Doing something ahead of time...

...is inconsistent with my personality but oh well. At some point I have to function like a responsible adult despite my best efforts to the contrary.

I've found a few public safety blogs recently that are mighty a) entertaining and b)wryly comedic about the day-to-day experiences shared by myself, my husband, and many others. I've been enjoying them. One of the standouts is Your Happy Medic. He does a weekly "You Make the Call" segment every Friday that has sparked some interesting conversation between Alan and I. So, imagine my surprise when his segment this past Friday was about getting your family prepared in the event of your death. Whoa. Heavy.

He specifically talked on Friday about preparing your will. Alan and I actually have an appointment coming up with an organization who helps public safety employees and their families do just that. However, the writer at Happy Medic takes it one step further and offers details on putting together a Family Emergency Plan, including this living will, and making it accessible to those who would need it.

Anyone who wants to do this with me is welcome to do so. Tonight, I created a new Word document that includes the following:

• Personal information about each of our family members: a recent photograph, full name, date of birth, and descriptors including height, weight, eye color and hair color. Obviously with two growing children, this page will need frequent updates. I'm thinking I'll do it when we change our smoke detector batteries around the semi-annual time changes.
• A complete list of personal telephone numbers. Our home number, cell phone numbers, the main numbers for all our workplaces, non-emergency dispatch numbers (obviously, the emergency number is 911), the pediatrician, my doctor, the veterinarian, and a family friend within walking distance.
• Written instructions for shutting off the gas, water, and electricity inside the house and/or to the house from outside.

This took me about 20 minutes to compile, including the hands-on demonstration Alan gave me into how to shut everything off. Again. Have I mentioned lately that he's rather patient with me sometimes and I appreciate that? This format was so much better than the "fire drills" he used to give me when we were first married. But anyway, I digress.

I'm going to put this all in a brightly colored binder and store it in a to-be-determined location in our house; I'm thinking it will be in the cabinet above the phone in our kitchen. I know I will have another area for our wills, once we've finished preparing those. I'm also still working on (have mostly abandoned but not totally forgotten) a home inventory that will go in. At some point, I'm going to copy down all our insurance info. And Happy Medic discusses a sealed envelope that makes me shudder to think about it. It won't be required for everyone's household, but is a must for ours. The title given is "LODD". I knew immediately what he meant, but for those not living in our firefighters' culture, it's "Line of Duty Death."

You may also wonder what ever happened with our Just Kidding They Are 96-Hour Kits. I haven't forgotten about them, but they got a little cumbersome considering I would have to carry 2-3 by myself. I'm thinking something like this might be a little more practical for us. However, I do still have the list, broken down into each week, that would enable you to make a 96-Hour Kit over the course of a year if anyone wants it. For now I'm just focusing on our family plan and hoping that we don't need anything else before I get around to it. Happy Planning!

52 Weeks to a 96 Hour Kit

I had a couple of people ask me to compile this stuff into one document for their perusing pleasure, and it's done. That's probably a good thing since I've apparently given up on posting it for now. I fully intend to finish posting it, I just haven't had much time to keep up with it. So if you would like a copy of what I've put together and you hadn't already asked for it, please email me at twoandthreebees at gmail dot com and I will send it your way.

The Prepare Fair 2008

As part of National Preparedness Month, Unified Fire Authority and Salt Lake County Emergency Management are sponsoring a “Prepare Fair 2008” on Saturday, September 13th. Emergency Operations Center tours and 15-20 minute presentations will be happening inside the building throughout the day at no cost to the public. Vendors and exhibitors (fire trucks, mobile command centers, private vendors, and government agencies, etc) will be set up outside. This is an opportunity for presenters to meet with the public to educate and inform about preparedness issues as well as display and sell products.

Saturday, September 13th , from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
at the Salt Lake County Emergency Operations Center 3380 South 900 West

*Public parking will be located at the Salt Lake County Sheriff Administration Building on 3300 South 900 West.

More information is available through Unified Fire's website. (Sorry, I removed the link because I couldn't get it to work).

We have other plans that day, but I thought I would throw this out there for anyone (Nicol, if you aren't busy!) who might be interested.

72 Hr. Kit Challenge, week 10

If you're having trouble keeping up with the weekly posts (like I am--Ha!), you can check under the 72 hour kit label or you can check the list I keep in the right hand side of the page. Or you can always contact me at the email address given.

So we're up to week ten already, which means our kits should be starting to fill up quite nicely. This week, the assignment is in two parts. The first one is putting together a first aid kit. Now, I know that not all of us are married to a paramedic who keeps boxes of first aid supplies in the basement at all times. Since you may not have the luxury of raiding his existing collection, here is a list of items you may want to consider adding. Just like anything else here, this is a personal decision and you'll need to figure out what works best for your family.

Items you may or may not need in a First Aid Kit:

Sterile adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
2-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
4-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
Hypo-allergenic adhesive tape
40-inch triangular bandages (3 rolls)
2-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
3-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
Scissors and tweezers
Epi pen (if necessary due to family allergies)
Sewing needles
Moistened towelette/wet wipes
Antiseptic soap
Antiseptic solution –iodine compounds
Neosporin
Thermometer
Tongue depressors (2)
Tube of petroleum jelly (Vaseline or lubricant)
Safety pins in assorted sizes
Cleaning agent/soap
Latex gloves (2 pairs)
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
First Aid Manual
Caladryl or generic equivalent (anti-itch lotion)
Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls
Heavy string
Splinting material
Prescription medications (check with your pharmacist and/or doctor about this)

If you want to buy a premade kit, I've been told the American Red Cross and Walmart sell them for comparable prices and they are well-stocked.

The second part of the assignment is to contact your local emergency management office (probably part of the city you live in) and verify what types of emergency are possible in your community. This isn't just about earthquakes. If you live near a creek or river, you may need to consider flooding possibilities. Really, these kits may be needed for something as commonplace here as a large snow storm. Check with this office to see what kind of events your community is preparing for and any special items you may need as a result. Keep this information with your family's emergency plan.

As always, you can contact me if you have any questions about this project and I'll see what I can do to get you additional information.

72 hr. kit challenge, week 9

In case you are participating and hadn't noticed, I'm also placing an overview sort of list on the right hand side of the page so it's ready to go!

Also...I confess. I could add another reason to the list of reasons I'm special. I just realized this morning that everything my workplace has provided is with the intent of creating a 96 Hour Kit for all your family members. So there will be a number of items coming up for day 4. I'm trying to decide what to do and would love some input. I think maybe I'll just skip anything that is an instruction for day 4, and maybe go back when we're all done and do something to upgrade. Is anyone else on board with that?

So, continuing on. This week, we should be gathering a sturdy pair of shoes for each kit. Pick something that will be comfortable should you end up walking a lot, and something that will protect your feet in case you are walking over rubble or other potentially dangerous materials. Don't be like me and insist that flip-flops are all-purpose shoes! Happy shopping/gathering.

72 Hour Kit Challenge, week 8

This week's assignment is much like last week's: it's a previously completed assignment on repeat. This week, gather your food for day 2. The same rules as last time apply. Happy hunting!

72 Hour Kit Challenge, week 7

All right, I'm falling down big time on this stuff and I really need to step it up! Thanks to Nicol for keeping me posting this so that I will stay on top of it. Without her interest, I surely would have given up. In case of emergency right now, we'd have some food, water, and a bag to store it in. Those items are not necessarily together at the present time, and they are currently located in my basement, which may or may not do me any good!

So, if you're not a total slacker like me, week 7 will be fairly simple. It's the next gallon of water per person/pet. Also, it's time to get cracking on your family's emergency plan. I introduced you to a rough outline of one put together by the city we live in as part of a previous post, but I will include some more detailed instructions with this week.

Some of the things you may want to include are the following:

Identifying escape routes from your home
Identifying gathering locations
Identifying community hazards
Learning community evacuation plans
Creating a communication plan
Learning how and when to shut-off household utilities
Insuring against financial loss
Addressing special needs for people and animals
Finding out shelter information
Securing your home against disasters

The most important thing on this list, of course, is the most important thing we can do-- communicate. Creating a communication plan is the first item on the agenda here. Identify an out-of-state contact. In case of a large scale disaster, someone who is away from the situation and able to help you track all members of your family is the best for this situation (because what are the chances everyone will be home?). Phone lines for long distance are less likely to be jammed in the event of emergency, as are phone-company-sponsored pay phones. See if you can track down a couple of those nearby (good luck, there aren't many any more!). Also, make sure you kindly ask this relative or friend if they are willing to help you. Maybe you could inspire them to start a family plan and offer your services in exchange.

Now that you have your contact identified, and in addition to storing their phone number in your phone, write it down and store it in your emergency kit. If you want ideas for what to put on the card, I have some documents from the Red Cross attached to the work email with this info that I can pass on. Contact me at either my own email, which you should have, or the email for this blog, which is posted somewhere to your right. That way, if your cell phone is damaged or (like mine) more likely to run out of steam when you really need it, you still have the phone number. Make sure children who are able to also memorize this number in addition to your own contact information.

The last and final thing for this week is identifying two gathering locations for your family. The first is somewhere very nearby, in the event of a one-home distaster such as a natural gas leak or a fire. It could be a neighbor, it could be the corner of your street. Just so long as everyone knows where it is. The second location is in case of a larger emergency that may require a full-scale neighborhood evacuation. It could be your grocery store, or to use my manager's words, "Grandma's house where she lives 2 miles away." Include this information on the emergency cards stored in your kits, but make sure everyone in your family knows the information as well.

All right, good luck and happy planning. Hopefully I'll get on top of it and have a picture to post next week!

72 Hour Kit Challenge, week 6

Sorry, Nicol. I know this is late. Please forgive me. Monday crept up too fast this week, or maybe I've been working too much the last few days to keep track of time properly. Either way, I'm sorry!

Wow. Six weeks into this already, and I'm only two weeks behind so far! I actually have the clothes we need, it's just a matter of compiling them. Mason is going to be the really tough one, as we all know how quickly kids grow, but I have some items of the next size already purchased, so I'll just make sure we allocate some into his 72-hour kit. I'm still looking for a deal on a roller backpack, by the way, so if anyone sees one that would be an appropriate size for a toddler, please let me know.

The challenge for week six is what I'm going to simply call bedding. You can use mylar blankets, wool blankets, or a sleeping bag kept close to your kit. Keep in mind that small children may need additional items. Also to consider: ground cover (tarp or garbage bag versus something inflatable. They have self-inflating and kinds with a pump, depending on how much you are willing to spend and how large of a kit you want to carry) and pillows. My work stated mylar blankets are small enough for a backpack, and can be found for as little as $0.99. I would think I'll go for small single or twin sized wool blend blankets and, if I can find them for low enough cost, some inflatable pillows. I am likely to grab at least an extra blanket or two for the dogs kits as well, and I'll want to make sure we have a spare flat collar and leash to make sure, should we be more nomadic, that we have a way to make them stay put at night. One other consideration is the waterproofing needs of toddlers.

Steer clear of wool if you have allergies, but in choosing blankets and bedding, keep in mind: portability, seasonal needs, warmth/waterproof-ness (I'm even making up my own words now), and comfort. If you can strike a balance between all of these, your choice is probably the perfect one for your family.

The 72-Hour Kit Challenge, week 5

I didn't do so well on last week's assignment, so I don't have a picture to post of the tent I acquired. I guess this week will be a two-for in our house and hopefully I don't fall any more behind!

All right, so now that we have immediate food, water, and shelter needs covered, the next goal is to make sure each kit contains a complete change of clothing. The tricky thing about this comes in two parts: seasons change and children grow.

So it is recommended that items get pulled out from time to time, to make sure the clothes still fit and also to make sure they will be seasonally appropriate. It isn't exactly space-saving to include a change of clothes for each season, so making sure to replace them will probably be easiest. I think the best thing for our family would be to coordinate it with changing the batteries in our smoke alarms. We do this when the time changes in April and October (we DO have a firefighter in the house, and I'm sure he actually does it more often than this, but that's when I do it myself), but you are supposed to do it approximately every six months either way.

Adjust the clothing to be summer appropriate according to what your family would be most comfortable with. What is recommended for winter (providing for the possibility of layering) is the following:

Long pants
Long sleeved shirt
Sweater or sweatshirt - fleece is a good option
Socks (wool or wool/synthetic blend)
Underwear (preferably with wicking protection- made of polyester or polypropylene)

I had no idea what 'wicking' protection is. Rest assured, I immediately thought of something completely inappropriate. But the actual definition is basically the ability of a material to keep water/moisture away from your body. Apparently cotton is one of the worst materials for that as it will hold water and when wet, it will not be so heat-friendly for your body.

Outerwear will be coming up later, but feel free to include that now if you wish. Since we're coming up on summer, I might reschedule that for a more winterish (or clearance-ish) time and swap it out with something that doesn't make me swelter just thinking about it.

The 72-Hour Kit Challenge, week 4

Firstly, how did I do last week? Well, the bad news is I'm one of the world's foremost procrastinators and I waited until Sunday afternoon to procure our food items. The good news was it meant a fun little family outing to Cabela's which I will talk about more in another post. For this food go-around, I went with freeze dried items. I have no experience with them, but I took Alan's opinion that they aren't too bad into account. He also said I may want to plan the portions generously in case we are put in a position where we are traveling far or have a hard day of work ahead of us, where we would be pretty hungry.

For breakfast, we have three servings of granola with milk and blueberries. For lunch, four servings of chicken and rice. For dinner, four servings of beef stew. And in case Mason needs a treat, we have Hot Apple Cobbler. Don't ask me exactly where the 'hot' is going to come in, I haven't figured that out yet. We spent a good chunk of money at Cabela's on these, though, so I will try shopping around (and not being a procrastinator like me!) when it comes to food for Day 2.

All of these are marked to use by 2015, so we may have a "camping experience" in a few years where we rotate. Overall, I was pleased with their selection of freeze dried meals in a bag, and I haven't decided if I will rely on more of these for future days' food. I would like to have some variety, but I may very well go back for side items or treats.

Like I've said before, I would like thank my place of employment for taking the time to divide this up and post it in a clear, budget-friendly way. Even though I haven't been participating with them on schedule, I'm so glad to have the information now so I can do it in my own time. I'm at least trying to keep with the focused weekly schedule now instead of just being so overwhelmed I can't take action.

So, we are now on week four, and just shy of 8% of the way done. Maybe I won't post the percentages again for a while longer. This week is all about securing shelter, and hopefully it won't be as difficult or time-consuming as house shopping.

There are five key things to consider when securing a tent/shelter for your family:

1. Size - Is it compact enough to be carried in a backpack or for long distances?
2. Weight - Don't forget that it will be carried as part of a much heavier whole.
3. Weather Resistant - disasters aren't a fairweather thing. Be prepared with a rain/snow
proof and wind-resistant structure.
4. Capacity - will one tent hold your entire family or will more than one be needed?
5. Construction - try to find something simple to set up without a lot of separate pieces. The
more pieces, the more chance of something you really need getting lost.

The 72-hour kit challenge, week 3

So, hopefully we have containers we can live with to start storing this stuff in and some water. Our next goal is to put together one day worth of meals for each kit. Some of the possibilities are MREs (meals ready to eat), freeze dried foods, or C-Rations bars. These need to either have a long shelf life or you should be willing to rotate often. Keep in mind the temperature variations where the kit will be stored, and the nutritive content. Since the goal is to keep these things portable, the more compact and lightweight the meals are, the better.

My own personal experience with MREs amounts to this -- eh. Some of them were okay. Most of them were disgusting. But honestly, given the choice between the MREs and starving, I would probably eat them. When Alan's brother was in the Marines, he sent a few home for us to try. Since I was pregnant at the time, I'm not sure my opinion can count for a whole lot because my taste buds were totally sensitive. I have not tried many freeze dried foods, nor have I tried C-Ration bars. I know MREs are generally in stock and fairly reasonably priced at the Army/Navy surplus store or any recreation store. I would imagine they have a few other ideas for things you could use as well.

These all have a long shelf life, usually about 5-10 years. You can use other, more short-term items. Let your imagination be your guide. Sometimes I don't have one, so I'll probably stick to what I can find at Cabela's, Recreation Outlet, or the Army/Navy store. Canned or supermarket items can work, but be careful of the "use by" dates. They may not have such a forgiving shelf-time.

Also remember it may be possible to use items from your fridge or freezer in the event of disaster. Refrigerated items can last at least 4-6 hours without electricity before they start to wander. Frozen items can last a day or two depending on how fully loaded your freezer might be. And most important of all, especially where children are concerned, make sure it's something you will actually eat (I wonder how long the shelf life is for Pepperidge Farm Goldfish?) . It doesn't do any good to stock up on food you wouldn't even eat in an emergency! Good luck!

The 72-hour kit challenge, week 2

I doubled up on last week's assignment/this week's assignment because I knew I would be pressed for time and money this week. I got the bags at Recreational Outlet for $9.99/ea. I bought two for right now because they are huge. I want to get a backpack on wheels or something of that nature for Mason, but the least expensive one I saw was $49 on clearance, so I will wait and see how much room the larger bags have. I'm also not sure what size will be necessary for the dogs, so I need to get something for their supplies at some point in the future. Our bags don't necessarily fit all the criteria, as lugging them around when full will be pretty hard work. My game plan right now is to use Mason's wagon if I need to put them on wheels. We store it in a fairly accessible place, and it can double for baby transportation when this boy is tired of walking if we have to go for distance. If we get to the point this isn't feasible, I may have to pony up for the large backpack at the Army/Navy Store, but the lease expensive ones there were $30/ea and I wanted a better feel for how this project was going to go before I purchased them.



Week two's assignment is fairly straightforward. We need at least 1 gallon of water for each kit. This is approximately a one day supply according to the reference materials through my work. The suggested item list from the Army/Navy store suggests 1 1/2 gallons total per person, even small children. I'm not sure which is more correct, but I'm also of the opinion to be as liberal as possible while making sure the bag is still portable. I've got a gallon for each of us, plus a gallon for each dog right now. (I plan to start posting some of the Army/Navy suggestions in partner with the other information, because they had some great info for children specifically). Also, for now I bought the generic brand one-gallon jugs of drinking water. Depending on how we want the water to fit into our kit, I may go get a flat of water bottles at some point in the future.

Also, start formulating an emergency plan with and/or for your family. In our case, it will just have to be something Alan and I can agree on, and something we hope Mason can cope with. For families with older children, this might be a more interactive process. We also have the reference materials from our city to help guide us, and if your area doesn't have something similar, I am willing to share via email. I am planning on sitting down to read the book from the health department sometime this week. But the assignment as given to me was to just start thinking about it; there is a week in the future where our assignment is to plan it in detail.
Next week: 1 day's worth of meals per kit

Speaking of Emergency Preparation...

First, let me say there is a store called Recreation Outlet in South Salt Lake with a great deal on a bag to help start the emergency kit. According the newspaper ad, they were $9.99/ea. I may try to find something on wheels for Mason, but I plan on checking them out for Alan and myself, so I will let you know if they are as good as they sound.

Secondly, one of my neighbors stopped by a few days ago because our city is starting to focus on Emergency Preparation. She is in charge of six households within the immediate area of her home, which seems fairly manageable.

She brought over a packet from the city which includes a page to fill out our family information so the city will have it on file. It also has the Salt Lake Valley Health Department Family Emergency Preparedness Guide. I will post more on this after I have time to sit down and read it. It then has a Ziploc bag, labeled with the name, address, and cell phone number of our coordinator (neighbor). Inside the Ziploc bag are five sheets of construction paper in green, yellow, red, black, and white. These are to be put in one of our front windows in the event of an emergency, and indicate the following: green=all is well, yellow=we need help but it is not critical, red=we need help immediately, black=someone is deceased, and white=already evacuated. There is a supplemental packet with additional local information and a list of available resources.


For the most part, I think this is a good idea. It's a way for the city to make account for its residents in case of a disaster. We all saw what happens when civic leaders are not prepared for a major disaster after Hurricane Katrina. I think our city is being more responsible and I intend to comply.

I would encourage everyone to check with your ward, city, or other miscellaneous geographical area to see if there is an emergency prep plan in place. If not, please contact me and I will help you get at least a copy of the materials our city is giving out, because they aren't included in the 72-hour kit list I'm posting. I hope every area has one, because from a selfish perspective, I want everyone I care about to be accounted for in the event of emergency.

If there ever is a disaster with wide magnitude here, it is certain that Alan and I will both be called into work. Alan will have no choice in the matter and will have to go. I already know I would need to make sure my family was cared for because that is my most important job.

Like all of us, I'm just trying to get informed and prepared. Hopefully we will never need it.

The 72-hour kit challenge, week one

For the last few months, work has been doing an emergency prep challenge of sorts. I have been asked to post it here as well. I haven't been very faithful about doing it through work, so I'm going to give it the 'old college try' while I post here. Hopefully taking pictures will encourage me to step up and do this.

I take no credit for dividing this up. Again, these are weekly emails sent through work starting last September. The goal was to have 72 hour kits ready to use for your entire family at the end of one year's time. By breaking it up into weekly segments, they were hoping to make it a little less daunting.

I am going to try and encorporate preparedness for our two dogs as well. Alan and I have discussed that it is important to us both to provide for Rio and Samson in case of emergency because they are an integral part of our family. If you disagree, that is your right. Just disregard the more K9 friendly suggestions and we can still be friends, okay?

What I will do here is post the suggested item for the week, and post the photograph of what I'm doing on the following week, so the photo loop will be one week behind.

For the first week, the goal is to obtain containers for our individual kits. Obviously, the more easily portable the better. Just remember that each one has to hold an entire 72-hour kit, so it should portable for the person who would be using it. Each one should also be waterproof. Ideal items are as follows: a backpack, a suitcase/backpack on wheels, or duffel bag. Avoid using things like a cardboard box or a footlocker.

Happy preparing! If I come across any good deals on these items, I will post them. Thanks for playing--let me know if you're joing me and how you're progressing.