Swine Flu: 21 Things Law Enforcement Needs to Know
Overview
At the time of this writing, only the potential for a pandemic has been mentioned, and summer approaches; not your “usual” cold and flu season. One school of thought is that we will see a relatively minor wave of flu cases which will diminish toward the end of the summer. However, when fall starts and schools are back in session and traditional cold and flu season begins, it’s possible we’ll see a more massive wave of infection and reach true pandemic status.
This short article is not intended to be a medical or scientific discussion of the current strain of flu or its treatment. Instead, this piece is meant to inform law enforcement of some of the many unique threats and assets that may present themselves during a developing pandemic, along with some tips on what to do at present to mitigate future problems or obstacles.
The Hidden Threats
Aside from the obvious concerns related to staffing, service, and supply shortages that will likely affect police work in general, a pandemic scenario carries with it unique issues based not on the disease itself, but on both official and societal reactions to the emergency.
As a pandemic progresses in severity, the most probable reaction will be “mass social distancing” whether instituted or spontaneous. “Instituted” would insinuate that government entities have enacted measures leading to social distancing such as the closure of schools, public gatherings, non-essential business, and possibly setting curfews, leaving people with little to do but remain home. “Spontaneous” social distancing would occur when families take it upon themselves to stay out of public locations. We may see spontaneous school closures when parents keep their children home en masse, and parents remaining at home to care for their children will see some business curtailed as a result. Other threats could present themselves as well.
1. Robberies, particularly bank robberies, are likely to increase. People will begin wearing the N95 cloth masks in public, and one of the first groups of people to take advantage of this will be the criminal element who will realize they can easily walk around in public already wearing a mask. Given the current financial situation, the stress and civil unrest added by a developing pandemic and the resulting economic effect of a pandemic, it is probable that the numbers of potential robberies will increase substantially.
2. Domestic violence may increase dramatically since social distancing will alter the family dynamic. Families are accustomed to being apart for most of the day, and in this scenario, everyone will be home and “on top of each other” with the pandemic itself adding a level of stress. The potential for loss of income will also add considerable agitation to an already difficult situation and domestic violence will be a likely result.
3. Suicide and suicide attempts may also increase for obvious reasons.
4. Though not directly police-related, there will also be an increased risk of fire. Cold and flu season is traditionally during the colder months and social distancing means that more people will be at home for longer periods of time and possibly using alternative heating devices (especially if there are issues with our critical infrastructure) for longer periods of time. Add to this the fact that more people will be cooking at home and we can readily see the risk for fire increases significantly.
5. The potential for terrorism increases. We know pretty much every metropolitan area of the country has terror cells, and we must assume that some have standing orders to make a bad situation worse. For example, if we see mass social distancing that appears to be stemming the progress of the pandemic, we may see an attack on critical infrastructure. Water tops the list because people would have to venture out of their houses into groups to collect water from delivery trucks. This close proximity between people would negate the benefits of social distancing. Too, the loss of water would cripple effective treatment at hospitals.
The Hidden Assets
Just as a pandemic carries with it certain threats and negative issues, it will also create certain assets and advantages that should be recognized now so they can be put to use when the time comes.
1. During a developing pandemic, local trade, tourism, and commerce will probably plummet leaving certain businesses closed… and available. Top of this list will be hotels and motels which can be pressed into service (through MOU, etc.) to serve as dormitories. Locations near precincts or stations could be used for officers wanting to stay away from their families (not bringing home the virus). You might look at having a rotation schedule for groups of officers. Motels near hospitals could be used as either dorms for their staff, or for off-site clinics for non-infectious, non-flu-related patients (such as the victims of domestic violence who don’t need to be taken to a flu-infested emergency room for the treatment of minor injuries).
2. As schools close, your dedicated school resource officers will be freed up providing extra personnel or “force multipliers.”
3. School counselors will also be freed up and could possibly staff phone banks from home. These phone banks can prove useful in dispute resolution (stemming from the domestic violence listed above), suicide prevention, grief counseling, and officer morale.
4. As local business dwindles, some private security personnel may be freed up offering additional force multipliers useful in some capacity. To this list add private investigation firms. Many states, such as Georgia, require private-sector continuing ed hours to include regular instruction in the area of “homeland security” for just this purpose. Other private-sector assets related to this area include BENS (Business Executives for National Security), CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams), Neighborhood Watch, COPs (Citizens On Patrol), VIPS (Volunteers In Police Service), as well as Explorer Scouts.
5. Additionally, as a pandemic progresses and the likelihood of an SNS (Strategic National Stockpile) release becomes likely, you’ll need secure transportation to safeguard the delivery of pharmaceuticals to the PODs (Points Of Dispensing). Your local private-sector armored truck companies should have plenty of units (with guards and drivers) that can be volunteered since it’s likely they won’t be needed for private commerce.
6. One asset that will not necessarily be “created” but which is commonly overlooked in many community public health plans is the fact that many restaurants may be closed down, and some will still have a respectable supply of non-perishable food on-site (especially if they are closed down rapidly or too early in the game).
What to do Now
Though we may be at the beginning stages of a global pandemic, there is still time to set certain things in place to mitigate the negatives and strengthen reactive capabilities.
1. Ensure your officers’ abilities to report for duty and remained focused on the tasks at hand by providing enhanced family preparedness instruction. Officers will more readily report when they know the family they leave at home is as well-prepared as possible. The short list of preparedness goals includes 4 weeks of food and medication, current medical checkups and adequate prescription meds (including dental checkups and vet checkups for pets), and entertainment for long periods of time in isolation at home. For a detailed preparedness information source, visit http://www.disasterprep101.com.
2. Maintain communication with your department of public health or primary source of medical care to make sure officers receive prophylactic flu treatment if and when available.
3. Set MOUs in place for those assets (listed above) you may wish to utilize in a pandemic scenario.
4. Establish orientation / training sessions with those groups you may wish to utilize. Though most would not be directly involved in police work, many can be called upon to monitor their own neighborhoods to some extent or fulfill some lower level security function and thereby shoulder a small percentage of the workload.
5. Set a policy to top off the gas tanks of all vehicles on a daily basis in case fuel supplies are interrupted.
6. Start stocking a certain amount of non-perishable foods at the station in anticipation of a loss of food supply.
7. Encourage your PIOs to perform community outreach functions and speak to civic groups on the topic of enhanced / last-minute preparedness. Fewer victims in a scenario such as this is always a good thing, and cementing the relationship between law enforcement and the general public is worth its weight in gold.
8. Train all officers on infection control procedures to be used during arrests, to include masking suspects, regular handwashing, and squad car sanitation (see CDC interim guidelines for cleaning EMS transport vehicles). Officers should be equipped with N95 masks, eye protection visors, and nitrile gloves to protect themselves when handling arrestees, and while operating a contaminated vehicle.
9. Determine a codified “altered standards of response” for periods of reduced staffing. For example, you might be able to justify a “no response” to nuisance calls such as someone playing a stereo too loud, but could you ignore a home invasion? Putting your reasoning in writing and in detail now may prevent future lawsuits.
10. Once a pandemic is declared and mass social distancing enacted, raise the terror threat alert levels at critical infrastructure sites to red / high, and be ready for this eventuality by assisting these facilities in a review of their preparedness / business continuity plans today.
These are just a few of the hundreds of details law enforcement officers should know during a pandemic. We will try over the coming weeks to provide additional short articles to cover additional concepts.
***Permission granted to share this article, provided all contents - including source - remain intact.***
About the author: Paul Purcell is a security analyst and preparedness consultant with extensive experience in pandemic influenza readiness planning. More information and additional articles may be found at www.disasterprep101.com. © 2009 Paul Purcell
Friday, May 01, 2009
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
50 Ways to Conserve Water at Home
With many areas of the country in drought conditions – some severe – and others sure to follow, all of us could use a reminder list of ways to cut back on our water consumption around the house.
None of the following steps are as difficult as the results of a drought could be, and as far as disasters go, a severe drought can be the worst. You can go three weeks without food, but only three days without W.A.T.E.R.:
Waste: “Waste not, want not.” Tighten plumbing leaks and prevent other needless losses of water.
Application: Where do you use water that you don’t need to?
Teaching: It’s good you’re following these suggestions, but what about others? Pass these along.
Economy: Where do you need to use water that you could use less?
Reclamation: Where can you get extra water?
Though the following steps fall into the categories just mentioned, we’ve mixed them up in no particular order to encourage you to read them all. These are excerpts from “Disaster Prep 101.”
1. Fire Safety. Summer brings us heat and dryness that leads to wildfires and winter sees increased house fires from the use of additional heating sources. As a sizable fire would need hundreds or thousands of gallons of water to fight, any fire prevention steps taken are water saving steps.
2. Brick in the toilet. A brick in the toilet tank is meant to take up space to replace water. If a brick takes up about half a quart of space, then you save half a quart per flush. Hint: Since bricks can dissolve, paint it with basement water sealant. Another hint: If you can’t fit a whole brick in your tank, use half a brick. Just make sure nothing blocks your valves or causes a leak.
3. Color coded conservation. You don’t always have to flush your toilet each and every time. To borrow an old adage, “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”
4. Buy a low-flow toilet. Though an expensive option, it’s easy to incorporate into your lifestyle, and in fact, some communities offer homeowners rebates for installing these water-savers.
5. Rain barrels. Rain barrels can help save rain water that otherwise would have come down your gutters and soaked into the ground. While you can’t immediately drink this water, you can use it in your food gardens, for outside washing (like if your car really needs it), and you can purify it for drinking or bathing if you’d like. Also, you can buy storage barrels to keep in the garage or other storage area, and use them to store water saved by some of the methods listed in this article. Be sure to mark the barrel as to whether the water is drinkable.
6. AC condensation. If you have central heat and air, you have a drain line that carries away the condensation that collects from your air conditioner coils. If yours is not connected to sewage lines you can collect and use this water. However, DO NOT DRINK THIS WATER! It can be used, though, to water your garden, outside washing, or watering the house plants. You can collect up to two quarts per day during humid weather.
7. Squeeze-handle shower head. You can buy shower setups that have the head on a hose, and the head is activated with a squeeze lever. This will let you wet down, lather up, and then rinse off without leaving the shower running. If the squeeze-handle variety won’t work for you, you can easily find low-flow shower heads that provide the same pressure but use less water overall.
8. Faucet restrictors. Like the low-flow shower head, you can also find low-flow faucet restrictors.
9. Liquid soap. For hand washing, nothing saves water like liquid soap since it lathers more quickly than bar soap. Squirt a small dollop of liquid soap, give a quick burst from the faucet, thoroughly lather, and then turn the faucet back on briefly to rinse.
10. Spray bottles. Keep a small spray bottle of water by the sink. When washing your hands (with liquid soap), or wetting your toothbrush, all you need is a quick spritz from the bottle instead of using the faucet.
11. Plastic gloves. We’re talking about the inexpensive plastic foodservice gloves that come 100 to a box for just a couple of dollars. If there’s anything you’d do that would make you wash your hands before, during, or afterwards (like painting, cleaning the cat’s litter box, etc.), then wearing gloves will save a hand washing.
12. Paper plates. In times of drought; water takes temporary precedence over other resources. Using paper plates saves dishwashing water. The same goes for paper towels which will cut down on the number of cloth hand towels you have to wash.
13. Keep a jug by the sink. Keep an empty water jug by the sink to catch and save cold water coming from the tap while you’re waiting for the hot water. If you collect a lot of water this way, put it in your storage barrels.
14. Consolidate heavy work. Do you do things at different times of day that make you sweaty? On some days do you take more than one shower or change clothes a couple of times? Consolidate these laborious efforts. If you work out regularly and also work in the yard, try to work out and then immediately do your yard work. Stay sweaty, take just one shower, and wear just one set of clothes.
15. Waterless car wash. Several companies produce “waterless carwash” products that let you spray them on and wipe them off leaving your car spotless without the use of water. (For one that benefits schools, see http://www.beatthedirt.com/ or give them a call at 601-503-8300.)
16. Disposable paint brushes. If you have to paint, try to use zero water. Wear your plastic gloves and use brushes you can just throw away.
17. No lawn watering. This goes without saying. However, if you collected the rain water or AC condensation earlier, you might use a watering can to cure brown spots, or water shrubs or trees that might die.
18. Check faucet washers. Another no-brainer is to make sure you have no leaky faucets. However, a word of caution. Know what you’re doing before tackling the repairs yourself since a plumbing accident could spew more water than your faucet would ever drip.
19. Full dish washer. Letting the dishes pile up in the sink is okay if you’re waiting for enough to make a full load for the dishwasher.
20. Full clothes washer. Full loads of laundry are best as they’re more water-efficient. And if you have just one or two items to wash? Hand wash them in the sink.
21. Hand wash over dishes. If you’re letting dishes pile up and some need some presoaking, use the kitchen sink for hand washing. Let the soapy water accumulate and pull double duty by pre-cleaning your dishware.
22. Dig a well. If you’re on municipal water, yet live in an area where you can have a well, please dig one. Though pricey, it will give you an alternate source of water and will help conserve city water.
23. Dixie cups. These tiny cups can let you see how much (or little) water you need for things like rinsing after brushing your teeth. And since they’re disposable, you don’t have to wash.
24. Pass this list to a friend. It’s good that you’re reading this list. Passing it along to others helps them conserve too. With conservation, it really is “the more the merrier.”
25. No new aquariums. If the kids come home wanting anything more than a fishbowl for a new aquatic pet, do what you can to talk them out of it. Unless of course, you fill it and maintain it with rainwater.
26. Nuke your water. For some hot water needs it’s thriftier to fill a cup with cold water and zap it in the microwave to heat it, rather than let the water run until the hot water shows.
27. Shave from a cup. One use for your cup of hot water is shaving. Rather than let the water run during a shave, just rinse your razor in the cup. Too, you’ll use less water in a cup than you would by having an inch or two in the bottom of the sink. Better yet, if possible, use an electric razor.
28. Skip a shower. If you’re not dirty and you’re not going to do anything but hang around the house, especially if by yourself, why take a shower?
29. Let the kids skip a bath. If you want to be a hero to your children, provided they’re really not dirty and don’t need it, let them skip every other day’s bath or shower.
30. Baking soda for Fido. Your dog’s baths can be a little farther apart too, if you give them a dry rubdown with baking soda in the interim. Rub it in their fur and then brush it out thoroughly. They’ll smell lots better, and be happy they skipped a soaking.
31. Nuke a washcloth. Wet a washcloth with a quick blast from the faucet, add some liquid soap, and zap it in the microwave for a few seconds. You could wash your face and hands, and probably take half a bath. Wet another washcloth and microwave it a few seconds for a quick rinse cloth.
32. Paper towel dry-off. After your sponge bath with your microwaved washcloths, dry off with paper towels. Like paper plates, they don’t need washing.
33. Kiddie pools. If you’re lacking rain barrels and want to catch a few drops, get one of those rigid plastic “kiddie pools.” They’re only a few dollars and will hold gallons of rain runoff from your gutter downspouts.
34. Solar showers. Have a private back yard? Like being outdoors? You can get “solar showers” at almost any camping supply store (it’s a black plastic jug with a shower head on a hose). You can use your collected rain water for that occasional warm-weather outdoor shower.
35. No swimming pool. Yet another entry in our no-brainer list, everyone knows that you save lots of water by not filling your swimming pool. But how could you use existing pool water in a water shortage? The chlorine will evaporate in a few weeks if not maintained, but not enough to drink the water. However, you could use the water for outdoor washing, your outdoor shower, flushing your toilet, or as a firefighting water reservoir if your home is in a wildfire area. (See http://www.disasterprep101.com/wildfire.htm )
36. Check your meter. Check for leaks at your water meter. If yours is leaking, notify your local water authority. Also, many meters have flow indicators that move when water is flowing through the pipe even slightly. If you’ve turned off everything in the house and the flow indicator is moving, you might have a hidden leak.
37. Check for a leaky toilet. Put a few drops of food coloring into your toilet tank’s water. If you see the colored water in the bowl after a few minutes it means you have a leak and might need a new tank valve. Hint: Some toilet tank valves are degraded or corroded by the chlorine contained in many toilet bowl tank cleaner / additives. When in doubt, leave them out.
38. Tie up a tarp. If you’re really serious about collecting rain water, tie a few tarps in place to where they drain into your kiddie pool or other collection point.
39. Frozen water bottles. Keep plastic bottles of water (about 4/5 full) in your fridge and freezer (you’ll save electricity since your fridge will run more efficiently). When going on picnics or using your cooler, use a few frozen bottles of water to keep food cold. The water in the bottles can be consumed when thawed (or refrozen), while ice will melt and be dumped out.
40. Water at restaurants. If you don’t plan to drink it, don’t let the waiter leave you a glass of water at the table.
41. Dishes: wipe vs. rinse. If the dishes are too dirty to stick straight in the dishwasher, wipe them off with newspaper rather than rinsing them. You save water and get double-duty from your newspaper.
42. Let Fido lick the bowl. If you have a dog, let Fido clean your dishes before they’re put in the dishwasher. (Just don’t give Fido too much, or anything bad for a dog.)
43. Aluminum foil. When cooking at home, line your pots and pans with aluminum foil. When you’re done cooking, remove the foil to make cleanup easier.
44. Buying your water. If you buy your drinking water, go for the gallons of distilled water rather than the smaller bottles of mineral water. The distilled is a better value and is actually more pure than the “designer waters.”
45. Bug sprayers. Your lawn and garden store will have 2-gallon pump-up sprayers. Most cost less than $20 and will help you use your collected rain water or pool water for washing (and even fighting small fires).
46. “Go Jo.” Go Jo is a waterless hand soap that mechanics use. It’s rather effective on really dirty hands and can be used completely without water. Similarly, you can use the little bottles of clear hand sanitizer.
47. In-line water heater. In-line water heaters can be installed closer to the faucets or tubs they’re to heat, and they use less energy. If you get one, great, but don’t do away with your old water heater (even if you cut off the gas or electric to it) since it’s a great backup reservoir in water shortage scenarios.
48. No mopping. Most households now have a “Swiffer” or comparable cleaning aid intended to replace old-fashioned mops. If you haven’t made the switch, doing so will save a few gallons of water per year.
49. Skip a laundry load. Once in a while, some clothing really doesn’t need to be washed. In mild weather, outer shirts that were only worn briefly might need just a “fluff in the dryer” or another ironing to be perfectly ready to wear. Bachelors have known this secret for years.
50. General safety. We started this article with fire safety and we’ll close with general safety. Each time you prevent a trip to the hospital (or dentist), you prevent the extra water that would be used during your visit, even if it’s just from the doctor washing up to examine you.
Water is like money. We should learn to save it well and spend it wisely. We hope these simple ideas prove useful, and we invite you to check back for our next article which will cover municipal water savings.
----------
About the author: Paul Purcell is an Atlanta-based security analyst and preparedness consultant with over 20 years risk management experience. He’s also the author of “Disaster Prep 101” at http://www.disasterprep101.com/, and a partner / advisor with 1-800-PREPARE. © 2007 Paul Purcell.
(Permission is granted to reprint this article provided all portions, including author info, remain intact.)
None of the following steps are as difficult as the results of a drought could be, and as far as disasters go, a severe drought can be the worst. You can go three weeks without food, but only three days without W.A.T.E.R.:
Waste: “Waste not, want not.” Tighten plumbing leaks and prevent other needless losses of water.
Application: Where do you use water that you don’t need to?
Teaching: It’s good you’re following these suggestions, but what about others? Pass these along.
Economy: Where do you need to use water that you could use less?
Reclamation: Where can you get extra water?
Though the following steps fall into the categories just mentioned, we’ve mixed them up in no particular order to encourage you to read them all. These are excerpts from “Disaster Prep 101.”
1. Fire Safety. Summer brings us heat and dryness that leads to wildfires and winter sees increased house fires from the use of additional heating sources. As a sizable fire would need hundreds or thousands of gallons of water to fight, any fire prevention steps taken are water saving steps.
2. Brick in the toilet. A brick in the toilet tank is meant to take up space to replace water. If a brick takes up about half a quart of space, then you save half a quart per flush. Hint: Since bricks can dissolve, paint it with basement water sealant. Another hint: If you can’t fit a whole brick in your tank, use half a brick. Just make sure nothing blocks your valves or causes a leak.
3. Color coded conservation. You don’t always have to flush your toilet each and every time. To borrow an old adage, “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”
4. Buy a low-flow toilet. Though an expensive option, it’s easy to incorporate into your lifestyle, and in fact, some communities offer homeowners rebates for installing these water-savers.
5. Rain barrels. Rain barrels can help save rain water that otherwise would have come down your gutters and soaked into the ground. While you can’t immediately drink this water, you can use it in your food gardens, for outside washing (like if your car really needs it), and you can purify it for drinking or bathing if you’d like. Also, you can buy storage barrels to keep in the garage or other storage area, and use them to store water saved by some of the methods listed in this article. Be sure to mark the barrel as to whether the water is drinkable.
6. AC condensation. If you have central heat and air, you have a drain line that carries away the condensation that collects from your air conditioner coils. If yours is not connected to sewage lines you can collect and use this water. However, DO NOT DRINK THIS WATER! It can be used, though, to water your garden, outside washing, or watering the house plants. You can collect up to two quarts per day during humid weather.
7. Squeeze-handle shower head. You can buy shower setups that have the head on a hose, and the head is activated with a squeeze lever. This will let you wet down, lather up, and then rinse off without leaving the shower running. If the squeeze-handle variety won’t work for you, you can easily find low-flow shower heads that provide the same pressure but use less water overall.
8. Faucet restrictors. Like the low-flow shower head, you can also find low-flow faucet restrictors.
9. Liquid soap. For hand washing, nothing saves water like liquid soap since it lathers more quickly than bar soap. Squirt a small dollop of liquid soap, give a quick burst from the faucet, thoroughly lather, and then turn the faucet back on briefly to rinse.
10. Spray bottles. Keep a small spray bottle of water by the sink. When washing your hands (with liquid soap), or wetting your toothbrush, all you need is a quick spritz from the bottle instead of using the faucet.
11. Plastic gloves. We’re talking about the inexpensive plastic foodservice gloves that come 100 to a box for just a couple of dollars. If there’s anything you’d do that would make you wash your hands before, during, or afterwards (like painting, cleaning the cat’s litter box, etc.), then wearing gloves will save a hand washing.
12. Paper plates. In times of drought; water takes temporary precedence over other resources. Using paper plates saves dishwashing water. The same goes for paper towels which will cut down on the number of cloth hand towels you have to wash.
13. Keep a jug by the sink. Keep an empty water jug by the sink to catch and save cold water coming from the tap while you’re waiting for the hot water. If you collect a lot of water this way, put it in your storage barrels.
14. Consolidate heavy work. Do you do things at different times of day that make you sweaty? On some days do you take more than one shower or change clothes a couple of times? Consolidate these laborious efforts. If you work out regularly and also work in the yard, try to work out and then immediately do your yard work. Stay sweaty, take just one shower, and wear just one set of clothes.
15. Waterless car wash. Several companies produce “waterless carwash” products that let you spray them on and wipe them off leaving your car spotless without the use of water. (For one that benefits schools, see http://www.beatthedirt.com/ or give them a call at 601-503-8300.)
16. Disposable paint brushes. If you have to paint, try to use zero water. Wear your plastic gloves and use brushes you can just throw away.
17. No lawn watering. This goes without saying. However, if you collected the rain water or AC condensation earlier, you might use a watering can to cure brown spots, or water shrubs or trees that might die.
18. Check faucet washers. Another no-brainer is to make sure you have no leaky faucets. However, a word of caution. Know what you’re doing before tackling the repairs yourself since a plumbing accident could spew more water than your faucet would ever drip.
19. Full dish washer. Letting the dishes pile up in the sink is okay if you’re waiting for enough to make a full load for the dishwasher.
20. Full clothes washer. Full loads of laundry are best as they’re more water-efficient. And if you have just one or two items to wash? Hand wash them in the sink.
21. Hand wash over dishes. If you’re letting dishes pile up and some need some presoaking, use the kitchen sink for hand washing. Let the soapy water accumulate and pull double duty by pre-cleaning your dishware.
22. Dig a well. If you’re on municipal water, yet live in an area where you can have a well, please dig one. Though pricey, it will give you an alternate source of water and will help conserve city water.
23. Dixie cups. These tiny cups can let you see how much (or little) water you need for things like rinsing after brushing your teeth. And since they’re disposable, you don’t have to wash.
24. Pass this list to a friend. It’s good that you’re reading this list. Passing it along to others helps them conserve too. With conservation, it really is “the more the merrier.”
25. No new aquariums. If the kids come home wanting anything more than a fishbowl for a new aquatic pet, do what you can to talk them out of it. Unless of course, you fill it and maintain it with rainwater.
26. Nuke your water. For some hot water needs it’s thriftier to fill a cup with cold water and zap it in the microwave to heat it, rather than let the water run until the hot water shows.
27. Shave from a cup. One use for your cup of hot water is shaving. Rather than let the water run during a shave, just rinse your razor in the cup. Too, you’ll use less water in a cup than you would by having an inch or two in the bottom of the sink. Better yet, if possible, use an electric razor.
28. Skip a shower. If you’re not dirty and you’re not going to do anything but hang around the house, especially if by yourself, why take a shower?
29. Let the kids skip a bath. If you want to be a hero to your children, provided they’re really not dirty and don’t need it, let them skip every other day’s bath or shower.
30. Baking soda for Fido. Your dog’s baths can be a little farther apart too, if you give them a dry rubdown with baking soda in the interim. Rub it in their fur and then brush it out thoroughly. They’ll smell lots better, and be happy they skipped a soaking.
31. Nuke a washcloth. Wet a washcloth with a quick blast from the faucet, add some liquid soap, and zap it in the microwave for a few seconds. You could wash your face and hands, and probably take half a bath. Wet another washcloth and microwave it a few seconds for a quick rinse cloth.
32. Paper towel dry-off. After your sponge bath with your microwaved washcloths, dry off with paper towels. Like paper plates, they don’t need washing.
33. Kiddie pools. If you’re lacking rain barrels and want to catch a few drops, get one of those rigid plastic “kiddie pools.” They’re only a few dollars and will hold gallons of rain runoff from your gutter downspouts.
34. Solar showers. Have a private back yard? Like being outdoors? You can get “solar showers” at almost any camping supply store (it’s a black plastic jug with a shower head on a hose). You can use your collected rain water for that occasional warm-weather outdoor shower.
35. No swimming pool. Yet another entry in our no-brainer list, everyone knows that you save lots of water by not filling your swimming pool. But how could you use existing pool water in a water shortage? The chlorine will evaporate in a few weeks if not maintained, but not enough to drink the water. However, you could use the water for outdoor washing, your outdoor shower, flushing your toilet, or as a firefighting water reservoir if your home is in a wildfire area. (See http://www.disasterprep101.com/wildfire.htm )
36. Check your meter. Check for leaks at your water meter. If yours is leaking, notify your local water authority. Also, many meters have flow indicators that move when water is flowing through the pipe even slightly. If you’ve turned off everything in the house and the flow indicator is moving, you might have a hidden leak.
37. Check for a leaky toilet. Put a few drops of food coloring into your toilet tank’s water. If you see the colored water in the bowl after a few minutes it means you have a leak and might need a new tank valve. Hint: Some toilet tank valves are degraded or corroded by the chlorine contained in many toilet bowl tank cleaner / additives. When in doubt, leave them out.
38. Tie up a tarp. If you’re really serious about collecting rain water, tie a few tarps in place to where they drain into your kiddie pool or other collection point.
39. Frozen water bottles. Keep plastic bottles of water (about 4/5 full) in your fridge and freezer (you’ll save electricity since your fridge will run more efficiently). When going on picnics or using your cooler, use a few frozen bottles of water to keep food cold. The water in the bottles can be consumed when thawed (or refrozen), while ice will melt and be dumped out.
40. Water at restaurants. If you don’t plan to drink it, don’t let the waiter leave you a glass of water at the table.
41. Dishes: wipe vs. rinse. If the dishes are too dirty to stick straight in the dishwasher, wipe them off with newspaper rather than rinsing them. You save water and get double-duty from your newspaper.
42. Let Fido lick the bowl. If you have a dog, let Fido clean your dishes before they’re put in the dishwasher. (Just don’t give Fido too much, or anything bad for a dog.)
43. Aluminum foil. When cooking at home, line your pots and pans with aluminum foil. When you’re done cooking, remove the foil to make cleanup easier.
44. Buying your water. If you buy your drinking water, go for the gallons of distilled water rather than the smaller bottles of mineral water. The distilled is a better value and is actually more pure than the “designer waters.”
45. Bug sprayers. Your lawn and garden store will have 2-gallon pump-up sprayers. Most cost less than $20 and will help you use your collected rain water or pool water for washing (and even fighting small fires).
46. “Go Jo.” Go Jo is a waterless hand soap that mechanics use. It’s rather effective on really dirty hands and can be used completely without water. Similarly, you can use the little bottles of clear hand sanitizer.
47. In-line water heater. In-line water heaters can be installed closer to the faucets or tubs they’re to heat, and they use less energy. If you get one, great, but don’t do away with your old water heater (even if you cut off the gas or electric to it) since it’s a great backup reservoir in water shortage scenarios.
48. No mopping. Most households now have a “Swiffer” or comparable cleaning aid intended to replace old-fashioned mops. If you haven’t made the switch, doing so will save a few gallons of water per year.
49. Skip a laundry load. Once in a while, some clothing really doesn’t need to be washed. In mild weather, outer shirts that were only worn briefly might need just a “fluff in the dryer” or another ironing to be perfectly ready to wear. Bachelors have known this secret for years.
50. General safety. We started this article with fire safety and we’ll close with general safety. Each time you prevent a trip to the hospital (or dentist), you prevent the extra water that would be used during your visit, even if it’s just from the doctor washing up to examine you.
Water is like money. We should learn to save it well and spend it wisely. We hope these simple ideas prove useful, and we invite you to check back for our next article which will cover municipal water savings.
----------
About the author: Paul Purcell is an Atlanta-based security analyst and preparedness consultant with over 20 years risk management experience. He’s also the author of “Disaster Prep 101” at http://www.disasterprep101.com/, and a partner / advisor with 1-800-PREPARE. © 2007 Paul Purcell.
(Permission is granted to reprint this article provided all portions, including author info, remain intact.)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Wildfire Preparedness: The Five Aspects of Readiness
A classic 70’s tune gives us the lyrics, “She ran calling ‘Wildfire’…..” Then a love song, but today, possibly the beginnings of an action / adventure / horror movie. With rainfall low, and temperatures and winds high, the wildfires we’re currently battling across the country are heavily taxing our first responder assets. More fires will surely follow if these conditions continue.
First responder assets aside, these fires have affected local civilians. Thousands have evacuated, and many find nothing but charred vacant lots when they return. What are some innovative ways civilians can protect themselves, their property, and actually help firefighters in the process?
At the household level, most of us have smoke detectors. That’s good, because in a house fire, as in a wildfire, where there’s smoke, there’s F.L.A.M.E.:
Family – Something as massive as a wildfire will affect your whole family. Prepare them now.
Landscaping – Simple and subtle steps can make your property much more fire resistant.
Awareness – In an emergency, time is crucial. Stay aware of the threat and get the warnings early.
Moisture – Some say you fight fire with fire. We say you fight fire with water.
Evacuation – Even after taking all the other steps, a wildfire is something best avoided.
Family
A prepared and involved family is far more able to handle any type of disaster than those who wait for last-minute instruction. Therefore, one of the best things you can do for your family is to prepare them for one of the most common and least forgiving enemies; fire.
1. Take the family on a fire-safety tour through the house. Locate dangers such as overloaded electrical outlets and safety items such as extinguishers and escape routes.
2. In emergencies, redundancy is our friend. You should have more than one smoke detector, fire extinguisher, and escape route from rooms or the house. Hint: If you’re a heavy sleeper, buy a “baby monitor.” Put the transmitter near the farthest smoke detector and the receiver in your bedroom.
3. Make sure everyone in the family knows how to use a fire extinguisher, and how to call 911.
4. Have regular fire drills. Let each family member have a turn being the one who discovers the fire and who has to warn others. On at least every other drill, have everyone evacuate blind-folded on their hands and knees (while exercising due safety) to mimic the realistic conditions of a fire evacuation.
5. Revisit every family emergency plan with the whole family during wildfire season and certainly if one is in your area and possibly heading your way.
Landscaping
Though tragedies usually take the lead in newscasts, stories still abound of how some homeowners managed to protect their properties from wildfire by simple and subtle changes with their landscaping and home. Take these steps now, since in a fire, time is of the essence.
1. Your main landscaping consideration is to remove any dead, dry vegetation, whether on the ground or in your trees, that could transfer fire to your house. Since this aspect of wildfire preparedness has been adequately covered by others, here are a few good outside sources:
- General wildfire landscaping tips: http://www.firewise.org/resources/files/wildfr2.pdf .
- Florida wildfire landscaping pointers: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR07600.pdf .
- More on landscaping during wildfire season: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR04700.pdf.
- Fire-resistant plants: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/emergency/pubs/wildfire_resistant.pdf.
2. Be ready to seal your house before evacuating. Create covers for any opening on your home such as attic vents (roof turbines can be covered with metal trash cans), crawlspace openings, etc. Gather your material (such as plywood) and cut, paint, and label (where it goes) each cover now, keeping them stored on your property for immediate use. Put a couple of hooks over each opening you might cover and drill corresponding holes in the plywood covers. The hooks will hold the cover in place while you drill in the screws. This allows one person to do the job and frees up others to perform other necessary tasks. Hint: Also make covers for your windows (including garage door windows) just as if you lived in a hurricane zone.
3. Create a “fire tool box” and include everything needed to prep your house in advance of a wildfire. Store extra garden hoses, water sprinklers, “Y” connectors for extra hoses, wrenches to turn off your gas, rolls of heavy-duty aluminum foil (to cover the openings you didn’t make covers for), machetes and gloves for last minute brush clearing, etc. Store extra tools because you won’t have time to replace tools that might have been broken or lost.
4. Make sure first responders can see your home’s address. Put your house number on your mailbox, near your front door, and painted on the curb by your driveway.
Awareness
A common theme in all our publications and presentations is the fact that in an emergency, our most crucial asset is time (see our other articles at http://www.disasterprep101.com/). The two key elements of time in a wildfire are one, to have as much done in advance as possible, and two, get as early a warning as possible.
1. Don’t wait for a wildfire to approach to start your landscaping. Perform that now and keep your property as fire-retardant as you can.
2. Don’t wait for the smell of smoke to warn you a fire is on its way. If fire conditions are right, monitor news channels and listen for community warnings.
3. Learn to recognize your community warnings. Does your community have a reverse 911 system? Sirens? Will the local TV or radio station broadcast the alert? If your community doesn’t have any of these systems, why not start them in your neighborhood? At the very least, have a phone tree.
4. Buy an NOAA Weather Alert Radio since they’re being incorporated into the overall Emergency Alert System. You should also know who your local Ham Radio operators are. See http://www.arrl.org/.
Moisture
Water is the king of firefighting and fire suppression substances. The best protection for your property lies in your ability to keep a “dome” of moisture in one form or another all over and around your home.
1. One publication under “landscaping” above lists beneficial plants that hold their moisture well. Regardless of the types of plant life in your yard, keep them well hydrated (while following watering ordinances).
2. When setting up your sprinklers, give your yard adequate spray coverage, especially over areas that might worsen the fire such as an above-ground propane tank or wooden deck attached to your house. The best sprinkler for surface areas is the professional directional type rather than the small garden variety that only sprays a weak pattern over a small area. Your garden store rep can help.
3. Put sprinklers on your roof, being sure to anchor them in place since the high winds generated in some wildfire wind storms can blow them off the roof.
4. If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, great! It will give you even water coverage over the grounds and provide a good foundation for the comprehensive water system you’ll need. To your in-ground system add separate “fire” lines that feed water to sprinklers that either spray directly against your house, or outward from your yard to cover vegetation surrounding your property. Too, have a sprinkler line permanently installed on your roof to save you the time of manually putting sprinklers up there. Also, install an additional input valve to allow water from a secondary source like a water pump drawing from your swimming pool.
5. If you have a pool, pond, well, or creek, you have a reservoir that should be put to good use so you don’t draw off the municipal water firefighters need to prevent fire from nearing your property in the first place. It’s a simple matter to keep a gas-powered generator (which self-reliant families should have) and a water pump (such as a pressure-washer), and use the two to draw water from your pool and feed it to your sprinklers. If you have a well with an electric pump, hook your generator to the pump to keep it running should local power fail. Exercise caution when setting up your generator so it doesn’t start its own fire.
6. A final consideration with sprinklers is position. Cover the outer perimeter of your yard, spray against the outer walls and roof of your house, and cover the crowns of your trees if possible. Also, consider outward-pointing sprinklers anchored to an elevated position such as an upper floor deck or porch, or your roof.
Evacuation
We strongly recommend evacuation, even if you’ve taken all the above steps and feel they might work. It’s best that you be pre-prepped and ready to leave at a moment’s notice since time is our most valuable asset. The more ready you are in advance, the more time you have.
1. All your landscaping steps should be taken care of now and maintained, especially during fire season.
2. In wildfire-prone areas, and especially during wildfire season, keep your bugout kits and vehicle ready at all times (with fuel tanks topped off). Hint: With your documents, keep the non-emergency numbers for local authorities so you can call to find out when it’s safe to return.
3. Perform last-minute landscaping ONLY if time allows, since you’ll want extra time to perform the household shutdown steps. However, don’t do anything until you’ve loaded your car with provisions and have nothing left to load but people and pets (in their carriers and/or ready to go).
4. Inside the house do the following:
- Move all flammables (such as furniture and curtains) away from windows making sure each is closed and latched. Lower and close any metallic blinds.
- Leave your fireplace damper open, and close the fireplace protective cover.
- Close all interior doors but don’t lock them.
- Turn off your heat/AC system, and cover any window air-conditioners or floor heater vents with aluminum foil and duct tape inside and out.
- Turn off all gas coming into the house whether from underground line or above-ground tank.
- Turn on inside and outside lights so your property is visible in heavy smoke. Firefighters may need to use it as a beacon.
5. To protect the valuables you don’t have room for in your evacuation vehicle, consider these:
- For waterproof valuables, put them in a bathtub, storage tub, or trashcan you’ve filled with water. (Notice we didn’t recommend your pool, since you should be using it to feed your sprinklers.)
- Large valuables such as antique furniture, etc. should be carried into the center of the house on the lowest floor (the same place you’d go in a tornado).
- Major appliances, such as your oven, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, clothes washer, and dryer, tend not to be consumed by flame or crushed by debris and thereby offer a protected storage location for other valuables. Hint: Disposable diapers are surprisingly flame resistant, and might be useful as wraps for some items stored in an appliance.
6. Lock up the house, leave a note on the door telling authorities you’ve evacuated, check with neighbors to make sure they’re on their way to safety, hop in your vehicle, and leave. Hint: If the area is getting smoky, listen to your radio for road closure information, turn your headlights on low, and set your climate controls to “re-circulate” so as not to draw in smoke from outside the vehicle.
Naturally, this is an article that could go for a few dozen more pages since it’s such an important topic and certainly one where we could offer extensive detail. For now, this will have to do. Will the above information make you fireproof and prevent any damage to your property? No. But it’s very likely to help, especially if you take these steps now. Taking these measures also helps firefighters since any time a wildfire is delayed or a home protected, you take one more item off the shoulders of first responders. Prep now, stay safe, and remember that preparedness is not only a social responsibility; it’s your only true protection.
--------------
About the author: Paul Purcell is a security analyst and preparedness consultant with InfoQuest in Atlanta, GA, and he’s also the author of “Disaster Prep 101.” For additional preparedness-related articles visit http://www.disasterprep101.com/. Permission granted to reprint this article provided all portions remain intact. © 2007 Paul Purcell.
First responder assets aside, these fires have affected local civilians. Thousands have evacuated, and many find nothing but charred vacant lots when they return. What are some innovative ways civilians can protect themselves, their property, and actually help firefighters in the process?
At the household level, most of us have smoke detectors. That’s good, because in a house fire, as in a wildfire, where there’s smoke, there’s F.L.A.M.E.:
Family – Something as massive as a wildfire will affect your whole family. Prepare them now.
Landscaping – Simple and subtle steps can make your property much more fire resistant.
Awareness – In an emergency, time is crucial. Stay aware of the threat and get the warnings early.
Moisture – Some say you fight fire with fire. We say you fight fire with water.
Evacuation – Even after taking all the other steps, a wildfire is something best avoided.
Family
A prepared and involved family is far more able to handle any type of disaster than those who wait for last-minute instruction. Therefore, one of the best things you can do for your family is to prepare them for one of the most common and least forgiving enemies; fire.
1. Take the family on a fire-safety tour through the house. Locate dangers such as overloaded electrical outlets and safety items such as extinguishers and escape routes.
2. In emergencies, redundancy is our friend. You should have more than one smoke detector, fire extinguisher, and escape route from rooms or the house. Hint: If you’re a heavy sleeper, buy a “baby monitor.” Put the transmitter near the farthest smoke detector and the receiver in your bedroom.
3. Make sure everyone in the family knows how to use a fire extinguisher, and how to call 911.
4. Have regular fire drills. Let each family member have a turn being the one who discovers the fire and who has to warn others. On at least every other drill, have everyone evacuate blind-folded on their hands and knees (while exercising due safety) to mimic the realistic conditions of a fire evacuation.
5. Revisit every family emergency plan with the whole family during wildfire season and certainly if one is in your area and possibly heading your way.
Landscaping
Though tragedies usually take the lead in newscasts, stories still abound of how some homeowners managed to protect their properties from wildfire by simple and subtle changes with their landscaping and home. Take these steps now, since in a fire, time is of the essence.
1. Your main landscaping consideration is to remove any dead, dry vegetation, whether on the ground or in your trees, that could transfer fire to your house. Since this aspect of wildfire preparedness has been adequately covered by others, here are a few good outside sources:
- General wildfire landscaping tips: http://www.firewise.org/resources/files/wildfr2.pdf .
- Florida wildfire landscaping pointers: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR07600.pdf .
- More on landscaping during wildfire season: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR04700.pdf.
- Fire-resistant plants: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/emergency/pubs/wildfire_resistant.pdf.
2. Be ready to seal your house before evacuating. Create covers for any opening on your home such as attic vents (roof turbines can be covered with metal trash cans), crawlspace openings, etc. Gather your material (such as plywood) and cut, paint, and label (where it goes) each cover now, keeping them stored on your property for immediate use. Put a couple of hooks over each opening you might cover and drill corresponding holes in the plywood covers. The hooks will hold the cover in place while you drill in the screws. This allows one person to do the job and frees up others to perform other necessary tasks. Hint: Also make covers for your windows (including garage door windows) just as if you lived in a hurricane zone.
3. Create a “fire tool box” and include everything needed to prep your house in advance of a wildfire. Store extra garden hoses, water sprinklers, “Y” connectors for extra hoses, wrenches to turn off your gas, rolls of heavy-duty aluminum foil (to cover the openings you didn’t make covers for), machetes and gloves for last minute brush clearing, etc. Store extra tools because you won’t have time to replace tools that might have been broken or lost.
4. Make sure first responders can see your home’s address. Put your house number on your mailbox, near your front door, and painted on the curb by your driveway.
Awareness
A common theme in all our publications and presentations is the fact that in an emergency, our most crucial asset is time (see our other articles at http://www.disasterprep101.com/). The two key elements of time in a wildfire are one, to have as much done in advance as possible, and two, get as early a warning as possible.
1. Don’t wait for a wildfire to approach to start your landscaping. Perform that now and keep your property as fire-retardant as you can.
2. Don’t wait for the smell of smoke to warn you a fire is on its way. If fire conditions are right, monitor news channels and listen for community warnings.
3. Learn to recognize your community warnings. Does your community have a reverse 911 system? Sirens? Will the local TV or radio station broadcast the alert? If your community doesn’t have any of these systems, why not start them in your neighborhood? At the very least, have a phone tree.
4. Buy an NOAA Weather Alert Radio since they’re being incorporated into the overall Emergency Alert System. You should also know who your local Ham Radio operators are. See http://www.arrl.org/.
Moisture
Water is the king of firefighting and fire suppression substances. The best protection for your property lies in your ability to keep a “dome” of moisture in one form or another all over and around your home.
1. One publication under “landscaping” above lists beneficial plants that hold their moisture well. Regardless of the types of plant life in your yard, keep them well hydrated (while following watering ordinances).
2. When setting up your sprinklers, give your yard adequate spray coverage, especially over areas that might worsen the fire such as an above-ground propane tank or wooden deck attached to your house. The best sprinkler for surface areas is the professional directional type rather than the small garden variety that only sprays a weak pattern over a small area. Your garden store rep can help.
3. Put sprinklers on your roof, being sure to anchor them in place since the high winds generated in some wildfire wind storms can blow them off the roof.
4. If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, great! It will give you even water coverage over the grounds and provide a good foundation for the comprehensive water system you’ll need. To your in-ground system add separate “fire” lines that feed water to sprinklers that either spray directly against your house, or outward from your yard to cover vegetation surrounding your property. Too, have a sprinkler line permanently installed on your roof to save you the time of manually putting sprinklers up there. Also, install an additional input valve to allow water from a secondary source like a water pump drawing from your swimming pool.
5. If you have a pool, pond, well, or creek, you have a reservoir that should be put to good use so you don’t draw off the municipal water firefighters need to prevent fire from nearing your property in the first place. It’s a simple matter to keep a gas-powered generator (which self-reliant families should have) and a water pump (such as a pressure-washer), and use the two to draw water from your pool and feed it to your sprinklers. If you have a well with an electric pump, hook your generator to the pump to keep it running should local power fail. Exercise caution when setting up your generator so it doesn’t start its own fire.
6. A final consideration with sprinklers is position. Cover the outer perimeter of your yard, spray against the outer walls and roof of your house, and cover the crowns of your trees if possible. Also, consider outward-pointing sprinklers anchored to an elevated position such as an upper floor deck or porch, or your roof.
Evacuation
We strongly recommend evacuation, even if you’ve taken all the above steps and feel they might work. It’s best that you be pre-prepped and ready to leave at a moment’s notice since time is our most valuable asset. The more ready you are in advance, the more time you have.
1. All your landscaping steps should be taken care of now and maintained, especially during fire season.
2. In wildfire-prone areas, and especially during wildfire season, keep your bugout kits and vehicle ready at all times (with fuel tanks topped off). Hint: With your documents, keep the non-emergency numbers for local authorities so you can call to find out when it’s safe to return.
3. Perform last-minute landscaping ONLY if time allows, since you’ll want extra time to perform the household shutdown steps. However, don’t do anything until you’ve loaded your car with provisions and have nothing left to load but people and pets (in their carriers and/or ready to go).
4. Inside the house do the following:
- Move all flammables (such as furniture and curtains) away from windows making sure each is closed and latched. Lower and close any metallic blinds.
- Leave your fireplace damper open, and close the fireplace protective cover.
- Close all interior doors but don’t lock them.
- Turn off your heat/AC system, and cover any window air-conditioners or floor heater vents with aluminum foil and duct tape inside and out.
- Turn off all gas coming into the house whether from underground line or above-ground tank.
- Turn on inside and outside lights so your property is visible in heavy smoke. Firefighters may need to use it as a beacon.
5. To protect the valuables you don’t have room for in your evacuation vehicle, consider these:
- For waterproof valuables, put them in a bathtub, storage tub, or trashcan you’ve filled with water. (Notice we didn’t recommend your pool, since you should be using it to feed your sprinklers.)
- Large valuables such as antique furniture, etc. should be carried into the center of the house on the lowest floor (the same place you’d go in a tornado).
- Major appliances, such as your oven, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, clothes washer, and dryer, tend not to be consumed by flame or crushed by debris and thereby offer a protected storage location for other valuables. Hint: Disposable diapers are surprisingly flame resistant, and might be useful as wraps for some items stored in an appliance.
6. Lock up the house, leave a note on the door telling authorities you’ve evacuated, check with neighbors to make sure they’re on their way to safety, hop in your vehicle, and leave. Hint: If the area is getting smoky, listen to your radio for road closure information, turn your headlights on low, and set your climate controls to “re-circulate” so as not to draw in smoke from outside the vehicle.
Naturally, this is an article that could go for a few dozen more pages since it’s such an important topic and certainly one where we could offer extensive detail. For now, this will have to do. Will the above information make you fireproof and prevent any damage to your property? No. But it’s very likely to help, especially if you take these steps now. Taking these measures also helps firefighters since any time a wildfire is delayed or a home protected, you take one more item off the shoulders of first responders. Prep now, stay safe, and remember that preparedness is not only a social responsibility; it’s your only true protection.
--------------
About the author: Paul Purcell is a security analyst and preparedness consultant with InfoQuest in Atlanta, GA, and he’s also the author of “Disaster Prep 101.” For additional preparedness-related articles visit http://www.disasterprep101.com/. Permission granted to reprint this article provided all portions remain intact. © 2007 Paul Purcell.
Labels:
evacuation,
Fire,
fire retardant,
fireproof,
forest fire,
landscaping,
sprinkler,
wildfire
Friday, May 04, 2007
Tornado Preparedness: The Six Keys to Safety
The US has more tornadoes than any other area on the globe. We get them in the spring, as weather changes in the fall, when summer storms hit, and as byproducts of hurricanes. Though the Midwest is known as “tornado alley,” there’s really no place in the country that’s immune. Add to this the fact that hurricanes and severe thunderstorms can produce directional winds nearly as destructive as the vortex of a twister, and it’s easy to see that we need additional preparedness info beyond “duck and cover.”
We’re going to cover the six main areas of tornado preparedness that will help you before, during, and after a tornado or heavy storm strikes. Appropriately, we’ll use the acronym S.T.O.R.M.S.:
Shelter – Strengthen your home and know where to find expedient shelter.
Time – Increase your chances of getting the early warning.
Others – Safety and protection involves the whole family and communicating with others.
Resources – You’ll need everything from immediate supply to good insurance.
Medical – Help yourself now to save the injured later.
Sweeping Up – Tips and tricks for dealing with the aftermath.
Shelter
Severe storms with driving rain, possible hail, and projectiles hurled by strong winds offer extreme dangers from which we need to protect ourselves. The best protection would be a steel-reinforced concrete safe room located in the basement of a structurally sound building. Lacking that, let’s look at a few things you should do now:
1. Reinforce your house. There are simple things we can do to greatly strengthen our homes. Ask your local home-supply store rep about angle brackets, strapping, and techniques to install them to make your roof, walls, and connection to the foundation stronger. Also, do an internet search for “hurricane retrofit” (including quotes) to find additional instruction. One such source is from the Institute for Business and Home Safety at http://www.ibhs.org/publications/downloads/128.pdf.
2. Create a safe room or area within your home. The general rule of thumb is to pick an area near the center of your house and below ground if possible or at least on the lowest floor. Consider these points:
A. Turn your walk-in closet into a safe area. Remove the sheetrock from walls and ceiling, add extra wall studs held in place with screws, strapping, and angle brackets, and then replace the sheetrock with one or two layers of ¾” marine plywood held in place with structural adhesive and screws. Finish and paint the walls and you’ll never know it was retrofitted.
B. For some online sources of “safe-room construction” do an internet search or see:
· National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/pdf/building_safe_room.pdf.
· The University of Missouri has a detailed “Storm Shelter Pack” available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/webster/webster/security/Storm_Shelter_Packet-2007-03-05.pdf.
C. If you live in a mobile home, your best bet for safety would be a storm cellar. One simple and relatively inexpensive way to make a storm cellar is to have a septic tank company install a clean new unit in your yard, but leave about a foot above the ground. You can build a strong cover over that and use it as an outdoor deck, or as the foundation for a storage shed.
D. Some locations might reimburse you for building a safe room. Check with your tax assessor, county extension office, insurance provider, insurance commissioner, or local emergency management office.
3. Learn the “safe points.” When a tornado strikes you might be at home, but it’s more likely you’ll be at work, out running errands, or on a trip. Learn to recognize all the locations that will provide protection. Does the building you’re in have shelters? For example, in the Denver Airport, the restrooms are designated tornado shelters. Does the building have a basement? Are you on the road? How far are you from a known safe building, or from a deep ditch?
Time
In emergencies, our most important asset is time. The two best ways to gain extra time in weather emergencies are to prepare now, and to get as early a warning as possible that severe weather is heading your way. If you wait for your community’s alert sirens, you’ve waited too long.
1. Buy a Weather Alert Radio. Not only do they warn you of inclement weather, but the system is now being tied in to the regular EAS system to warn you of other emergencies.
Sign up for an alternate alert service such as the Weather Channel’s at www.weather.com/notify. Hint: When you get the warning, take action! Don’t do dumb things like videotaping the tornado.
2. Learn the indicators of severe weather. The Weather Channel and others such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at http://www.noaa.gov, have educational information that will teach you how to spot incoming severe weather. Some “symptoms” may include:
A. A large anvil-shaped thunderhead cloud or a thick, very dark, cloud cover with a pea-soup consistency.
B. Hail or, in some cases, unseasonable snow.
C. Green lightning (as lightning flashes behind clouds heavily laden with water).
D. A sudden change in humidity, wind direction or wind speed, rain volume, or rain direction.
E. A sudden change in air pressure (your ears may pop).
3. Network with others. Sometimes our friends and coworkers are our best early warning system. Develop a phone tree or at least a general agreement among friends and relatives that you’ll warn each other about dangers in the area.
Others
There are two sets of “others” you might deal with in concert with a severe storm. One is your family and the other is first responders. Communicate with your family both now – to prepare for a tornado – and later in the event a tornado watch or warning is given. You also may need to communicate with first responders if you experience injury or certain types of property damage that requires official assistance. Consider:
1. Tornado drills. Emergency reactions are worth practicing. Have your family practice getting into the safe room and into a safe position (“duck and cover”) within 30 seconds or less.
2. Protect your pets. On warning of severe weather, round up your pets, put them on leads or in carriers, and take them to your safe area. If your house is damaged in the storm your pets are more protected and easier to care for afterward. Hint: You can train your pets to head to the safe room on command. Your vet can give you some training pointers.
3. Communication and signaling may be vitally important if your home is damaged and/or someone sustains injury during a tornado. For example, though everyone might be uninjured, you may be trapped in the debris that was once your home and need someone to dig you out. In addition to your house phone and cell phone, have backup options like a hand-held two-way radio, and something that can make a loud noise such as an air-horn. Also, make sure your neighbors know you have a safe room in the house, or storm cellar in your yard. They can tell authorities where to look if no one has heard from you.
Resources
In a disaster, you’ll need goods, gear, or services to help you deal with the event and then recover afterward. Make sure you have adequately covered each of the following areas:
1. Make sure your insurance policy covers all types of natural disaster including water damage from rain or flood since many policies have strict exclusions. Also, make sure your policy will provide for the costs of temporary lodging and the full replacement value for your property and possessions.
2. Keep your isolation and evacuation supplies together in a protected spot where you can access them immediately, or where they’ll be protected if your home is damaged while you’re away.
3. Make a list of services you might need after a tornado, such as cleanup and repair services or temporary lodging. Look through your phone book to find services like tree-cutting and debris removal, structural home repairs, automotive repairs, lodging, etc. Write their contact information down and keep it with your emergency kits so you can call these services immediately after a disaster to get your name on their lists.
Medical
We’re hoping that all the advice above has kept you safe in the event of a tornado. However, we know things do happen and people get hurt. Cover the following, just in case:
1. First aid training is important for every family regardless of the threat, so learn the basics of general first aid and CPR. Next, talk with your doctor about first aid measures for specific ailments. For example, if someone in your family has Asthma and they have an attack, what are some things you can do to care for them if you can’t immediately get to their inhaler or medication?
2. First aid kits are a must and families should have several and not just one. The main kit should be kept in the home, but smaller kits should be kept in each automobile and at your workplace.
3. Copies of medical information should be kept at home. After a destructive event there’s no guarantee your family doctor will be available or that the hospital’s computers will be functional. In case of injury, medical practitioners will need to know a general medical history of the injured. Keep a list of ailments, conditions, special medical needs, and current medications of each family member (including pets). Remember, even though you’re the head of household and you know all that information, you may be injured and unable to communicate.
Sweeping Up
All destructive events have at least one thing in common; they’re going to create quite a mess. Here are a few tips to help you stay safe while cleaning up:
1. Though you might think the power is completely out, stay away from downed power lines.
Stay alert to the hissing sound of a broken gas line or the smell of gas.
2. Dress for the weather, but still dress to protect. Wear sturdy shoes or boots (and watch out for boards with nails), a hat and sunscreen, insect repellant, and heavy work gloves. The hospitals will be too full of major injuries to deal with the minor injuries you could have prevented.
3. Physical labor after a stressful event can be quite taxing. Drink plenty of fluids, eat regularly, and take periodic breaks.
4. Here is where you’d need your list of professional cleanup services. Call as soon as possible.
5. In the case of total destruction, your property itself will be a trash pile. Therefore, use your main trashcan as a receptacle for the items you want to salvage. Label it accordingly so no one throws away its contents. Hint: Take photographs or video of all the damage for insurance purposes.
6. It’s possible that your valued possessions might be strewn about the neighborhood. It’ll be easier to have things returned if your name is written or engraved on them. If you don’t want to use your name, use a unique identifier such as the first phone number you can remember from childhood. Hint: Never use your Social Security Number.
Though this article is longer than average, there is still no way we can pass along all the helpful hints and tips that will keep you safe in an emergency and help you recover afterward. Do what you can with the information presented, and continue your education on your own. The steps you take to protect yourself against tornadoes will help protect you and yours during any number of other disaster preparedness scenarios. Stay safe!
**************
© 2007, Paul Purcell. About the author: Paul Purcell is the lead security analyst and preparedness consultant for InfoQuest in Atlanta, GA. He’s also the author of “Disaster Prep 101 – The Ultimate Guide to Emergency Readiness.” For more information about the author and other storm and preparedness-related articles visit http://www.disasterprep101.com. Permission is granted to reprint this article provided all portions remain intact.
We’re going to cover the six main areas of tornado preparedness that will help you before, during, and after a tornado or heavy storm strikes. Appropriately, we’ll use the acronym S.T.O.R.M.S.:
Shelter – Strengthen your home and know where to find expedient shelter.
Time – Increase your chances of getting the early warning.
Others – Safety and protection involves the whole family and communicating with others.
Resources – You’ll need everything from immediate supply to good insurance.
Medical – Help yourself now to save the injured later.
Sweeping Up – Tips and tricks for dealing with the aftermath.
Shelter
Severe storms with driving rain, possible hail, and projectiles hurled by strong winds offer extreme dangers from which we need to protect ourselves. The best protection would be a steel-reinforced concrete safe room located in the basement of a structurally sound building. Lacking that, let’s look at a few things you should do now:
1. Reinforce your house. There are simple things we can do to greatly strengthen our homes. Ask your local home-supply store rep about angle brackets, strapping, and techniques to install them to make your roof, walls, and connection to the foundation stronger. Also, do an internet search for “hurricane retrofit” (including quotes) to find additional instruction. One such source is from the Institute for Business and Home Safety at http://www.ibhs.org/publications/downloads/128.pdf.
2. Create a safe room or area within your home. The general rule of thumb is to pick an area near the center of your house and below ground if possible or at least on the lowest floor. Consider these points:
A. Turn your walk-in closet into a safe area. Remove the sheetrock from walls and ceiling, add extra wall studs held in place with screws, strapping, and angle brackets, and then replace the sheetrock with one or two layers of ¾” marine plywood held in place with structural adhesive and screws. Finish and paint the walls and you’ll never know it was retrofitted.
B. For some online sources of “safe-room construction” do an internet search or see:
· National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/pdf/building_safe_room.pdf.
· The University of Missouri has a detailed “Storm Shelter Pack” available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/webster/webster/security/Storm_Shelter_Packet-2007-03-05.pdf.
C. If you live in a mobile home, your best bet for safety would be a storm cellar. One simple and relatively inexpensive way to make a storm cellar is to have a septic tank company install a clean new unit in your yard, but leave about a foot above the ground. You can build a strong cover over that and use it as an outdoor deck, or as the foundation for a storage shed.
D. Some locations might reimburse you for building a safe room. Check with your tax assessor, county extension office, insurance provider, insurance commissioner, or local emergency management office.
3. Learn the “safe points.” When a tornado strikes you might be at home, but it’s more likely you’ll be at work, out running errands, or on a trip. Learn to recognize all the locations that will provide protection. Does the building you’re in have shelters? For example, in the Denver Airport, the restrooms are designated tornado shelters. Does the building have a basement? Are you on the road? How far are you from a known safe building, or from a deep ditch?
Time
In emergencies, our most important asset is time. The two best ways to gain extra time in weather emergencies are to prepare now, and to get as early a warning as possible that severe weather is heading your way. If you wait for your community’s alert sirens, you’ve waited too long.
1. Buy a Weather Alert Radio. Not only do they warn you of inclement weather, but the system is now being tied in to the regular EAS system to warn you of other emergencies.
Sign up for an alternate alert service such as the Weather Channel’s at www.weather.com/notify. Hint: When you get the warning, take action! Don’t do dumb things like videotaping the tornado.
2. Learn the indicators of severe weather. The Weather Channel and others such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at http://www.noaa.gov, have educational information that will teach you how to spot incoming severe weather. Some “symptoms” may include:
A. A large anvil-shaped thunderhead cloud or a thick, very dark, cloud cover with a pea-soup consistency.
B. Hail or, in some cases, unseasonable snow.
C. Green lightning (as lightning flashes behind clouds heavily laden with water).
D. A sudden change in humidity, wind direction or wind speed, rain volume, or rain direction.
E. A sudden change in air pressure (your ears may pop).
3. Network with others. Sometimes our friends and coworkers are our best early warning system. Develop a phone tree or at least a general agreement among friends and relatives that you’ll warn each other about dangers in the area.
Others
There are two sets of “others” you might deal with in concert with a severe storm. One is your family and the other is first responders. Communicate with your family both now – to prepare for a tornado – and later in the event a tornado watch or warning is given. You also may need to communicate with first responders if you experience injury or certain types of property damage that requires official assistance. Consider:
1. Tornado drills. Emergency reactions are worth practicing. Have your family practice getting into the safe room and into a safe position (“duck and cover”) within 30 seconds or less.
2. Protect your pets. On warning of severe weather, round up your pets, put them on leads or in carriers, and take them to your safe area. If your house is damaged in the storm your pets are more protected and easier to care for afterward. Hint: You can train your pets to head to the safe room on command. Your vet can give you some training pointers.
3. Communication and signaling may be vitally important if your home is damaged and/or someone sustains injury during a tornado. For example, though everyone might be uninjured, you may be trapped in the debris that was once your home and need someone to dig you out. In addition to your house phone and cell phone, have backup options like a hand-held two-way radio, and something that can make a loud noise such as an air-horn. Also, make sure your neighbors know you have a safe room in the house, or storm cellar in your yard. They can tell authorities where to look if no one has heard from you.
Resources
In a disaster, you’ll need goods, gear, or services to help you deal with the event and then recover afterward. Make sure you have adequately covered each of the following areas:
1. Make sure your insurance policy covers all types of natural disaster including water damage from rain or flood since many policies have strict exclusions. Also, make sure your policy will provide for the costs of temporary lodging and the full replacement value for your property and possessions.
2. Keep your isolation and evacuation supplies together in a protected spot where you can access them immediately, or where they’ll be protected if your home is damaged while you’re away.
3. Make a list of services you might need after a tornado, such as cleanup and repair services or temporary lodging. Look through your phone book to find services like tree-cutting and debris removal, structural home repairs, automotive repairs, lodging, etc. Write their contact information down and keep it with your emergency kits so you can call these services immediately after a disaster to get your name on their lists.
Medical
We’re hoping that all the advice above has kept you safe in the event of a tornado. However, we know things do happen and people get hurt. Cover the following, just in case:
1. First aid training is important for every family regardless of the threat, so learn the basics of general first aid and CPR. Next, talk with your doctor about first aid measures for specific ailments. For example, if someone in your family has Asthma and they have an attack, what are some things you can do to care for them if you can’t immediately get to their inhaler or medication?
2. First aid kits are a must and families should have several and not just one. The main kit should be kept in the home, but smaller kits should be kept in each automobile and at your workplace.
3. Copies of medical information should be kept at home. After a destructive event there’s no guarantee your family doctor will be available or that the hospital’s computers will be functional. In case of injury, medical practitioners will need to know a general medical history of the injured. Keep a list of ailments, conditions, special medical needs, and current medications of each family member (including pets). Remember, even though you’re the head of household and you know all that information, you may be injured and unable to communicate.
Sweeping Up
All destructive events have at least one thing in common; they’re going to create quite a mess. Here are a few tips to help you stay safe while cleaning up:
1. Though you might think the power is completely out, stay away from downed power lines.
Stay alert to the hissing sound of a broken gas line or the smell of gas.
2. Dress for the weather, but still dress to protect. Wear sturdy shoes or boots (and watch out for boards with nails), a hat and sunscreen, insect repellant, and heavy work gloves. The hospitals will be too full of major injuries to deal with the minor injuries you could have prevented.
3. Physical labor after a stressful event can be quite taxing. Drink plenty of fluids, eat regularly, and take periodic breaks.
4. Here is where you’d need your list of professional cleanup services. Call as soon as possible.
5. In the case of total destruction, your property itself will be a trash pile. Therefore, use your main trashcan as a receptacle for the items you want to salvage. Label it accordingly so no one throws away its contents. Hint: Take photographs or video of all the damage for insurance purposes.
6. It’s possible that your valued possessions might be strewn about the neighborhood. It’ll be easier to have things returned if your name is written or engraved on them. If you don’t want to use your name, use a unique identifier such as the first phone number you can remember from childhood. Hint: Never use your Social Security Number.
Though this article is longer than average, there is still no way we can pass along all the helpful hints and tips that will keep you safe in an emergency and help you recover afterward. Do what you can with the information presented, and continue your education on your own. The steps you take to protect yourself against tornadoes will help protect you and yours during any number of other disaster preparedness scenarios. Stay safe!
**************
© 2007, Paul Purcell. About the author: Paul Purcell is the lead security analyst and preparedness consultant for InfoQuest in Atlanta, GA. He’s also the author of “Disaster Prep 101 – The Ultimate Guide to Emergency Readiness.” For more information about the author and other storm and preparedness-related articles visit http://www.disasterprep101.com. Permission is granted to reprint this article provided all portions remain intact.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Seung-Hui Cho, Virginia Tech, and Homeland Security
In today’s news, coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre continues as does the debate over whether or not the shooter’s twisted, angry, “multimedia manifesto” should have been aired, and/or whether or not the content should be pulled. Both sides of this debate are heavily weighted, but let’s look at a few key issues.
On one hand, there are those who feel air-time for killers only breeds more killers; that it spurs on the copycats and gives the proverbial “15 minutes of fame” to those least deserving. There is logic to this as evidenced by the fact that there have been cases of similar threats on at least ten campuses around the country in recent days (though we don’t know if they were copying the incident or acting out due to the tape).
On the other hand, there is immense educational value afforded by the fact that such a deranged diatribe as this is available for study. Used in the proper way and kept in the correct context, this video collection of self-exhibited symptoms is a priceless source of psychological insight rarely found.
We owe it to those who lost their lives in this tragedy to glean every positive detail that can be used to make our world a safer place. This should be done for much the same reason that we might conduct an autopsy, reconstruct an accident, or dissect a terror attack. To do anything less would be to fail to honor the memory of the victims.
What is puzzling is the fact that several networks have said they will not broadcast Cho’s recorded rant. However, they have not hesitated to discuss in detail each minute step of the attack starting with the first murders in the dormitory, all the way through Cho’s chaining the doors to hold his victims captive as his rampage took him classroom to classroom. This does nothing but provide a tactical education to potential copycats. On top of that, refusing to air the video offers a level of privacy and consideration to an individual who was of smaller caliber than either weapon he carried, and whose rights were forfeited by his own actions.
To the peaceful majority of the general public, and to the growing population of public safety professionals, Cho’s tape and its availability offer several unique considerations and distinct opportunities:
1. Not airing the tape, with its undeniable demonstration of the depths of Cho’s disturbance, would give too much room for creative speculation of “why.” Without showing his depravity, troubled and impressionable minds might envision him a hero in much the same way Jesse James and Billy the Kid - both notorious outlaws - were elevated to hero status simply because so few people knew how vicious the two really were. Airing the tape gives us the opportunity to show Cho for what he was and let those who may be contemplating similar acts see the true nature of such perpetrators. They are not heroes, they are not normal, they are not revered, and what mental malfunctions they may have will be shown to the world.
On one hand, there are those who feel air-time for killers only breeds more killers; that it spurs on the copycats and gives the proverbial “15 minutes of fame” to those least deserving. There is logic to this as evidenced by the fact that there have been cases of similar threats on at least ten campuses around the country in recent days (though we don’t know if they were copying the incident or acting out due to the tape).
On the other hand, there is immense educational value afforded by the fact that such a deranged diatribe as this is available for study. Used in the proper way and kept in the correct context, this video collection of self-exhibited symptoms is a priceless source of psychological insight rarely found.
We owe it to those who lost their lives in this tragedy to glean every positive detail that can be used to make our world a safer place. This should be done for much the same reason that we might conduct an autopsy, reconstruct an accident, or dissect a terror attack. To do anything less would be to fail to honor the memory of the victims.
What is puzzling is the fact that several networks have said they will not broadcast Cho’s recorded rant. However, they have not hesitated to discuss in detail each minute step of the attack starting with the first murders in the dormitory, all the way through Cho’s chaining the doors to hold his victims captive as his rampage took him classroom to classroom. This does nothing but provide a tactical education to potential copycats. On top of that, refusing to air the video offers a level of privacy and consideration to an individual who was of smaller caliber than either weapon he carried, and whose rights were forfeited by his own actions.
To the peaceful majority of the general public, and to the growing population of public safety professionals, Cho’s tape and its availability offer several unique considerations and distinct opportunities:
1. Not airing the tape, with its undeniable demonstration of the depths of Cho’s disturbance, would give too much room for creative speculation of “why.” Without showing his depravity, troubled and impressionable minds might envision him a hero in much the same way Jesse James and Billy the Kid - both notorious outlaws - were elevated to hero status simply because so few people knew how vicious the two really were. Airing the tape gives us the opportunity to show Cho for what he was and let those who may be contemplating similar acts see the true nature of such perpetrators. They are not heroes, they are not normal, they are not revered, and what mental malfunctions they may have will be shown to the world.
2. Broadcasting the tape allows those with human resources management responsibilities, whether in an educational or professional setting, to see some of the “red flags” of potentially dangerous behavior and to hopefully learn some of the indicators that may be present when someone is about to “pull a Cho.” Failing to show the tape would let this type of education slip by.
3. The most important aspect of all is the in-depth glimpse Cho’s diary of dementia gives both the public and homeland security into the hate-induced perspective of the terrorist psyche. Despite outward appearances and statements to the contrary, little terrorist activity is based on religion or politics. Terrorism is generally based on fear and envy; mostly the envy of the “have nots” who feel we are the “haves” and are somehow responsible for their misperceived lot in life. There is no reasoning with this type of mindset, no placating, no negotiation, no pacification, and this mentality isn’t something that can be switched off by dollars or dialogue. So it is with terrorists, so it was with Cho, and so we need to better understand those who seek to do us harm.
A full discourse giving proper attention to both sides of the “to air or not to air” debate could occupy volumes that would dwarf the Encyclopedia Britannica. It is not the purpose of this short article to come to a concrete conclusion, but merely to point out the fact that we do have treasure that can be extracted from the tragic, and that hopefully this type of valuable education can avert the next potential atrocity.
Learn to draw meaning from misfortune, always be kind to others, and above all stay safe!
****************************
About the author: Paul Purcell is an Atlanta-based security analyst and preparedness consultant with over 20 years risk-management experience, and is also the author of both “Disaster Prep 101” and “The Case File.” More about the author and additional articles of interest can be found at: www.disasterprep101.com.
A full discourse giving proper attention to both sides of the “to air or not to air” debate could occupy volumes that would dwarf the Encyclopedia Britannica. It is not the purpose of this short article to come to a concrete conclusion, but merely to point out the fact that we do have treasure that can be extracted from the tragic, and that hopefully this type of valuable education can avert the next potential atrocity.
Learn to draw meaning from misfortune, always be kind to others, and above all stay safe!
****************************
About the author: Paul Purcell is an Atlanta-based security analyst and preparedness consultant with over 20 years risk-management experience, and is also the author of both “Disaster Prep 101” and “The Case File.” More about the author and additional articles of interest can be found at: www.disasterprep101.com.
Copyright 2007 - Paul Purcell. Permission is granted to distribute this article for free provided all portions remain intact.
Labels:
Cho,
Homeland Security,
security,
Virginia Tech
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Saturday, December 02, 2006
The Secrets of Teaching Disaster Preparedness
The Secrets of Teaching Disaster Preparedness
Headlines are full of hurricanes, earthquakes, bird flu, terrorism, and other dangers of the world in which we live. However, most civilians aren’t prepared to face a disaster or even a family emergency. This begs the question “Why not?” This article is intended for those who want to change this fact by teaching others, including their own families, to be better prepared, safer, and more self-reliant.
We’ve identified several “learning obstacles” that prevent individuals and families from being as emergency ready as they should be. We’ll list them here quickly then cover each in more detail and discuss ways to jump these learning hurdles.
Since we’re talking about educating families – the cornerstone of all reaction plans - let’s use the acronym F.A.M.I.L.I.E.S.:
Fear – “It’s too scary to think about.”
Attention Span – “I’m too busy to learn or do anything new.”
Media – “There’s always a weatherman in the hurricane.”
Info Levels Now – “A 72-hour kit is all I need.”
Lifestyle Ties – “I don’t want to change the way I live.”
Income – “I can’t afford to buy the gear or take the steps.”
Ego – “I’m so important that others will look after me.”
Selflessness – “I’m not worried about me, I want to help others.”
Why is it important to increase the level of civilian preparedness training over what we have through sites like ready.gov? That question can be a series of articles on its own, but the 4-part short answer is one, most free websites have only the bare minimum info; two, the fewer victims we have in a disaster the better off we’ll all be; three, all business continuity plans rest on the ability of employees to return to work; and four, the term “civilians” includes the families of first responders. The more prepared the family, the more able is the responder to report for duty.
As we cover each learning obstacle below, you’ll find a brief description of the problem followed by a few specific tips on how to deal with that particular issue. When teaching, remember that people have different learning styles. Visual learners do best by watching. They are receptive to videos, PowerPoint, or live demos. Auditory learners prefer verbal communication such as podcasts, or books on tape. Kinesthetic learners benefit from hands-on experience. Try to incorporate a little of each into your presentations.
Fear
Fear is probably the number one reason people don’t prepare. Too many people focus on the dangers they may face in disasters, rather than the benefits of self-reliance. Worse, many so-called experts dwell on nothing but the threat since they have little to no new preparedness information. Let’s look at ways to teach readiness while avoiding fear:
1. Take a tip from insurance salespeople. They focus on the benefits of the policy rather than the reasons you might need one. Accentuate the positives of preparedness, not worst case scenarios.
2. Use “mundane” threats to get people to prepare for more dire situations. For example, people living on the coast understand hurricanes and are receptive to helpful tips regarding evacuation. However, you might get a negative reaction with a “nuke in the harbor” scenario.
3. Teach preparedness without mentioning a threat. For example, focus on financial planning. It’s more economical to buy groceries in bulk and cook at home, and it’s also healthier. Guess what? This means you’ll have more food at home in a shelter-in-place situation. Also, encouraging families to take up camping as a hobby inadvertently helps prepare them for an evacuation.
Attention Span
With microwave ovens, ATMs, email, and so forth, we live in a world of instant gratification. We have become a society whose mantra is “Just give me the condensed intro, not the whole pamphlet.” We rarely take time to do a thorough and detailed job of anything, and the notion of adding things to the list, even something life-saving, is out of the question.
1. Most people don’t realize that being prepared for disaster takes only subtle modifications to your life and doesn’t require extensive study or training.
2. People in this category appreciate “helpful hints,” so break things down into bite-size pieces. Use simple (though detailed and thorough) checklists and bulleted lists rather than wordy text or long speeches. For one such list, see “50 Emergency Uses for Your Camera Phone” at http://www.disasterprep101.com/news.htm.
3. Show them how some aspects of preparedness can save time. For example, having more food in the pantry saves shopping time. Also, being current and comprehensive with your insurance policies and personal documentation will save months worth of time getting your life back on track after a disaster.
Media
News channels can be a double-edged sword. They’re great for emergency warnings, but sometimes contradict themselves. For example, weather stations will pass along evacuation warnings in advance of a hurricane, but then they’ll send a reporter out in the middle of it to give a live report. Some people see this and think hurricanes are no big deal. We’ve seen the same in minor chemical spills. Let your preparedness students know that:
1. Things are always smaller and friendlier on TV than in real life. A picture of a snake isn’t the least bit alarming. However, turn one loose in your classroom…. (No, don’t actually do this!)
2. News sources live and die on ratings, viewers, and subscribers, and therefore take risks. However, these are usually controlled risks, since, for example, the weather reporters are usually in a side area and not in the direct path of the eye of the hurricane. So don’t do what they do, do what they say.
Info Levels Now
Most “emergency” sites on the internet with “readiness information” have nothing but variations of the 72-hour kit checklist. The other end of the spectrum finds all the “survivalist” info concerning edible plants and living off the land. These two extremes can mislead the public in two distinct ways. One, the simplistic info might tell people that a 72-hour kit is all they’ll need and the government will come protect them. Two, the other extreme relates to fear since it tends to tell people that “things will be so bad that you’ll need these survival skills.” The extremes should be avoided. Shoot for the more realistic middle ground.
1. “72-hour” kits are the absolute minimum. Recommending only a 72-hour kit is like telling a family on a vacation road-trip to get only enough gas to get to the next exit where there might be another station.
2. If you teach outdoor survival skills, remind people that these skills aren’t the very next option after their 72-hour kit runs out. They’re there for the most severe cases in isolated incidents.
3. Bridge the gap between these extremes by providing instruction on how families can use simple measures to stay safe and secure for up to four weeks, either during an evacuation or extended shelter-in-place. A good example is the four weeks of food and water stored in the pantry. Four weeks is a more realistic figure and fills the void between simple kits and survival skills.
For more thoughts, see “The Disaster Dozen: The Top Twelve Myths of Disaster Preparedness” at http://www.disasterprep101.com/news.htm.
Lifestyle Ties
Essentially, this is another form of fear. It’s the fear of changing one’s lifestyle to incorporate readiness, and it’s the fear of losing one’s current lifestyle in the wake of a disaster. Two points come into play here.
1. One of the main goals of true readiness training is the preservation of our lifestyle as we know it, and not just mere physical survival. Therefore when discussing disasters, cover their aftermath and what it will take for families to return to normal. Don’t cut the subject short.
2. Realistic preparedness doesn’t involve major changes, but incorporates subtle modifications to the things we already have and do. For example, the simple habit of topping off your vehicle’s gas tank three times a week is easy to develop and ensures you have as much fuel as possible in an emergency. Simple task, powerful results, no appreciable change in your lifestyle.
Income
Many people see ads for high-priced “disaster” goods and gear and assume that protecting their family will be a major financial investment. This isn’t necessarily the case. If done correctly, protective measures can actually save a family money, or at least zero itself out on your household budget.
1. In our discussion of the 4-week pantry we pointed out how storing this much food could actually save time and money.
2. You don’t need to buy expensive gear. In fact, we recommend finding things you need at thrift stores or yard sales, and in other cases, making your own gear. For example, our “mess kits” were made with leftover plastic dishes from microwave dinners.
3. Part of any comprehensive family preparedness training should include a section on frugality, or how a family might save money by reducing expenses and through better household budgeting.
Ego
Ego can also be called self-esteem, and this can either go high or low. In the case of high self-esteem, some people may think, “I’m so important that others will take care of me.” Low self-esteem carries its own peculiarities as well. These folks might think, “No one will help me,” or “Nothing exciting ever happens here, so why prepare?” Though not directly ego-related, many people hold that same belief that “Nothing will happen here. Things happen to other people.”
1. Since we want to avoid generating fear, don’t fight the “I’ll be taken care of” attitude with stories of how bad things could get. Instead, use this high self-esteem by pointing out that one reason people don’t prepare is because their friends don’t. Therefore, tell this group the truth that they can help get others to prepare by being prepared themselves, and setting an example.
2. People with low self-esteem should be shown that self-reliance really is possible for them. These folks have low confidence levels. Once they see examples of how easy it is to be far more prepared and protected than they are, they’ll appreciate their new confidence and may continue their education on their own.
Selflessness
Many people are so concerned about others that they neglect themselves. This is one of the reasons we see incidents of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in people that were never in the actual emergency. This type of distant stress is caused when these folks see bad things happen to other people but they can’t do anything about it.
1. A good reminder for this group is that you’re more able to help others if you yourself are well prepared. And guess what? “Others” includes pets!
In the stocked pantry example, you’ve helped others by already having your supplies, which makes for shorter lines and more stock on the shelves when the unprepared make that last-minute scramble for supplies at the grocery store.
2. You also help others by setting the example that preparedness is socially acceptable, much in the same way that we wear our seatbelts so our children will.
The most important point of all is that your main goal is to teach both the importance and techniques of disaster preparedness in order to make our world safer. So, we have one last acronym for you; the word T.E.A.C.H.
Treat each family member as unique.
Emphasize the benefits and not the threat.
Allow for different learning styles and speeds.
Confidence building is goal number one.
Help others to help themselves, and to then help others in turn.
About the author: Paul Purcell is a security analyst and preparedness consultant and is the author of “Disaster Prep 101” (www.disasterprep101.com.) Copyright 2006 Paul Purcell. Permission is granted to reprint this article provided all portions stay intact.
Headlines are full of hurricanes, earthquakes, bird flu, terrorism, and other dangers of the world in which we live. However, most civilians aren’t prepared to face a disaster or even a family emergency. This begs the question “Why not?” This article is intended for those who want to change this fact by teaching others, including their own families, to be better prepared, safer, and more self-reliant.
We’ve identified several “learning obstacles” that prevent individuals and families from being as emergency ready as they should be. We’ll list them here quickly then cover each in more detail and discuss ways to jump these learning hurdles.
Since we’re talking about educating families – the cornerstone of all reaction plans - let’s use the acronym F.A.M.I.L.I.E.S.:
Fear – “It’s too scary to think about.”
Attention Span – “I’m too busy to learn or do anything new.”
Media – “There’s always a weatherman in the hurricane.”
Info Levels Now – “A 72-hour kit is all I need.”
Lifestyle Ties – “I don’t want to change the way I live.”
Income – “I can’t afford to buy the gear or take the steps.”
Ego – “I’m so important that others will look after me.”
Selflessness – “I’m not worried about me, I want to help others.”
Why is it important to increase the level of civilian preparedness training over what we have through sites like ready.gov? That question can be a series of articles on its own, but the 4-part short answer is one, most free websites have only the bare minimum info; two, the fewer victims we have in a disaster the better off we’ll all be; three, all business continuity plans rest on the ability of employees to return to work; and four, the term “civilians” includes the families of first responders. The more prepared the family, the more able is the responder to report for duty.
As we cover each learning obstacle below, you’ll find a brief description of the problem followed by a few specific tips on how to deal with that particular issue. When teaching, remember that people have different learning styles. Visual learners do best by watching. They are receptive to videos, PowerPoint, or live demos. Auditory learners prefer verbal communication such as podcasts, or books on tape. Kinesthetic learners benefit from hands-on experience. Try to incorporate a little of each into your presentations.
Fear
Fear is probably the number one reason people don’t prepare. Too many people focus on the dangers they may face in disasters, rather than the benefits of self-reliance. Worse, many so-called experts dwell on nothing but the threat since they have little to no new preparedness information. Let’s look at ways to teach readiness while avoiding fear:
1. Take a tip from insurance salespeople. They focus on the benefits of the policy rather than the reasons you might need one. Accentuate the positives of preparedness, not worst case scenarios.
2. Use “mundane” threats to get people to prepare for more dire situations. For example, people living on the coast understand hurricanes and are receptive to helpful tips regarding evacuation. However, you might get a negative reaction with a “nuke in the harbor” scenario.
3. Teach preparedness without mentioning a threat. For example, focus on financial planning. It’s more economical to buy groceries in bulk and cook at home, and it’s also healthier. Guess what? This means you’ll have more food at home in a shelter-in-place situation. Also, encouraging families to take up camping as a hobby inadvertently helps prepare them for an evacuation.
Attention Span
With microwave ovens, ATMs, email, and so forth, we live in a world of instant gratification. We have become a society whose mantra is “Just give me the condensed intro, not the whole pamphlet.” We rarely take time to do a thorough and detailed job of anything, and the notion of adding things to the list, even something life-saving, is out of the question.
1. Most people don’t realize that being prepared for disaster takes only subtle modifications to your life and doesn’t require extensive study or training.
2. People in this category appreciate “helpful hints,” so break things down into bite-size pieces. Use simple (though detailed and thorough) checklists and bulleted lists rather than wordy text or long speeches. For one such list, see “50 Emergency Uses for Your Camera Phone” at http://www.disasterprep101.com/news.htm.
3. Show them how some aspects of preparedness can save time. For example, having more food in the pantry saves shopping time. Also, being current and comprehensive with your insurance policies and personal documentation will save months worth of time getting your life back on track after a disaster.
Media
News channels can be a double-edged sword. They’re great for emergency warnings, but sometimes contradict themselves. For example, weather stations will pass along evacuation warnings in advance of a hurricane, but then they’ll send a reporter out in the middle of it to give a live report. Some people see this and think hurricanes are no big deal. We’ve seen the same in minor chemical spills. Let your preparedness students know that:
1. Things are always smaller and friendlier on TV than in real life. A picture of a snake isn’t the least bit alarming. However, turn one loose in your classroom…. (No, don’t actually do this!)
2. News sources live and die on ratings, viewers, and subscribers, and therefore take risks. However, these are usually controlled risks, since, for example, the weather reporters are usually in a side area and not in the direct path of the eye of the hurricane. So don’t do what they do, do what they say.
Info Levels Now
Most “emergency” sites on the internet with “readiness information” have nothing but variations of the 72-hour kit checklist. The other end of the spectrum finds all the “survivalist” info concerning edible plants and living off the land. These two extremes can mislead the public in two distinct ways. One, the simplistic info might tell people that a 72-hour kit is all they’ll need and the government will come protect them. Two, the other extreme relates to fear since it tends to tell people that “things will be so bad that you’ll need these survival skills.” The extremes should be avoided. Shoot for the more realistic middle ground.
1. “72-hour” kits are the absolute minimum. Recommending only a 72-hour kit is like telling a family on a vacation road-trip to get only enough gas to get to the next exit where there might be another station.
2. If you teach outdoor survival skills, remind people that these skills aren’t the very next option after their 72-hour kit runs out. They’re there for the most severe cases in isolated incidents.
3. Bridge the gap between these extremes by providing instruction on how families can use simple measures to stay safe and secure for up to four weeks, either during an evacuation or extended shelter-in-place. A good example is the four weeks of food and water stored in the pantry. Four weeks is a more realistic figure and fills the void between simple kits and survival skills.
For more thoughts, see “The Disaster Dozen: The Top Twelve Myths of Disaster Preparedness” at http://www.disasterprep101.com/news.htm.
Lifestyle Ties
Essentially, this is another form of fear. It’s the fear of changing one’s lifestyle to incorporate readiness, and it’s the fear of losing one’s current lifestyle in the wake of a disaster. Two points come into play here.
1. One of the main goals of true readiness training is the preservation of our lifestyle as we know it, and not just mere physical survival. Therefore when discussing disasters, cover their aftermath and what it will take for families to return to normal. Don’t cut the subject short.
2. Realistic preparedness doesn’t involve major changes, but incorporates subtle modifications to the things we already have and do. For example, the simple habit of topping off your vehicle’s gas tank three times a week is easy to develop and ensures you have as much fuel as possible in an emergency. Simple task, powerful results, no appreciable change in your lifestyle.
Income
Many people see ads for high-priced “disaster” goods and gear and assume that protecting their family will be a major financial investment. This isn’t necessarily the case. If done correctly, protective measures can actually save a family money, or at least zero itself out on your household budget.
1. In our discussion of the 4-week pantry we pointed out how storing this much food could actually save time and money.
2. You don’t need to buy expensive gear. In fact, we recommend finding things you need at thrift stores or yard sales, and in other cases, making your own gear. For example, our “mess kits” were made with leftover plastic dishes from microwave dinners.
3. Part of any comprehensive family preparedness training should include a section on frugality, or how a family might save money by reducing expenses and through better household budgeting.
Ego
Ego can also be called self-esteem, and this can either go high or low. In the case of high self-esteem, some people may think, “I’m so important that others will take care of me.” Low self-esteem carries its own peculiarities as well. These folks might think, “No one will help me,” or “Nothing exciting ever happens here, so why prepare?” Though not directly ego-related, many people hold that same belief that “Nothing will happen here. Things happen to other people.”
1. Since we want to avoid generating fear, don’t fight the “I’ll be taken care of” attitude with stories of how bad things could get. Instead, use this high self-esteem by pointing out that one reason people don’t prepare is because their friends don’t. Therefore, tell this group the truth that they can help get others to prepare by being prepared themselves, and setting an example.
2. People with low self-esteem should be shown that self-reliance really is possible for them. These folks have low confidence levels. Once they see examples of how easy it is to be far more prepared and protected than they are, they’ll appreciate their new confidence and may continue their education on their own.
Selflessness
Many people are so concerned about others that they neglect themselves. This is one of the reasons we see incidents of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in people that were never in the actual emergency. This type of distant stress is caused when these folks see bad things happen to other people but they can’t do anything about it.
1. A good reminder for this group is that you’re more able to help others if you yourself are well prepared. And guess what? “Others” includes pets!
In the stocked pantry example, you’ve helped others by already having your supplies, which makes for shorter lines and more stock on the shelves when the unprepared make that last-minute scramble for supplies at the grocery store.
2. You also help others by setting the example that preparedness is socially acceptable, much in the same way that we wear our seatbelts so our children will.
The most important point of all is that your main goal is to teach both the importance and techniques of disaster preparedness in order to make our world safer. So, we have one last acronym for you; the word T.E.A.C.H.
Treat each family member as unique.
Emphasize the benefits and not the threat.
Allow for different learning styles and speeds.
Confidence building is goal number one.
Help others to help themselves, and to then help others in turn.
About the author: Paul Purcell is a security analyst and preparedness consultant and is the author of “Disaster Prep 101” (www.disasterprep101.com.) Copyright 2006 Paul Purcell. Permission is granted to reprint this article provided all portions stay intact.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
