In Case of Emergency

Recently we had a workplace shooting at a nearby business and the town was in an uproar. Schools were put on lockdown and people were told to be careful because the shooter has not been arrested. When we went to our local McDonalds, it was full of employees from different businesses who could not get to the workplace because the road was blocked by police. They were told to go to McDonalds and wait until further notice. It was really interesting to hear all of the conversations around about this emergency which made me realize that we should be going over emergency procedures at work, school, and home at least once a month.

Here are some suggestions:

At Work:

·      Make sure you know the emergency evacuation procedures.

·      Make sure you know what your specific duties are during an emergency.

·      Be aware of all the emergency exits.

·      Make sure you now what to do in case of a lockdown.

·      Plan on how you are going to contact your family to let them know you are okay.

At Schools:

·      Make sure you know the emergency evacuation procedures.

·      Make sure you know what your specific duties are during an emergency.

·      Be aware of all the emergency exits.

·      Make sure you now what to do in case of a lockdown.

·      Make sure you have contact infor for all students readily available.

·      Have an emergency bag ready for evacuation that includes current roster of students, paper, pen, duct tape, rubber gloves, bandaids,  and a water bottle.

·      Plan on how you are going to contact your family to let them know you are okay.

At Home:

·      Make sure you can grab your wallet with ID easily.

·      Know where your charger for your phone is so that you can grab it quickly.

·      Have some mail or papers with your current address on it.

·      Identify a meeting place for everyone to meet in case you go out different doors.

·      Video record each room and save recording to flashdrive that can be stored at a different location.

·      Have a list of important numbers on hand for agencies such as current doctors, insurance company, work contact numbers, other family members.

·      Keep a list of current medication and doses with the emergency numbers.

·      I have a number in my cell phone as ICE (in case of emergency) and have my husband’s phone number in it.

What else would you add to these lists? Please share.