes the emergency is a flood, hurricane or wildfire affecting your own family or home. Getting your family prepared enables you to do your job without quite so much added worry. A few simple steps can go a long way to ensuring your family’s safety. Ready.gov’s webpage “Ready Responder” offers resources and guides for both firefighters and law enforcement to help with this goal. The site also offers these tips:
Create evacuation plans, both escape plans to get everyone out of a residence in case of fire as well as evacuation plans in the event of a larger disaster. Have multiples of each plan.
Designate emergency contacts, preferably someone out-of-town, that your family members will contact once they are safe.
Make go-bags for everyone in the house and one for pets.
Practice! Practice all evacuation and escape plans and make changes as necessary. (Source: Ready.gov)