Have a Plan
Another step that you can take to ensure the safety and well-being of you and your family is to have plans in place for how you will respond to different emergencies and disasters, how you will contact family members, and how you will re-unite after a disaster.
Fire Escape Plan
Each household member should know what to do if there is a fire.
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Review escape routes with your family. Practice escaping from each room.
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Make sure windows are not nailed or painted shut. Make sure security gratings on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
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Consider escape ladders if your residence has more than one level, and ensure that burglar bars and other antitheft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside.
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Teach family members to stay low to the floor (where the air is safer in a fire) when escaping from a fire.
Family Communications Plan
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It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-area contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
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Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact.
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You may be able to text messages to all your loved ones on your cell phone. Keep these messages short.
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Ensure family members know where the neighborhood meeting place is.
