Category: Action Items

By now, you have heard that in an emergency, you may be able to get a text message through even when phones are down or overwhelmed.

Do you know how to send a text message?

This brief Advisory is for those parents and grand-parents who really haven’t taken the time to learn how to text, even though texting is going on all around them.

Start with a cell phone.

Just about any cell phone (with enough battery power) can send a text message to another cell phone. You don’t have to be on the same network or have the same phone company.

For this exercise, pretend your personal phone has disappeared. A kind stranger offers to let you use her phone to call your family.

Do you know the phone number of the cell phone you want to send the text to?

This isn’t your phone, so you have no numbers stored. Your emergency number has to be a number you know by heart or have written down!

First choice: the number of your emergency, out-of-town contact person, your “Home Base.” (More on that, below.)

Prepare the message.

• Find the “messages” icon on the phone. It may look like the blue square or the green bubble on the image above. Tap it. (If you are really interested in the difference between the blue square and the green bubble, you can find out more here. I find it confusing!)
• What comes up next will depend. What you’re looking for is a little square with a pencil in it – that’s the “write” icon. Tap that icon to bring up the message screen.
• In the “To” area, type the phone number including area code. (You can toggle between ABC and 123 to get the keys you need.) No need for any punctuation.
• In the “Message” area, type your message. Be sure you say WHO you are (It’s not your phone, remember?), WHERE you are, HOW you are, and how you can be reached. Limit your text to 160 characters. (To erase, hit the back arrow.)

Send the message.

Hit the “send” button. You’ve done it! Most phones will tell you that the message has been “delivered.”

Of course, there are all kinds of clever twists and turns to texting, but you don’t need any of them now. You just want to be able to send a simple message!

My recommendation? Find a friend (child? grandchild?) who texts often and get him to send a few back and forth with you, so you become comfortable with how it all works.

You may find out, like I did, that it’s fun and convenient! No texting while driving, though . . .

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. Remember that “Home Base” comment, above?

If you didn’t immediately know what number to call, you need our new Emergency Plan Guide worksheet, called Family Communications Plan. It’s 2 simple pages that explain the Home Base concept, and give you a place to fill in the blanks. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) mandates that cities have an emergency evacuation plan for a 10-mile zone around a nuclear power plant – the ERZ or Emergency Planning Zone.  The rationale is that a radiation plume could impact people within this zone, so the plan is to remove people from the area as quickly as possible.

Outside the 10 mile zone, the NRC identifies a second zone that stretches out to 50 miles. Within this 50-mile zone, people won’t necessarily be directly affected, but food and water may become contaminated, so the plan needs to consider these dangers.

Example of multiple and overlapping EPZs

The graphic shows examples of multiple and even overlapping EPZs in North Carolina.

Recent news reports suggest that the EPZ rules from the NRC may be woefully inadequate. 

Here are questions you (and your neighborhood CERT group) should get the answers to. 

If you live within 10 miles of a nuclear plant, ask  . . .

“What’s my city’s plan for me?” 

Get a hold of your City’s Office of Emergency Services and pose questions like these:

• What are the evacuation routes out of the zone?
• Are they the same in summer and winter, when they may be impacted by snow, high water, etc.? Day and night? Weekday and weekend?
• What year was the plan drawn up? What changes have occurred in population and in transportation options since the plan was drawn?

A 2012 study commissioned by PSEG (Public Services Energy Group) estimated that only half the population in the surveyed area (Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey) could escape the 10-mile zone within 90 minutes – and the plan was based on population figures that have already been exceeded!

“What do I need to know for my family?”

Keep asking more questions. The NRC requires that cities provide residents every year with “radiological emergency planning materials.”  According to FEMA, you may get this information in your utility bills, via a pamphlet, or even in the phone book.  (Who reads the phone book anymore?!)

You should get answers to . . .

• How will I know there’s an emergency?
• What does radiation do, how does it act?
• What should I bring with me if we have to evacuate?
• What do I need in order to shelter in place?
• I’m disabled. How do I get special assistance? (Typically, you’ll be asked to have a written request on file.)

If you live within 50 miles of a plant, ask . . .

“Does my city have any plans for me?”

 Maryland-based Disaster Accountability Project surveyed parts of 11 states within 50 miles of five operating nuclear plants, again in the northeast. 

Ben Smilowitz, Executive Director of the DAP group, reported that cities are not planning beyond the 10-mile limit.  Per Smilowitz, “Most people that live 20, 30, or 40 miles away from plants do not realize that their communities are only adhering to bare minimum standards for radiological emergency preparedness.”

Moreover, in this part of the country, millions of residents live within multiple overlapping emergency zones of up to seven reactors!

Find out more about nuclear reactor emergency response.

In Fukishima, the U.S. government extended the recommended EPZ to 50 miles. With this disaster still in mind, here are more resources for you and your CERT group:

• Recent Emergency Plan Guide Advisory, with suggested radiation supplies:  What threat do you face from a nuclear reactor emergency?
• NRC website: How to Prepare for a Radiological Emergency  http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/emerg-preparedness/prepare-for-radiological-emerg.html
• News article on Disaster Accountability Project: NRC Defends Current Nuclear Plant Evacuation Rules http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/04/17/nuclear-evacuation-study/25942751/

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Don’t miss a single Advisory. You never know when you’ll need this information! Sign up below to get Advisories every week.  Free.

When the lights suddenly go out, or there’s a bang and your appliance stops working, there are a couple of things you should do, and one thing NOT to do!  Here’s a quick review.

That is, for MOST people this should be a review. Please pass this along to people who may not know this info!

1. Is the outage widespread?

Take a look outside, or call a neighbor to see if the power is out everywhere or just in your home. If it’s a widespread outage, locate your emergency lamp or flashlight and sit tight. You can call your utility to report the outage, but remember, if your phone requires electricity, it may not work!

2. Is it your home only?

Think. What were you doing immediately before the lights went out? Were you

• Watching TV
• Running the dryer
• Making popcorn in the microwave?

Too many electrical devices can overload your home’s electrical circuit, particularly in an older home. As a safety measure, the circuit will be broken to prevent a fire. Your job is to reset the circuit. First, though, turn off something from the list of “on” appliances so you don’t simply overload the circuit again.

3. Find the electrical panel.

Where’s your electrical panel? It could be in a closet, on a wall (probably near the utilities hookup) or even outside on a post. It looks something like this – a metal case with a series of switches and some identifying labels on the door.

4. Find the “thrown switch.”

The panel has a dozen or so switches. Most of them will be facing the same way. When a switch is “thrown” or “tripped,” it pops out of position, breaking the circuit. You can usually pick out the thrown switch just by looking carefully. Or lightly “wiggle” switches to see if any are loose.

5. Turn the switch back on to reset the circuit.

Simply make sure the switch is all the way off, then switch it back on. (It may be stiff, and require a firm push.) Nine times out of ten you will have restored your electricity, and you’ll feel like a hero!  (If this DOESN’T solve the problem, you need to contact an electrician.)

Oh, and the one thing NOT to do?

Don’t light a match or a candle! Until you know what’s really going on, an open flame could create even more of a hazard.

Make sure you have one or more working flashlights handy. In fact, you may want to permanently store one near the electrical panel so you’ll always be able to find it right away.

(At a meeting of our emergency response team last week, everyone was astonished to think that there would be a single homeowner who didn’t know how to reset an electrical switch. I think they were probably over-confident about the skills of their neighbors. If you have family members or neighbors who might need this information, please pass it along.  Can’t hurt, and could certainly be helpful!)

Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

In charge of planning emergency response team meetings? Don’t miss a single one of these Advisories!  Most can be used as the basis for a meeting training session.

An Ongoing Threat

Where and how?

The March 26, 2015 massive explosion and fire in  New York’s  East Village caused the collapse of three buildings and fire damage to a fourth — a reminder that natural gas continues to be a threat, particularly where the gas lines are aging – as they all are!

At one of your Emergency Response Team meetings, I’m sure you’ve discussed the threat posed by natural gas. If you haven’t, or if it’s time for a review, here are some questions to start the conversation.

1. Where are gas lines located in our neighborhood and building?

Large-diameter transmission lines may run near or even through your neighborhood, with smaller-diameter distribution lines connecting to individual residences or buildings. You should be able to get from your gas company a map showing the transmission lines. Getting maps showing smaller distribution lines may be more difficult. (In our case, we were able to get original construction drawings from the city. They show the exact location and size of our gas distribution lines.)

2. Where are shut-off valves located?

The gas utility, gas system operator and/or property owner may not want to reveal exactly where shut-off valves are located, mostly because they don’t want to invite mischief or sabotage.

However, from a SAFETY standpoint it is imperative for First Responders to know how to shut the system down in an emergency. A strong neighborhood CERT group can get this information.

Shut-off valves may be located at the individual home, at the building, at the street, and in other places along the system.

We recently had a visit from the crew of our nearest fire station. It was a shock for us to learn that they did NOT know exactly where our gas main shut-offs are located!

3. How do our shut-off valves work?

As a neighborhood group, you may be limited to what you can really do in your community. However, to the extent that you do know where lines and valves are located, you should find out what it takes to shut the gas off.

Review the different types of shut-off valves in your vicinity.

• Automatic? Some valves, like seismic gas shut-off valves, operate automatically. However, such valves are not required and you probably don’t have any on your system.
• Appliance? Within the home, individual appliances may have their own shut-off valves.
• Entire home? In an emergency, shutting off the gas to the home likely means shutting it off at the meter. To do this, you’ll need a wrench and an understanding of the ON vs. the OFF position of the valve. (See earlier post.) Your turn-off may look like the one in the picture, or it may resemble a regular garden hose faucet handle.
• Gas main? When it comes to shutting off gas at a larger line, the shut-off may be a larger version of the wrench turn off, or it may operate with a large wheel and gear.

Are any of the valves locked?

Naturally, if a gas valve is locked, no one except the operator may be able to access it. In a widespread emergency (earthquake) this could be an added problem.

In the Northridge Quake of 1994, managers of an affected mobile home park saw that gas escaping through the streets was being ignited by cars of residents evacuating the park. Unfortunately, management was unable to break the lock to turn off the gas at the main so it continued to fuel these fires.

4. What procedures are in place for shutting off the gas?

In an emergency,

• Who is authorized to shut off the gas?
• Which valves are they authorized to shut off? Remember, the gas utility probably “owns” the system up to the meter; you, as property owner, own everything on the house side of the meter.
• What training do these authorized people receive?
• How likely is it that authorized and trained people will be on hand in an emergency, when immediate action may be required? In a widespread disaster, Fire fighters may not reach you immediately; representatives of the gas company may also be delayed, perhaps indefinitely.

In the deadly 2010 explosion and fire in San Bruno, California, it took the gas company over 60 minutes to get the gas shut off!

5. What exactly are the dangers associated with natural gas?

The gas distribution system has thousands of miles of pipeline that operate safely nearly all the time. However, when there is a failure, it can result in a dramatic explosion and fire. Failures result from the following:

• Pressure. The first concern of the system operator is to maintain the appropriate pressure in the system based on the size of the pipes and the number of connections to it. (The more connections, the more pressure needed to deliver the gas.) As communities grow, and more connections are added to the system, the Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) may need to be adjusted.
• Pipeline failure Leaks and breaks occur when old pipes fail due to corrosion, improper welds or joins, improperly installed equipment, too much pressure – or as the result of natural events such as an earthquake.
• Leaks Just because your system is old doesn’t necessarily mean it is in danger of failing. And just because a gas leak is detected doesn’t mean you are in imminent danger. However, when a leak is identified, you need to act quickly and decisively. What you need to be concerned about is a build-up of gas around a leak or as the result of gas “migrating” to an area where it gets trapped, such as in a basement, under a house, etc.

CERT Action item #1: Learn the signs of a gas leak and know how to respond. Start by reviewing this Emergency Plan Guide Advisory, and then research and distribute gas line safety bulletins that you can get from your own local gas utility.

CERT Action item #2: Find out how often and what kind of system testing (pressure, cracks, etc.) takes place in your area.

One of our most effective guest speakers was a representative from the Fire Department who talked about the various gas lines in our neighborhood. (We have the usual mains and feeder lines PLUS a high-octane aviation fuel line running beside our community.) See if you can set up a speaker from your own fire department or local utility.

Your invitation will cause that Fire Official to update his or her knowledge about your neighborhood, as well as remind your neighbors to be more alert. Every bit of knowledge helps!

Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

Looking for more information on gas lines? Check out these Emergency Plan Guide Advisories:

• How to recognize a gas leak and what to do when you find one.
• How to turn off the gas to your house.
• Find gas pipelines in your area.

Want to get a reminder once in a while to help you stay tuned in and up to speed on the latest preparedness issues? Sign up for our Advisories, below.  They are free.

Last week’s article about “extra” items for a first aid kit inspired me to use the topic for our monthly neighborhood emergency planning group meeting.

The meeting turned out to be . . .

Another good meeting idea!

Here’s how it went.

Procedure

1. First, I invited our neighbor Theresa, who is a Registered Nurse, as our featured guest. She brought along her own first aid bag as a “show and tell.”
2. Second, so we’d have something to compare it to, I bought a brand new first aid kit (cost around $10) at the hardware store down the street (photo).
3. Third, as a reference, I printed out the Red Cross’s list of “20 basic first aid items.” Everybody got a copy.

As Theresa pulled out an item from her bag, we checked it off the Red Cross list and then looked in the kit I’d bought to see if it was included.

Results of the Comparison

Number of items

The new kit had about 60% of the items suggested on the Red Cross list.

Quality

The bigger problem: nearly everything in the kit was in miniature! Packets were tiny (one squeeze, and the ointment would all be gone), gauze squares were tiny, gloves were tiny. We all laughed, in particular, at the roll of adhesive tape. Take a look at it in the photo, bottom right. Really, it’s about as big around as a quarter and weighs less!

Missing from both the list and the kit

Here are the items that Theresa had in her kit that were not in the kit AND were not on the Red Cross list:

1. Antihistamine ointment
2. Liquid skin
3. Duct tape
4. Flashlight
5. Plastic bags
6. Dust mask
7. Eyewash
8. Phone number of Poison Control center
9. Whistle
10. Sunscreen
11. List of medicines currently being taken

And finally, one last item that our group felt needed to be in there:

12. Extra eyeglasses

Shocking finale

Attendees had been invited to bring their own kits to the meeting, too. One guy had his neatly packed into a fishing tackle box. One neighbor shared her pet first aid kit.

What shocked me, however, were the people who admitted they didn’t have a kit in their car. And there were a couple of people who said they didn’t even have a kit in the house!

The reason it’s shocking is because this is our neighborhood emergency group, supposedly tuned in to being prepared!

Lessons learned

Emergency preparedness starts and continues with the basics.

• If you have a first aid kit, check on its contents and “top it off” with more supplies. Use the lists above for suggestions.
• If you are missing a kit, build one from scratch or buy an inexpensive one, like I did, and add more supplies.
• If extended family members don’t have kits, buy up a supply and hand them out for Father’s Day or Mother’s Day or Christmas! Or without any explanation other than, “You need to have this!”

I looked for a better kit. I found one at Amazon that looks pretty good as a starter. I like the way its clear pockets fold out to make things easy to find. It costs about twice as much as the one I bought at the hardware store ($19 instead of $9), but instead of “77 items” it advertises “121 items.” Again, you’ll want to add some extras, but this kit would be a good start, particularly for the car.

Here’s the direct link: AAA 121-Piece Road Trip First Aid Kit

Don’t let something as simple as not having a first aid kit turn an accident into a real emergency!

“Friendly but Forceful” Action item: Take care of your first aid kit/s right away!

Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. What first aid items haven’t been mentioned in this article?  Please share your recommendations in the comments box so we can all benefit.

You have three first-aid kits, don’t you? One in the house, one in the car, and one in your emergency backpack?

You can buy a reasonable pre-built kit for around $20. But, as always with pre-built collections,

Are your first-aid kits well-stocked?

• First, your kits should have high-quality items. I’ve read so many reviews that mention scissors that won’t cut or tweezers that don’t tweeze!
• Second, contents should match your own level of medical knowledge. For example, some pre-made kits contain actual surgical equipment – probably useless and even dangerous for the untrained.
• Third, your kit should have room for any specialty items that fit your family members, your climate and potential natural emergencies. For example, you may need to add sunscreen, water purification tablets or insect repellent, given where you live.

Extras that may make the difference.

Spend some time reading the list of items contained in several of the ready-made kits, and you may get some good ideas for extras. Here are a few to consider.

Liquid bandage

As the name suggests, this liquid can be applied to small cuts or wounds. It quickly dries, holding the cut together or covering the wound with a tough “skin” that protects the wound from dirt, is flexible and waterproof, and antiseptic to boot. (Won’t stick if applied to wet or bloody skin.) This pack has four bottles.

New-Skin Liquid Bandage, First Aid Liquid Antiseptic, 1-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 4)

Tampons and pads

If you have a cut that needs more than a band aid, a pad gives you something solid to apply pressure against. As for tampons, obviously they could be used to plug a puncture – and the string can serve as the wick for a long-lasting emergency light if you have oil as a fuel. Head to your local drugstore to pick up the sizes and style you want. If they aren’t packaged individually, you can always put a few into a plastic bag and then into your kit.  Be sure to use the unscented versions. 

Hand sanitizer wipes

We’ve all used “wipes” after eating messy food – and discovered that some are a lot better than others, and smell better, too! Still, in an emergency, probably any reasonable sanitizing wipe would be better than nothing. Individually packed wipes can be tucked right into your first aid kit. A small plastic bottle of hand sanitizer could work, too. I’ve used Purell and liked it.

Individually wrapped: PURELL Sanitizing Hand Wipes Individually Wrapped 100-ct. Box
Small, 2 oz. bottles: Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer, 2 Ounce (Pack of 12)

Ace bandage or “self-stick” bandage

In rough terrain, an ace bandage can keep your turned ankle functioning. A standard ace bandage needs safety pins or special clips to keep it secured; the “self-stick” version looks the same but sticks to itself just like cling wrap.

Standard bandage with clips: ACE Elastic Bandage with Hook Closure, 3 Inches (Pack of 2)
Self-stick version: ACE Self-Adhering Elastic Bandage, 2 Inches (Pack of 3)

Adhesive Tape

Taping gauze over a wound takes precision. If you mess up, drop a piece, etc., you can go through the provided supply very quickly. My recommendation – add another generous roll of 1 in. tape to your kit so you won’t run out.
Durapore Medical Tape, Silk Tape – 1 in. x 10 yards – Each Roll

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide team

P.S. While you’re thinking about First Aid kits, you may want to review this Advisory about the dangers of out-of-date medicines.

The recent blizzard in the Northeast may not have been as bad for New Yorkers as anticipated, but it was bad enough to cause power outages to thousands.

When we hear power outage, we naturally think “generator.”

Here at Emergency Plan Guide, we have looked several times at the pros and cons of generators while we considered purchasing one for our own neighborhood. And we have told the story of what happened AFTER we purchased it, too!

Today, as we head into National Severe Weather Preparedness Week (February 3 – 7), it seems a good time to add one more piece of information to the discussion.

Generators can be dangerous!

Here are three things to keep in mind as you consider the purchase of a new generator and/or get ready to turn yours on.

1. Location. The most important safety alert has to do with where you place your generator. You know that the off-the-shelf, standard generator kicks out significant quantities of carbon monoxide (resulting from the burning of fuel). Too much CO in the air can render you unconscious and kill you. In fact, According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), unintentional CO poisoning claims more than 400 lives a year, and about half of those are due to generators.

To protect yourself from the dangers of CO, run your generator outside and place it at least 20 ft. from the building, further if there are any doors, windows or vents. In particular, never run your generator in the garage, even if you keep the door open.

2. Connection. When the generator is running, it can power a number of appliances (as long as its fuel lasts). Use a heavy-duty outdoor electrical cord (10 gauge or better) with grounded plug (the three-prong one) to run from the generator outside to the appliances inside. Adding a heavy-duty power strip at the end in the house will make it easier to plug in the appliances.

Do the math!  Add up the wattage of the appliances you intend to plug in to make sure the generator can support that load.

3. Protection. NEVER NEVER NEVER plug the generator into a wall socket in the house! First, a generator cannot power your whole house so from a power standpoint, that’s useless. Second, and more important, the power from the generator flows through the house and into the power grid. Workers working on repairs to the grid could be electrocuted because of YOUR generator!

For more about generators,

check out these Emergency Plan Guide posts:

•  Before you buy a generator . . .
•  The Best Generator for Emergencies
• When Less is More 

And if you are thinking “generator” you also need to be thinking “carbon monoxide alarm.”

Read our review questions before you purchase anything.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms and Detectors

You may not be anticipating any severe weather, but please forward this information to friends who are right in the path of these winter storms. Thanks.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

A Fantastic Resource for your Neighborhood CERT Group

I try to keep feeding you with real-life stories about our neighborhood CERT group – what we do to attract volunteers, what works, what doesn’t. This is another chapter in the on-going saga.

And this one is a real success story.

Visit from the Fire Department

Last fall, at the first meeting after the summer break, our Homeowners Association invited the local fire station to send over some firefighters to talk about what to expect in the case of an earthquake. A big quake had hit Sonoma, in Northern California, just two months earlier, so everyone remembered the fires and the devastation, and was eager to talk about it anyway.

Slide Show

Since I was in charge of the agenda as President of the HOA (!), I took advantage of the situation.

First, I prepared a slide show for the fire department.

• I used current news photos interspersed with a few other choice examples of failed foundations, street collapses and trashed home interiors.
• I included special slides customized for our type of housing, our age group, etc.
• I customized the slide show with THEIR logo and contact info.

The plan worked perfectly.

Result: Over 100 residents of our community showed up for the meeting.

While they came to see the firefighters, not to hear about emergency preparedness from our CERT group, they got our message!

Training session for the Fire Department

Then last week, the Captain of that local station called us, and asked if they could hold a training session for new recruits here in our community!

I’ll be writing more about how the training session went. The point of this Advisory — if you reach out to your local fire station, you are likely to get an enthusiastic response.

Make it easy for them

Response from your local fire department is likely to be even more enthusiastic if you –

• Take the time to create an engaging and useful presentation for them – and give them the chance to edit and practice it. (As it turned out, the Captain we had been working with wasn’t able to make the meeting, so he passed the slide show on to a colleague and HE became our speaker. Smooth.)
• Put them on the meeting agenda right up front, so they don’t have to wait through any business.
• Provide a question and answer period. By and large, firefighters are eager to educate the public, and this is a great opportunity for them. Our crew brought handouts for everyone.

Naturally, planning with firefighter teams is tricky, because wherever they are, their radios are blipping and buzzing, and they could be called away at any moment.

And the main challenge, as always, is pulling together a large enough crowd to justify the crew taking time away from the station.

In our case, we have a community that is used to assembling for a monthly HOA meeting. You may need to combine forces with a local school or local church to find the right facility and attract enough people. But if you can, I think you’ll find both the crowd and the firefighters to be appreciative of your efforts.

And ultimately, lives may be saved. That’s really the point of it all!

Action Item: Set up a presentation from your local fire department for your group. Let us know how it goes!

Virginia Nicols
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Are you trying to build, or maintain, a local CERT group? Let me know in an email, and I’ll be sure you get all my tips for organizing.

. . . Give Us Pause for Concern.

Last week the British Intelligence MI-5 issued its warning about the renewed threat of terrorist attacks on so-called “soft targets.”

Classic Soft Target

This proclamation, against the backdrop of the savage attack by two minimally-trained terrorists with automatic weapons on the French tabloid Charlie Hebdo, got my attention . . . especially since it warned of growing risks of attacks in the U.S.

But, real as the terrorist threat may be, it is only one of many threats against soft targets!

So what are soft targets and should we really be worried?

Soft targets are basically any person or location that isn’t protected by armed guards or official security. The school at Sandy Hook, the two off-duty British soldiers and the school in Pakistan are all soft targets. Your grocery store, gas station, your church and even your own home are all soft targets by definition.

And, yes, we should be concerned and vigilant.

San Francisco rampage

In the U.S., widespread availability of assault weapons means that mentally-ill people are all capable of becoming potential “terrorists.”

On July 1, 1993 in San Francisco, California, Gian Luigi Ferri, a 55-year old therapist, burst into a law office at 101 California Street and began shooting with two automatic weapons, killing eight people including a receptionist and a secretary, and wounding several others.

I knew “John” Ferri. I actually met him on three occasions. One of these was to sever him from a counseling assignment with a young relative of mine who “didn’t feel comfortable” with him. Neither did I after a fifteen minute conversation.

But neither did I suspect that years later he would become a mass murderer.

A more recent threat

That series of events, together with a number of workplace killings, made me particularly concerned for the safety of one of my daughters, a senior human relations executive who has been tasked with laying off several dozen employees since the 2008 financial meltdown. I worry about disgruntled employees “snapping” and returning to their workplace to “get even.”

For every real terrorist event, we can expect half a dozen of these “domestic violence” events. Does the fact that they are to be expected make me feel any better? Not really.

More precautions, increased vigilance

With terrorist incidents likely to increase in the future, there’s every reason to take all normal precautionary measures while increasing our vigilance. If you work or live in a high-risk target area, a healthy dose of paranoia might even be in order.

So, what’s the bottom line? The more progress we make in containing terrorism on the various battlefields of the Middle East, the more we can expect isolated, one-off incidents of attacks by one or two would-be terrorist actors. MI-5’s Director, Andrew Parker, pointed to what he called “the growing gap between the increasingly challenging threat and the decreasing availability of capabilities to address it.”

Of course we here in the U.S. are less likely than countries in Europe to be hit this way, but only because we are not as close or accessible to the thousands of militants coming and going between a battlefield and an adjacent country.

In response to this threat, here at Emergency Plan Guide we’ll be taking another look at physical security devices and related protection equipment. You may want to follow these periodic reviews to see if any resonate with you.

Joe Krueger
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Don’t miss our upcoming reviews of security equipment. Be sure to get on our Advisory mailing list.  Sign up below.

 [This article is aimed at people living in a neighborhood with a clubhouse or community center. If you’re building a CERT group in such an environment, you can use these questions for valuable training.]

“In an emergency, we come to the clubhouse, right?”

“No, No, No!”

Think about it. In a real emergency, why would you head for the office, or the clubhouse, or any central meeting place in your community?

Consider these emergency conditions in a clubhouse.

1. Will the clubhouse be standing?

Unless your clubhouse is brand new, and built to modern safety standards, it is just as likely to collapse as any other building, and probably more likely to collapse than a smaller and more compact building.

2. Will the clubhouse be open?

If an emergency hits in the middle of the night, every door in the clubhouse will be locked and management will be away. Are you going to break in?

3. Will there be electricity or phone service?

Does your office or clubhouse have an emergency generator? Where is someone who knows how to turn it on? If no generator, then there will be no lights (after emergency lights have gone off). No automatic doors, no elevators, no air conditioning, no heat. No emergency communications. Not safe!

4. Will there be food?

A few centers may have kitchen facilities and some food supplies. In an emergency, however, the kitchen cupboards and refrigerators may be locked. There may be no way to heat water or to cook. Perhaps most disturbing – who will decide who gets to be first in line?

5. Will there be bathroom facilities?

If water pipes are broken, the image of a crowd of people lining up to use one or two toilets that don’t work is . . . well, repugnant. And what if people bring their pets with them?

6. Where will you get your medications?
7. Finally, who will take charge of the group?

And will volunteers be willing to stay at the center hour after hour to help out?

Your home is the best place to be.

Unless it’s been designated as an official “evacuation center,” your central community area is most likely worse for survival than your own home.

That’s why our neighborhood CERT group stresses shelter in place.

If you take a look at the same questions from above, and fill in “in your own home,” here are some of the answers you’ll get.

1. Will the house be standing?

Your apartment, single-family residence or mobile home is as likely to withstand an emergency as any other structure, depending on its age, the kind of disaster (earthquake, tornado, flood, etc.). And since it is your home, you have the opportunity to make it as safe as possible by fastening furniture to the walls, putting locks on cupboards, storing food and water, assembling tools, etc.

2. Will your home be open?

If an emergency hits in the middle of the night, you’ll be there. And even if you have to get home, you’ll have keys or know how to get safely inside.

3. Will there be electricity? How about emergency communications?

You may or may not have a personal home generator. But you certainly should have emergency lighting in your home, probably in the form of multiple flashlights and LED lanterns. At home, you can add or subtract clothing, add or take away blankets in order to adjust to weather conditions. And you should have access to emergency radios and first aid materials.

4. Will there be food?

If you’ve done any preparing, you’ll have water and food, including some food that doesn’t need any cooking. You’ll have your medications – and food and medications for your pets, as well.

5. Will there be bathroom facilities?

If water pipes are broken, you won’t be able to use your own toilet. Again, if you’ve done some preparing, you may be able to flush using outside sources of water (e.g. swimming pool water). Or you can put plastic bags into the toilet, secure them when they’re full and then put them somewhere outside. Not pleasant – but workable.

Are you thinking there’s a better place than home to be in an emergency?

Are there other people more qualified to help you than you are to help yourself?

Think again!
Virginia and Joe
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S.  Who do you know who lives in a complex with a clubhouse or community center?  Forward this to them right now!  Thanks.

P.P.S.  If you’re working to build a neighborhood CERT group, drop us a line.  We have some experiences and some training materials that we’d be glad to share.