Author: Volunteer

It’s a new year. January is always a good time to “reset” and think about setting new priorities. Over the past couple of weeks I took the time to “think longer term” about helping organize a neighborhood emergency group. I welcomed that “big” topic. But then over the weekend I got news that was like being hit alongside the head.

Thirty-one people killed in two apartment house fires!

What happened? Time for an immediate smoke alarm update!

Two different sets of circumstances but alarms failed people in each.

In the Philadelphia fire (3-level apartment building) no alarms were heard to go off. But the building owner swears that smoke and CO alarms were located throughout the apartments and had been tested positively last fall. What’s the answer?

In the Bronx fire (19-story high rise) people ignored the smoke alarms going off “. . . because they go off all the time.” When automatic doors did not close as expected, smoke rapidly filled the building. With no exterior fire escapes, people died from smoke inhalation, not from fire itself.

This is not a complete report. People are still in the hospital; officials are still examining damage to the buildings; displaced families are still in trauma. So, we’ll probably learn more.

For us it is another reminder of the life-saving role of WORKING smoke alarms.

Our neighbors have smoke alarm problems, too.

Just like the people in the Bronx building, when their smoke alarms chirp or even go off for apparently no reason, our neighbors get tired of trying to figure out what to do. Many of our older neighbors find it difficult to “test” their alarms because they can’t reach the alarms without climbing up on a ladder. Eventually, they abandon the alarms or even tear them down and throw them out – sometimes, still chirping! 

Here’s the statistic from NPFA that keeps our testing program strong and drives this Advisory, too::

The death rate in home fires is much higher where a smoke alarm is present but does not operate than it is in home fires with no smoke alarms at all.

Let’s assume you have smoke alarms. In the right places. Now, make sure they are operating.

Test the alarms to see if their batteries are working. All smoke alarms have batteries. But different types of alarms use batteries differently.

What kind of alarm do you have? You probably can’t tell just by standing on the floor and looking up at it! You need to get up on a ladder and twist the body of the battery out of its mount. Examine the back side.

• Some alarms are sealed so batteries can’t be removed. At the end of its battery life, the alarm needs to be discarded and replaced.
• Other alarms operate with batteries that need to be replaced on a regular basis.
• Still other alarms are wired to the house and use its electricity, but have batteries as back-up if the electricity goes out. You can change the battery on a wired alarm without disconnecting any of the wires. 

Replaceable batteries last about 6 months. That’s why we recommend testing and changing them twice a year when the time changes.

Testing is simple: just press the “test” button until you hear the fire alarm tone.

If a battery in your alarm starts running low, it may alert you by cheeping or chirping. This means, time to change.

What if the beeping won’t stop?

Sometimes the alarm continues to chirp or beep after you have changed the battery and done everything right. Do not allow this to drive you crazy! It simply means that the “coding” in the alarm hasn’t been cleared out. You need to RESET your alarm so you know it is working properly.

Here’s a good video showing the whole sequence. (Only 2 minutes long.)

Electric (hard-wired) Smoke Detectors with Battery Backup

1. Go to the breaker box for your house. Shut off the circuit to your smoke detector.
2. Remove the detector from the bracket on the ceiling and disconnect the power cable plugged to the smoke detector.
3. Take out its battery, then press the “Test” button on the “empty” alarm and hold it down for 15 seconds. An alarm will sound for a short time, then the alarm will silence.
4. Put the battery back into the smoke detector, reconnect the power cable and mount the smoke detector back on its bracket. Turn the breaker on. The smoke alarm will chirp one time to indicate power has been restored to the unit.

Battery-Powered Smoke Detectors

1. Remove the battery from the smoke detector.
2. Press the “Test” button and hold it down for 15 seconds. An alarm will sound for a short time, and then will stop.
3. Reinstall the battery. The smoke alarm will chirp once to indicate the battery is connected.

Want more assurance? Get new alarms if you need them!

Smoke alarms have a life of 7-10 years. Don’t push your luck! If you know by now that you need new smoke alarms, don’t hesitate. If you want hard-wired alarms, you may need expert electrical help to get them installed. But you can easily install battery-operated alarms yourself.

Check out the sample products below and head to Amazon to compare. Prices for alarms continue to come down: the alarms below start at less than $10, and even the newest, combo smoke and CO alarms start at prices as low as $20. (Buying a multi-pack can reduce the cost of the individual item considerably.) Kidde and First Alert are two of the most popular brands.

Battery-operated Sealed

Kidde – 21026051 Smoke Detector Alarm | Battery Operated | Model i9050

Hard Wired with Battery Back-up

First Alert BRK9120b6CP Hardwired Smoke Detector with Backup Battery

Important for travel safety — a portable alarm you can carry with you.

What if you arrive at a hotel room, or even a friend’s basement guest room, and note that there is no smoke alarm!? Consider getting a smaller, more compact and battery-operated alarm that you can set up for more peaceful sleep. And then, pack it up and take it away with you. Below is an example.

NOTICE: Not all the portable brands of smoke alarms are UL listed so some states (like California) won’t allow them. Be sure the model you’re looking at will meet your state’s requirements. (The Amazon sales page will tell you.)

SITERWELL Smoke Detector , Photoelectric Technology Smoke Alarm with 10 Year Life Time, Small Fire Alarm with Built-in Battery and Test&Silence Button for House, UL Listed, GS522C-A, 4 Packs

This Advisory is one of the important ones. Please make sure you “know your alarms” and are confident they are working properly. We have had four house fires in our neighborhood in the past 10 years. Every house burned to the ground, but no one was injured thanks to smoke alarms!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. Several years ago I wrote about what happened when I tried to test my smoke alarms for the first time. That Advisory also distinguishes between photoelectric and ionization technology. You may enjoy that story . . .!

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(See 2022 update to California Death with Dignity Act, below.)

Most of my friends in the Emergency Preparedness realm seem to agree with our mantra, “The more we all know, the safer we all will be.” For me, the mantra extends to “The more options we know about, the less fear we’ll have.” (Options certainly drove the content of books in the Mini-Series like “No water?” and Personal Safety.)

Today I want to touch on some options that very seldom get discussed, namely, your end of life options. That is, what choices you have about medical care and particularly, what choices you have about when and how you will die.

We don’t usually spend much time talking about dying or the choices we have at end of life.

It seems that we actually avoid talking about dying although it’s something we all have in common! I’m not sure exactly why this is the case. Are we afraid of dying? Do we think that talking about it will make it happen? Do we somehow want to “protect our children?”

Well, Joe and I have experienced the death of a number of family members and, more recently, of several neighbors. And the hundreds of thousands of deaths resulting from the coronavirus have made death something we hear about every day.

It’s time to know more about end of life options and take some preparedness actions NOW before it’s too late.

Disclaimer: This Advisory isn’t meant to be a statement about religious or cultural beliefs. Nor is it meant to offer medical or legal advice. It is meant to clarify some concepts that may be fuzzy (as they were for me a while back) and give you an idea of where to go for more info.

Before you get ill, you need Advance Directives to tell your doctors how to handle certain situations.

Several documents can be consdidered Advance Directives – a Living Will, a DNR order, and/or a Medical Power of Attorney. Here are simple definitions:

• A Living Will tells your doctor what kind of medical care you want should you become incapacitated. Examples might be ventilator for life support, artificial nutrition, etc. If the Living Will doesn’t mention a specific issue, then the doctors will probably go ahead and treat you as they ordinarily would to save and sustain your life. You need to have the Living Will completed before anything happens.
• A DNR, or Do Not Resuscitate order, gives medical personnel specific instructions about what to do when your heart or breathing stops.
• The Medical Power of Attorney gives someone else (usually a family member) the right to make medical choices for you if you are incapacitated or unable to make decisions for yourself.

Different states have different rules regarding these documents, so your first action is to find out how things work in YOUR state. Action item: Simply type into your browser the words, “Advance Directives [your state].“

The challenge with all these documents is if you have wishes, they need to be clearly spelled out, appropriately witnessed, and readily available to medical personnel. In addition, your family needs to know exactly what your wishes are.

Example of worst case

You’ve been through a long illness and know you do not want to be resuscitated if your heart stops. But you haven’t really made it clear to family or, for that matter, to your doctor. An incident occurs. Out of fear or emotion, your family insists you be kept alive no matter what it takes or what it costs. A bad situation becomes terrible.

Please don’t wait. Get these forms and make these decisions and talk about them NOW.

What end of life options do you have regarding your body after death?

Burial or Cremation

I’m sure you are familiar with standard burial and cremation. Decisions here may be determined by religion, timing, location, and your survivors’ finances.  Be aware of these financial benefits:

• Social Security will pay a one-time lump sum of $255 to a surviving spouse.
• The Veterans Administration has benefits to help with burial, funeral and transportation costs for veterans who die in a VA hospital and/or who were receiving a VA pension.
• The stimulus bill passed in December, 2020 has a plan to reimburse families for funeral costs if they had a loved one die from COVID-19 between Jan. 20 and Dec. 31 of 2020. As of February, 2021, FEMA reports it is working on setting up a hotline.

Donation of your Body to Science

People who want to advance the understanding of science may wish to donate parts of their body or their entire body after their death. Many different programs are available so again, it pays to do your research. (Do more than just read their websites, which will always be positive. Check on reputation via news stories.)

Joe and I agreed we want to donate our bodies to science. Here’s what we discovered as we looked into options here in Southern California.

• Many programs exist. Some are national, some local. Some are free; some have a fee. We elected to go with our local university’s medical center.
• Being accepted requires that we have an application on file. The university will collect our bodies and transport them at no cost. The program will not return any remains.
• There are some circumstances that would deny us coverage. For example, while our program will come to get us no matter where we are, another program placed a 50 mile maximum distance. We must fall within normal weight limits and our bodies must be intact. And if we die from COVID, the university will be unable to use our bodies so we need to have alternate arrangements.

If this seems weird or uncomfortable to you as you read this, you can believe that some of our family members found it uncomfortable, too!  We have had multiple conversations about our choice!

What options are available regarding how and when to die?

Hospice Care

If you have a terminal illness (most likely with no more than 6 months to live), you may choose to stop trying to cure the illness and ask for hospice care so you can die as comfortably as possible at home or, if necessary, in a hospice inpatient facility.

Mayo Clinic defines hospice this way: “Hospice care is a service for a person who has discontinued disease-fighting treatments and is preparing to die.”  Medicare Part A and most health plans cover hospice.

(Palliative care is often linked with hospice care. Palliative care is aimed at providing comfort for a particular illness/symptom/pain and may be short or long-term. It is usually paid for by your insurance. Hospice care is always palliative care, but palliative care is not always hospice care.)

As you might expect, you have choices of different hospice providers, so do your research.  Your doctor or hospital may be able to refer you. Ask questions about what exactly the hospice workers will do and what they won’t do, how often they come, their response time, does the program offer respite care, etc.

Ending your life on your own schedule

The idea of choosing when to die is extremely controversial.  Still, people who suffer or anticipate constant pain, sickness, depression, anxiety or fear deserve to know about these end of life options, too.

Here are two programs as examples.

1. Final Exit Network (FEN)

The Final Exit Network (FEN) is a newer version of a program many of us have heard of: the Hemlock Society. FEN is a national, non-profit organization serving members in all 50 states.  

The network believes that “a mentally competent person with intolerable suffering or pain has the right to end their life, choosing the timing and persons present, and should be free of any restrictions by the law, clergy, medical profession, friends or relatives.” 

FEN does not encourage people to end their lives, and does not help people end their lives. Rather, its goal is to educate people about end of life options and to provide a compassionate presence at their bedside. FEN also defends people’s legal rights to end their lives.

2. Death With Dignity Act

Since I live in California, I’ve spent some time finding out about this particular end of life option. Ten states have the Act; the parameters in all seem quite similar.

The California Act allows terminally ill adult residents in California to get medical help to end their own lives. Under the law, this is NOT considered suicide. You can get the full history of the CA Death With Dignity act here.

Here’s how “aid in dying” works in California.

The “aid” is a prescription for a medication that will end your life. To request the prescription, you must be 18, a California resident, capable of making your own decisions, and diagnosed with a terminal illness that will result in death within six months.

UPDATED JANUARY 2022. Before 2022, you had to make at least two requests for the medication, 15 days apart.  You had to provide a written request, signed by two witnesses. Two doctors had to confirm your condition and confirm that you were capable of making your own medical decisions. As of today, the process has been simplified. Duplicate written attestations have been eliminated; most importantly, your two requests only have to be 48 hours apart.

NO OTHER PERSON can make this request on your behalf. Moreover, you have to be able to take/drink the prescription by yourself. It cannot be “administered.”

According to the California website, in 2019, the latest year for which statistics are available, 618 people received prescriptions under the act and 405 used them to die. 

A personal note.

I inquired of my own doctor about the Act. She told me that she would never agree to sign off on the prescription for me, based on her personal beliefs. I was surprised! However, she assured me that competent colleagues would be willing and able to do so.

So, don’t assume anything about your own doctor!

Writing this Advisory has brought back memories and reminded me, again, that every single person may have a different idea about how end of life should be approached. All competent and caring individuals, however, surely do not want to leave an emotional mess and even a tug-of-war behind because they didn’t make their wishes known.

As long as you are healthy, you can always make changes in any of these end of life decisions. But if you haven’t made decisions, the minute you get ill they may be taken right out of your hands.

I welcome any real-life experiences to add to this Advisory.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. Last week we talked about the simple things you can do to prepare for personal emergencies. If you didn’t see it, please go back and take another look at the Just In Case letter. It’s a good first step in this type of planning.

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We hope we never have to hear you say something like this:

“Oh, darn!  I KNEW I should have fastened up that shelf / replaced those bottles of water / checked those batteries . . . !”

Truth is, disasters are gonna happen. Most aren’t entirely unexpected. And we’ve learned that if we simply prepare for a few of the biggest ones, we’ll be ready for most of the smaller ones. But if we let the small ones go . . . well, bigger and scarier emergencies are right around the corner! (Nothing worse than a spilled ice cream cone, of course!) A preparedness planning calendar can help keep us on track.

Your family’s well being comes first on your planning calendar.

About half of the Advisories we write deal with suggestions for individuals and  families.  They range from revisiting the contents of your go-bag, to keeping emergency radios maintained, to how solar works as an emergency power supply.

Last year, during the pandemic lock-down, we collected 14 of the most popular Advisory ideas for individuals.  Then we doubled the amount of info on each basic topic. Each topic became one volume of our “Emergency Preparedness Q&A Mini-Series.”

(Happy note: one of my real estate friends gave away copies of several of the mini-books to her clients as holiday gifts. She sent me this text: “I’ve gotten many many sincere thanks for such wonderful books!!!! Thank you so much! Hugs, Jaci, Seven Gables Real Estate”)

But don’t stop there. Take your preparing to the next step!

We think Emergency Plan Guide is unique in its focus on building prepared neighborhoods. As you have seen, in “real life” Joe and I help organize and train our own neighborhood emergency response group. We’ve done it for nearly 20 years!

So besides the info for individual preparedness, our Advisories cover activities aimed at attracting and engaging our immediate neighbors. You may recall some of our stories from 2020 and 2021. Even when so much community activity was shuttered, our team was able to put together an  “Emergency Whistle Give-away,” hold a first-of-its-kind virtual meeting with our City’s Emergency Manager, and very early on, reach out to isolated neighbors via simple telephone conference calls.

Neighborhood resilience depends on  —  neighbors!

No matter what the make-up of your neighborhood, every family will benefit by knowing more about readiness. But we believe preparedness extends beyond each family having emergency supplies and training.

A prepared neighborhood may be able to rescue and support those people whose homes or livelihood were damaged or destroyed! 

It was neighbors who pulled out boats to search for survivors in the floods after Hurricane Harvey. After Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana, it was neighbors who got busy and nailed blue tarps over leaking roofs when there was no sign of promised government help. When the tornados hit in Kentucky last month, it was neighbors who pulled people from the debris in the darkness.

Who would help YOU if an earthquake flattened your home? Your school? Your place of business?  It would be your neighbors!  The ones right there. The ones who know where you are likely to be. The neighbors who have gloves and crowbars and lights and are ready to jump into action as soon as they know they themselves are safe.

So as we take a look at planning for 2022, sure, let’s let the FEMA calendar guide us with some good themes. But at the same time, let’s add to our planning calendar some activities that build group awareness and resilience.

And next week, in Part 2, we’ll take a look at who you really want for your neighborhood team – and who you might NOT want.

So, a list of activities by month for 2022.

January – Time to get the year organized. Get your hands on or make your own monthly calendar, with plenty of place to write. For each month, fill in at least one appropriate topic. Then set up two columns, one to help individuals and families take action, and the other for groups. For example: In January, survey your group members to find out what they are worried about. Use that information to build in training over the course of the year to meet their concerns.

February – Winter awareness month, per FEMA. Focus on your location and your audience to identify winter threats. (For example, small children have different needs than the elderly when the power goes off . . .) Idea for group planning: what specialized winter equipment do you have available in the neighborhood that could be used to help more people? (snow plow, generator, home with fireplace, etc.) How would you deploy it?

March – Flood safety. Idea: test and emphasize your neighborhood emergency alert systems. Did forest fires ravage nearby areas? If so, watch out for mudslides and debris flow where they may never have occurred before.

April – Financial capability month. For most of us, having enough cash or savings to carry us through an emergency may simply not be possible. Idea: invite insurance professionals to speak to your neighborhood group. Be sure you come away knowing what is covered by homeowners or renters’ insurance, and what isn’t. Ask plenty of questions about wind and water damage.

May – Start of wildfire season. Big idea for this month: Become a FireWise USA Community!  Sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association and local fire departments, the program helps individuals and communities get ready for summer and potential fire danger. One of our Emergency Plan Guide groups has held multiple very successful FireWise events.

June – Start of Hurricane Season and, traditionally, start of the hottest season of the year. In 2021 we experienced deadly heat waves in the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds died quietly at home, exercising outside at school, and working in orchards and fields. Find out what temperatures to expect in your location. How can you protect the most vulnerable? Idea: set up a system to check on and support seniors in your neighborhood.

July – Fireworks safety.  Last year I studied the various fireworks ordinances in and around our town. Guess what?! Some fireworks were allowed in neighboring cities that weren’t allowed here!  So, be sure you know the rules for kids and adult enthusiasts. And have your fire extinguishers handy.

August – Back to school. Parents, know your school’s emergency procedures. Teachers, know what’s expected and if you aren’t getting comprehensive training, demand it. Traditional fire drills aren’t really enough these days. Make sure your school is ready for other emergencies including intruders, earthquake, tornado, etc. Do you need emergency tools or equipment in the classroom? Emergency food supplies? Find out.

September – This is National Preparedness Month. Idea: Plan a Preparedness Expo for your neighborhood or group. Consider guest speakers, commercial vendors, games, exhibits by police and fire. Invite school or scout groups as partners. Solicit donations so visitors go away with starter items for their own emergency kits. Be sure to arrange for publicity.

October – Cybersecurity month plus the Great American Shakeout! Idea: Sponsor an educational meeting for local businesses, with a “Cyber-Security Checklist” as take-away. Idea for group: Present dramatic video of earthquake footage (available on YouTube) and discuss earthquake myths. Send people home with an Emergency Whistle to help if they are trapped after a shaker.

November – Holiday cooking safety. Idea: Invite professionals to demonstrate how different fire extinguishers work on different types of fires. Review fire extinguisher procedures and practice with real or digital equipment. Already been there and done that?  Do it again for the benefit of new members of the group.

December – seems to be Protection Month!  Ready.gov recommends getting your flu shot. Avoiding shopping scams and hazards. Managing holiday lights and fires. (I seem to have been right on schedule when I came up with my tips for using plugs and extension cords a week ago!)

Customize your planning calendar to fit your circumstances.

The ideas listed above are just that – ideas for you and your leadership team to discuss as you develop your planning calendar. Use or discard them or better yet, come up with variations that will work for you, specifically.

As we continue to emphasize, every community is unique. That’s why we wrote four different versions of our Neighborhood Disaster Survival Guide. There’s probably one for your type of neighborhood. Each of those guides, by the way, has pages full of ideas that could help fill in a year’s calendar of preparedness activities.

Whatever your source of ideas, this is a great time to get organized for the year. There’s no reason to get caught flat-footed when emergencies hit – and so many good reasons to be ready!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. Planning for 2022, Part 2, will be coming out in a week or so. Watch for it! It will have suggestions for building a workable neighborhood team and keeping it on track.

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It’s been a pretty nice day here in sunny Southern California, but that should change starting tomorrow as we’re overtaken by another atmospheric river of moisture. Of course, we look forward to all the promised rain. And so far, there’s no suggestion that we could face a winter power outage.

But elsewhere in California, things are a bit more ominous.

• Just now I checked with the National Weather Service and I found 23 different storm and winter weather warnings for California!
• At the same time, I checked for power outages, and discovered 2,205 power outages happening right now in California!

Now I know you may not be in California. And I hope you weren’t in Texas last year, when they experienced a spectacular and devastating winter power outage disaster.

But no matter where you’re located, cold weather combined with a power outage can be deadly.

So that’s the combination we’re looking at with today’s Advisory.

Because it’s the holidays, and I know you’re busy, I have found the perfect way for you to get the info with as little effort as possible. It’s a video from Steven Eberlein of Ethos Preparedness. Only 10 minutes long. You might want to pull up a kid or two to watch with you.

I’ve been following Steven on LinkedIn for a while now. He’s a real preparedness expert with years of experience, a sense of humor (!), and he’s snuck dozens of sensible ideas and suggestions into these 10 minutes.

So grab a cup of hot chocolate and settle in!

Winter Weather Preparedness & Trapping Heat (Ready for Anything Video Library)

A good review, don’t you agree? Do yourself a favor and pull together any winter supplies you might be missing. And let me know what struck you as most important for YOUR circumstances!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S.  Now if you’re asking yourself, “What’s the forecast for our part of the country? Do we have any winter weather warnings?”

You can find out just like I did by heading to the National Weather Service site: https://www.weather.gov/ When you get there you’ll see a map somewhat like this. Type in your state. (The box highlighted in red on the image below shows where to put in your state.)

What’s ahead for YOU when it comes to winter weather? How ready are you?

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It’s not too often that I add a new topic to our list of Advisories. So much of emergency preparedness is just getting smarter and more secure around the basics. This week, however, I have felt obliged to add a new threat for you to consider: a Smash and Grab incident!

Over the past few days of Black Friday shopping frenzy, a handful of major cities have experienced dozens of violent Smash and Grab incidents. Teams of people, clearly organized and prepared with crow bars and hammers, violently invade upscale stores, breaking windows and display cases, and making off with thousands of dollars of high-end merchandise. Within minutes, they are gone.

A security guard was shot and killed as he defended a video team filming the violence. So far, though while shoppers’ packages have been snatched by the mobs, no shoppers have been reported injured.

But it’s likely only a matter of time before a shopper or staff member is in the wrong place at the wrong time, or makes the wrong move. We don’t want that someone to be you!

Can I prevent a smash and grab incident?

It’s not clear that there is any way to prevent such an incident. Certainly, mall and store security has been beefed up. But the snatch and grab gangs swoop in and get out before law enforcement personnel can get there.

You might avoid being caught up in an incident by shopping during daylight hours.  And it would be a good idea to shop in smaller local stores rather in malls or big box stores.  (These thieves seem to be drawn by wide aisles, lots of merchandise, multiple ways out, and easy escape routes for their cars.)

Practice situational awareness all the time to help keep yourself out of harm’s way!

We’ve written before about situational awareness. Its simplest definition?  Being more aware of what’s going on around you!

The more complete definition of situational awareness for personal protection includes:

• Gather information about your environment.
• Understand what you see, feel, hear, etc.
• Predict what could happen and come up with options for how you could react. (Use your imagination!)
• Be ready to take action if you feel unsafe.

Now, this should all make sense to you, and you could probably follow all these steps if you knew in advance that you were heading into trouble.  The challenge is to maintain situational awareness ALL THE TIME! 

You can practice!  And the more you do, the easier it becomes.  (As I have mentioned before, Joe has had training in military intelligence. Situational awareness is built right into him!)

Shopping presents particular threats.

Even if you don’t get caught up in a smash-and-grab incident, you may be broadcasting an invitation to a thief. Are you guilty of any of these shopping-associated behaviors?

• You just bought that perfect and very expensive gift you’ve been looking for!  As you push your way through the crowd you are exchanging excited video calls with your girlfriends and telling them just what a great discount you got!
• You’re finished with your shopping. You pretty much stagger into the parking garage so loaded down with parcels and packages you can hardly  see over them. You don’t even notice who is coming toward you in the shadows. 
• Your shift is up. You’re the last person out of the store tonight, and you head into the nearly empty parking lot alone. All you can think about is getting home and getting out of those shoes.

In every case above, your lack of situational awareness has turned you into a potential victim!   

What if I happen to be in a store when a gang of smash-and-grabbers comes in?

I mentioned that Joe has had valuable experience in staying aware. His experience has been catching!

Every time I go into ANY building I always make the effort to identify ways to get out other than the way I came in. In a grocery store, that’s back through the loading area. In a retail store, I look for signs for restrooms and emergency exits. (Since we’re in California, I also automatically and continually look for places to shelter in an earthquake.)

In a smash-and-grab situation you may suddenly notice people pouring into the store. You may hear breaking glass. If you’ve already identified other exits, move away from the turmoil and toward those exits if you can!

If you can’t get away, try to remain unnoticed.  Stay out of the way. Don’t scream or fight. Let them take your packages if they want them. (If you paid by credit card you may get your money back thanks to “purchase protection!”  Check to see if your card has it!)

Remember, the smash-and-grab mob is not interested in you.  They want things — preferably expensive things like jewelry or electronics that can be resold over the internet. They also want to get their loot and get out quickly, so any person that gets in their way is likely to be fiercely attacked.

This holiday season is turning out to be unlike any other.

Over the past few months we have all witnessed more mass shootings, more bomb threats, more erratic driving, and more angry confrontations than I can ever remember.  The smash-and-grab incidents fall right into this wave of violence. So a refresher on situational awareness is timely.

I have a couple of recommendations for that refresher.

Second, as part of the research for today’s Advisory I discovered three videos on YouTube from Homeland Security. They are games to test just how accurately you see things!  Now, you may not do very well on #1, but by the time you’ve finished #3, you will have improved!  Going through them takes less than 15 minutes and it’s fun!

I have relied on news reports for much of this Advisory. If your local police offers tips for safe shopping, or a special press release on smash and grab incidents in your community, be sure to find out more. You may prefer to approach certain shopping areas with extra caution.

That’s it for this week. But the role of situational awareness doesn’t go away. Commit to improving your own skill!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. Our personal safety book covers a lot more than mindset. If you’re considering self-defense systems, you’ll find questions about martial arts, weapons and deadly weapons, too. It all has to do with gaining more control over your personal safety.

In our retirement community . . .

Everyone is 55 years of age, or older.  Some people are a LOT older than 55!  Many of our neighbors have special needs, whether they know it or not. After years of working in this environment, we have found that when we’re trying to improve the levels of emergency preparedness for seniors, we encounter some specific senior challenges.

Here are some observations and two action items that you may want to take to heart as we head into the winter months. It’s a time where we are all exposed to more potential dangers — storms, ice and snow, power outages, etc.. Happily, it may also be a time when a heart-to-heart talk with family members is possible and welcome.

Some seniors suffer from complacency.

Some of our neighbors have family close by, with children and grandchildren showing up regularly to celebrate holidays.  These families also help mom or dad make decisions and take care of routine chores.

These older folks are lucky to have this support.  But they may also get used to handing off responsibility to someone else.  In a big emergency, adult children won’t be there!  Immediate decisions will have to be made! If people fail to act, results may be disastrous.

So here’s the first question for your family conversation — or for you by yourself if you are a senior:

Question #1: Are you ready to make life-and-death decisions for yourself, by yourself? 

Here’s a simple test of how ready you are. Have you taken the time to think through and make decisions about how you want to be treated in case of a medical emergency? I’m referring to completing and/or updating the information in the “Vial of Life.” It’s a vial/bottle/baggie that holds essential medical information for First Responders who arrive when someone calls 911. Emergency preparedness for seniors requires having prepared a Vial of Life!

A second level of personal decision making is to take the next step and complete an Advance Directive and/or POLST form (Physician’s Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment) — and have them ready for medical professionals. These documents go further than the Vial of Life info in that they tell emergency caregivers what level of care you want in specific medial situations. See the P.S. of this Advisory for a photo.

(The POLST form is often confused with a DNR or “Do not resuscitate” order. The DNR may be one of the options on the POLST form, but it’s only one of the options.)

Here in our community we’re remind our neighbors once a year (at least) about completing these important documents. You can get the details here about how we distributed a Vial of Life to all our neighbors a few years ago.

Action item: If you are getting together with family over the next few weeks, get a copy of the Vial of Life information and the Advance Directive for Health Care . Have them ready for discussion. If YOU don’t keep them up to date, in an emergency you may not get the medical care you deserve or want.

Other seniors operate with a sense of entitlement.

Living as we do near a fire station, and in a community where police services are excellent, we get to know our First Responders by first name!  We see them frequently, and know they are great folks.  Naturally, we expect friendly and competent service to be available all the time.

Our First Responders don’t hesitate to tell us, though, that in a big emergency we will fall off their list so fast our heads will spin! 

City government, schools, hospitals, jails, communications centers – all these will be much higher up on the list of priorities than a retirement community. So we regularly ask this question of our neighbors:

Question #2: Have you fallen into the trap of assuming immediate response if you call 911?

When an overwhelming emergency strikes, everyone will be on their own for at least a while. In our training for emergency preparedness for seniors, we encourage neighbors to plan for 10 days of “Sheltering in Place.” If you can take care of yourself, you can survive.  You may also even be able to assist others. 

And we gently try to remind neighbors: If you can’t take care of yourself, you become a problem for which there is no guaranteed solution. 

What about the staff of the community where you live?

In a senior community, unless it is a nursing home or care facility, when an emergency hits there may be NO ONE responsible for individual residents. In fact, in our senior community, the front page of the official Emergency Preparedness Plan states clearly:

” [Community] will not be responsible for the physical evacuation of residents in an emergency. Individual residents shall be responsible themselves. It is each household’s responsibility to be prepared from an emergency or disaster. {Community] will not be responsible to provide food, shelter or medical help.”

Residents can also assume that staff will quickly leave for their own homes to be sure their families are safe!

Of course, we’d like to think that our Neighborhood Emergency Response Group volunteers will be of service. but its members are all seniors in the middle of the same emergency. They will be busy protecting themselves, confirming their own safety and the condition of their homes before they can effectively mobilize to help others.

Action Item: If you live in a senior community, find out what the expectations are for response and care in a widespread emergency. This may be a tricky conversation. But you need to know what to expect. Below are a few questions to ask of your property managers or property owners.

• What do we do when 911 doesn’t respond?
• What about back-up power for medical units or equipment?
• Are there any food supplies that could be tapped for residents in a wide-spread emergency?
• What staff is required to remain on the property in an emergency?
• How will we know what’s going on?

You may find there are really NO GOOD ANSWERS! But it’s best to know that now!

The reality? Seniors are responsible for themselves just like everyone else is!

This entire website is devoted to detailing, step by step, how to prepare for and respond to many different emergencies. Some Advisories are aimed parents with children, some at teenagers, most at able-bodied adults.

This Advisory is specifically aimed at emergency preparedness for seniors (and their adult family members). It deals in large part with attitudes toward preparedness — on the part of the senior and the senior community.

If you know seniors, please share this info and stress the two action items. Neither costs any money — but failure to consider them could add unnecessary stress and potential heartbreak for your family.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

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Dear Friend,

Would you be willing to participate in an exploratory discussion about what it takes to build a better prepared community?

We all know that in an emergency, the real “first responders” are going to be the people right there next to us – our neighbors or our co-workers. The more they know, the better everyone’s chances of making it through!

In our experience, though, success in building a prepared community is the exception, rather than the rule. In fact, we’d estimate that only 1 in 10 communities succeed. Most fail not because of lack of effort, but because they’re missing key organization and communications skills.

(FEMA’s 2021 National Household Preparedness Survey supports our estimate when it reports that only 16% of individuals say they have been involved at the community level!)

Over the past 20 years Joe and I have had some success building a more prepared community. And we’ve talked to many other people working to get their neighbors or businesses involved in preparedness.

We believe we’ve identified some of what it takes. We want to share what we’ve learned and hear from you what YOU have learned!

Let’s start with a virtual meeting!

It could be the first of many, but let’s test it first, with these guidelines:

• Goal: Exchange ideas about how to build a more prepared community.
• Aimed at: People leading preparedness groups, or wanting to build a group around the topic.
• Format: 45 minutes of stories and discussion (To make sure we hear from everyone in the room, we’re looking for no more than 15 participants.)
• Date and time: Friday, November 19, 2021, 9 am (Pacific), 12 pm (Eastern)

Interested in joining us? Just let me know. I’ll send you the zoom link along with some advance questions to help us get started quickly.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

Those of us with a built-in “readiness outlook” tend to want to help others to enjoy the same advantages. It’s not just having a working flashlight when the power goes out. The real advantage is attitude: feeling you’re aware of what’s happening and confident you can handle it!

Who better to be talking with about being confident than young people leaving home for the first time, heading off to college?

Last weekend I had that opportunity. I was invited to put together an online discussion for a local group of high-school-aged Girl Scouts. It was part of a series on getting ready for college. (They had already had sessions on test taking, finances, etc. and next up is a session on coping with negative emotions, depression, etc.)

What a pleasure it was to speak to the group!  (Most kept their video feed off, by the way.)

I invite you to share this Advisory – and if you have a group of girls (or guys, for that matter) who might like to talk about this topic, we could make it happen!

Off to College: Girl’s Guide to Safety and Security on Campus

The challenge: college will expose students to new experiences and the need to make decisions they may never had to make before. Our goal is to help students:

• avoid really dangerous mistakes
• recognize when they’re headed in the wrong direction
• use new skills to get straightened out and back on track.

Be prepared for new living conditions.

After weather, we started in on personal situations that have the potential of becoming emergencies or even disasters.

No matter whether it’s a high-rise dorm or an apartment, be sure you know how to escape in an emergency. Where are stairs, back doors, fire extinguishers, etc.? Take a tour!

Are you ready to take care of your health – without a parent’s reminders? This involves what you eat, how much sleep you get, how you care for your “stuff” (doing the laundry on your own, maintain a car, etc.)  For perhaps the first time you will be making all these decision on your own. Learn what you need to know before you leave home!. (The stories about students not being able to do their own laundry seem terribly common!)

Are you ready to deal with a roommate – or several of them?

There’s an art to living with strangers – and a lot of it has to do with open communication about setting boundaries. Freshmen need to be ready to talk with roommates about all sorts of issues they may never have dealt with before, like:

• routines (sleeping, cleaning)
• privacy (and this includes digital privacy)
• visitors including overnight visitors
• security (locking room, lending computers or cars, etc.)

My own research on security stressed two things: 1. Find out what recommendations the school makes 2. KEEP YOUR DOOR LOCKED. (You may even want to invest in a wedge for the door or an alarm for the door knob.)

Setting boundaries takes thought and even practice beforehand.

As part of my preparation I interviewed several students now in their second year of college. They all emphasized that a student must be ready to immediately and strongly make it clear when someone is getting too close or too intimate. Let them know you don’t allow that behavior!

(“But what exactly do I say?” I developed a worksheet with sample boundary statements. See the link below.)

Avoid the one activity that makes you more vulnerable than any other.

You must know what that is by now!  It’s being buried in your cellphone!  We talked about the concept of situational awareness. The rule: “Heads up! Phones down!”

In summary . . .

Our discussion really revolved around three important preparedness activities that girls heading for college can engage in:

1. Do more homework about potential colleges! It’s not just a question of size, reputation, etc. Go online and dig out more info about weather, security recommendations, campus policies, etc.
2. When you arrive, tap into face-to-face resources: your dorm assistant, campus security, others with your similar interests and values, etc.
3. Pay attention to what’s going on around you, and be ready to take action when necessary. Don’t be afraid to look silly or to make a scene!

And what more can I recommend with regards to personal safety?

I already mentioned the Setting Boundaries worksheet. It is accompanied by a list of what a student might want in a Campus Emergency Kit. Download both worksheets here.

A serious discussion about personal safety really deserves more than just this one Advisory. The 17 questions in our mini-series Personal Safety booklet cover many of these subjects in much more detail – and make you think a bit harder.  In particular, the booklet deals with questions about alarms, self-defense, pepper spray and tear gas (including legal restrictions), and deadly weapons. It asks some questions, too, about how you might feel after having used them.

Though not written specifically for students, any college-bound young person can use the information in this booklet. Get a copy for high-schoolers you know, and a copy for their advisors, too!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. Dealing with young people about emergency preparedness was refreshing and a real change of pace for me. I’d love to do it again.

So I repeat my invitation: if you know a group of kids, particularly teen-agers, think about our getting together via Zoom to talk about some of these ideas. The adults might learn something new (I did, in my interviews!). And the young people may become engaged in a new way, too.  Just drop me a line to get the conversation started.

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You’ve seen our miscellaneous collection of emergency radios. We add to it from time to time, mostly when we see a new model that we just have to have!  But easy as it is to get a new radio (and you can never have too many), it’s harder to schedule in time for an emergency radio clean-up!

That time came last month. I was busy dusting and straightening (Guests were expected.) and came to our “radio shelf.” As I picked up one of our older radios I let out a yell — “Oh, YUCK!” 

The radio, one of my favorites, was all sticky!

I grabbed the next one. Same problem! Sticky, slimy, yukky!

So in true survivor fashion I went online for rescue. Here’s what I came up with – and what we did to solve the problem.

First question: Why the stickiness?

Apparently the vulcanized rubberized coating that is so popular on all kinds of gear – like radios, hand-held walkie-talkies, cameras, etc. – simply breaks down with age. That deterioration translates to a sticky, even slimy surface. (One comment I read suggested that manufacturers know this fact about deterioration. They just assume we will go through these devices so fast that we’ll never get to the slicky stage!)

The only solution to the problem? Clean the surface to remove the top sticky layer. Be aware that over time, as long as there is rubber left, the surface will get sticky again.

So then the second question: How do I get rid of that sticky layer?

Seems as though there are several ways to approach the problem. I tracked down stories about using common household cleaning products like Windex, Magic Eraser, Rubbing Alcohol, and Baking Soda.

We tried two of these methods as part of our emergency radio clean-up.

Test #1 – Clean radio using paste of baking soda and water

Below you can see the Voyager radio ready for its cleaning. Toothbrush, baking soda paste in brown dish.

I used a tooth brush to slather on the paste and get it into all the cracks and crevices.

Actually, I was a bit too generous with the paste, shown in left photo below! It got into the speaker holes. You can see me prying out the residue with a toothpick.

Result of baking soda paste?  Satisfactory. After dusting and wiping it off, the worst of the stickiness is gone. I am happy to pick up that radio again.

Test #2 – Clean radio using rubbing alcohol.

This was Joe’s test. He is much more precise than I am. He used a rag and a sponge with alcohol, rubbed and rubbed and rubbed. He even scraped some of the rubber off using one of his dental picks. (Why he has dental picks is another story, related not to dentistry but to his N-Scale railroad collection!)

The photo above shows not just the stickiness but the slimyness. See my fingerprints there?!

Result of rubbing alcohol for the emergency radio clean-up? Better than baking soda. But still, some residual stickiness. (We could work on it more, I guess.)

Test #3 – Avoid the problem altogether.

The best solution seems to be to find devices that have no rubber on them at all! Among our own radios, the surface of our Grundig (gold radio shown below) remains in perfect condition. (This radio is at least 12 years old, and has actually been discontinued by the manufacturer.) A couple of our other radios are fine, too, including our Bell & Howell Shortwave radio and our Kaito 5-way powered radio. (Not shown here. Click on the link to see current colors, prices, etc.)

But wait, there’s more to this emergency radio clean-up story.

Naturally, when you pick up a radio you may notice the slimyness but you still have to check to see if the radio actually works.

Well, the champion Grundig non-sticky radio looked and felt great, but when we opened it up . . .

Look closely, please. You may recognize a little bit of chemical leaking out of those batteries. Shameful for us professionals!

So, it was back to the baking soda for a thorough inside cleaning. (Joe has that down to a science.)

Moral of this story – schedule a radio clean-up.

Maybe you can add it to the twice a year time change, right along with checking your smoke alarms. Since November 7 is “Fall Back” day for 2021, that would be perfect as your first scheduled clean-up!

So let us know how it goes. If you have found better ways to clean up the stickiness from the rubber, let us know about that, too.

In any case, do check your radios and make sure they are in working order. You may need them at any moment!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. We have updated our list of recommended radios to include some of the smaller ones. If you haven’t checked it lately, take another look at Best Emergency Radios.

You walk through the front door of a small business and into the reception area. Surprise! There’s no one in sight! You stand there for a while, then call out: Hello?  Hello?

You have just witnessed a BIG security breach — right at the front door!

Sure, there are many reasons these days why a small business might be short staffed — mostly, because of the pandemic. (Unemployment, no available child care, etc.) But no matter the cause, that empty business has encouraged any would-be robber. And if the intruder has violence on the mind, whoever comes next into that reception area will be the prime target.

Where’s the receptionist? And what’s the role of the receptionist in business security?

As receptionist, you may consider yourself a customer service representative. That may actually be what’s in your job description. But you are also the gatekeeper. In fact, you are the main element of security at the front door of the business! So this Advisory is for you.

Let’s look at some questions you should be asking about a job as receptionist. And if you’re the employer, what YOU should be thinking about for that position. It’s a key one!

1-Is your workplace particularly vulnerable?

Some jobs have a higher risk than others. For example, as receptionist, will you . . .

• Deal with cash? (ex. bank)
• Deliver or hold packages? (ex. hotel)
• Encounter unstable people (ex. law enforcement, health care)?
• Work alone or with just a small group of co-workers?
• Work late at night?

Most office thefts take place in the early morning, lunch hours, and around closing time, particularly on Fridays or holidays. Does your reception area have just one person in it during those times? What happens when that person needs to go to the bathroom?

2-Is your reception area laid out in the best way possible for security?

Generally, the receptionist should have a clear view of the entrance, and be able to see everyone in the lobby area.

Good visibility includes keeping doors and windows clear of signs, keeping the cash register in a central place where it can be seen from the outside, and keeping counter tops and displays low so no one can sneak in and hide. And, of course, visibility is improved with good lighting.

Does the receptionist deal with cash? If so, is there a bolted down DROP safe for added security? It lets envelopes be deposited without the safe door being unlocked. The safe makes deposits efficient — and keeps people from trying to fish the money back out!

Here’s an example of a drop safe, from Amazon (where we are affiliates). It’s cost is around $200. Amazon also offers installation for an additional price. Click on the image for full details and current prices.

Digital Depository Safe – Electronic Drop Box with Keypad, 2 Manual Override Keys – Deposit Cash Easily – For Home or Business by Paragon

3-What controls who comes into the lobby and who goes through into the rest of the work area?

Is there a desk or other barrier between the receptionist and visitors? Does the receptionist “buzz” people in from outside or do they just walk right in? Obviously, in a restaurant or shop, as in the picture above, doors are likely to be wide open. In an office, however, you’d expect some sort of formal reception area or lobby.

And given new pandemic health requirements, is the area set up so employees can be easily screened before they enter the work area?

4-What responsibilities does the receptionist have for security at the front door or elsewhere on the premises?

An “entry level” job may be what is being advertised, but as a receptionist you need to know answers to security questions like these:

• Does the receptionist keep track of who arrives and who leaves, and when? What about visitors? Do you use Visitor ID badges?
• What identification and ID policies are in place for regular visitors (vendors) and family members?
• Is there a list of people who are not allowed in? Who keeps the list, and does the receptionist know about it? 
• Does the receptionist have a map of the property with rooms and escape routes marked, in order to assist First Responders who may arrive in an emergency?

Are temporary or substitute receptionists made aware of all these responsibilities for security?

5-Does your front entrance have visible surveillance equipment? 

We’ve all seen them from time to time: wide-angle mirrors placed in strategic locations to eliminate blind areas.

And almost everywhere these days we are seeing both outdoor and indoor surveillance cameras meant to deter shady or criminal activity. A sign saying “You are being filmed!” helps, too. Some people even mount fake cameras — but experienced criminals can tell the difference. (After an incident has occurred, of course, cameras are only useful if they are real, and monitored.)

Caution: When it comes to signage, local regulations may limit — or force — what you can post. Find out the requirements before you make any purchases.

For this discussion, the question is: if cameras are installed, how are they monitored? From the front desk? From another location?

6-What about perimeter security?

What follows are some simple technical solutions aimed at strengthening your business’ perimeter. We haven’t considered the role of security guards, or a security firm, in this discussion. That’s a whole topic of its own!

Fencing serves as the classic perimeter security. That may include planter boxes and bollards (short, sturdy posts designed to keep traffic out of an area). If physical fencing isn’t possible, you may want to consider virtual fencing. This is an area where new technology is coming into play all the time! Some varieties to become familiar with:

• “geo fencing” uses GPS or RFID technology to create a virtual fence around a specific location. When a mobile device goes through the fence, it sends a message either to the device itself, or to a monitor.
• laser fencing where a “broken beam” indicates someone has come through the “fence” (We’ve all seen the movies where the thief has to maneuver athletically through miscellaneous red-colored laser beams!)
• Wireless motion sensor — also tracks heat — to let you know when anyone enters your property.

A couple of simple examples. The first is an example of a photoelectric beam (laser) motion detector with a relatively short range. It could be set up across a doorway or gate.

Seco-Larm E-931-S35RRQ Enforcer Indoor/Outdoor Wall Mounted Photoelectric Beam Sensor with 35 Foot Range

This second example, also from Amazon, can secure a larger perimeter by adding additional components. (When you get to Amazon, click on the link to get to Guardline’s sales page to see all the different combinations.)

Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm – 1 Motion Detector Alarm Sensor & 1 Receiver, 500 Foot Range, Weatherproof Outdoor Security Alert System for Home & Property

Once again, someone has to be monitoring the system in order to notice when the perimeter is breached! Is this the responsibility of the receptionist?

7-Has a window or door been opened?

A security system might also simply sound an alarm if doors and/or windows are unexpectedly broken or opened. This one might work for a small business or shop.

KERUI Upgraded Standalone Home Office Shop Security Alarm System Kit,Wireless Loud Indoor/Outdoor Weatherproof Siren Horn with Remote Control and Door Contact Sensor,Motion Sensor,Up to 115db Standalone Home Office Shop Security Alarm System Kit, Wireless Loud Indoor/Outdoor Weatherproof Siren Horn with Remote Control and Door Contact Sensor,Motion Sensor,Up to 110db

8-Does the business have policies for managing a hostile situation?

We’ve experienced too many incidents lately where employees or customers have “gone off,” with tragic results. Could any of them be prevented?

• Has your receptionist received training on how to handle difficult people or threats?
• Does the receptionist have a “panic button?”
• Do you have a “code word” that would let someone know a dangerous situation has developed?
• How would you let all workers know there is an emergency situation at the front entrance?

What’s the next step for your business?

The questions in this Advisory are meant to start a discussion. If you’re the potential (or current) receptionist, you will have a better idea of what you might want in the way of security at the front door. If you’re the business owner, you’ll have a better idea of steps to take, too.

Your business insurance carrier may be a good place to start for more information about security. Better security may reduce your insurance premium!

“But our business is different.”

Of course every business is different. That’s why every business requires a customized plan for security. Consider getting help from a security consultant if you have questions. But don’t put it off. Every business has a legal duty and a moral obligation to provide a safe workplace.

Disclaimer: We’re not police or security professionals so the information here, while we believe it to be authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. Also, please be aware that laws and regulations vary from state to state and industry to industry. Get professional advice!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

If security at the front door is something you’re interested in, take a look at this Advisory, too:  https://emergencyplanguide.org/intruder/ It provides a more complete overview of different monitoring equipment and basic monitoring systems good for home or small business.

P.S. Business owner or manager? Download the pdf of this Advisory and use it to start a discussion with staff. You may not need to follow through with all these suggestions. But you should at least have an idea of what other businesses are doing to protect their workplace — and their receptionist.