SAFETY FIRST—FOUR STEPS FOR YOUR FAMILY’S EMERGENCY PLAN

Moving into your newly constructed home is a great reason to start with a fresh family emergency plan.  If you have never created one or aren’t sure if your family really needs one, consider these facts:

• According to the U.S. Fire Administration, from Jan. 1 to June 2, 2015, the total number of fire deaths were 61 across the state of Michigan which was an increase of 25% over the same four-month period of 2014.
• In 2013, 153 people died in fires in the state of Michigan.  The majority of fire fatalities occurred in homes that don’t have working smoke alarms.
• There were 823 individuals unintentionally poisoned by carbon monoxide in Michigan in 2013, including 34 who died from the exposure.
• Nearly 1,000 tornadoes touched down in our Great Lakes State between 1950 and 2012, making it the 20th in the nation for most recorded tornadoes over that period, according to the National Weather Service.

Photo courtesy of Hywards at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At Echelon Homes, we design and build homes in which we hope your family will grow successfully and safely.  Here are four steps to creating a family emergency plan.

1. Prepare for an emergency.  First, prepare a family communication plan.  Often times, not everyone is home when there is an emergency.  Keep a copy in your vehicle, purse, kids’ backpacks and in your emergency kit to ensure everyone knows whom to contact in case of emergency.  Secondly, if you don’t already have an emergency preparedness kit, consider ordering one from the Red Cross.  Living in Southeast Michigan, we are fortunate not to get hit with hurricanes, major flooding and other natural disasters like the rest of the country.  It is still critical to have an emergency kit and a family evacuation plan ready in case of emergency.
2. Lead a family meeting.  Share your family communication plan and underscore how important it is that everyone follows it should an emergency arise.  Next, review the contents of the emergency preparedness kit.  Make sure that everyone knows where it is and that the items are to be used for emergencies only. Engage family members by allowing them to add a few non-perishable food items to the kit.  Now, review your family’s home evacuation plan and then walk children around the home to see if there are any additional escape routes you may have missed.  If so, modify the evacuation plan.
3. Ask and answer questions.  While most children are aware of emergency preparedness and procedures due to the state of Michigan schools’ safety programs, they initially may worry and will definitely have questions.  Remind them that you are taking these safety precautions ahead of time solely because you want to protect them.  Encourage them to ask questions and even try to answer each other’s as they are posed.  The more invested each family member feels with the plan, the more successful the safety plans will be.
4. Next, do a few drills.  Practice your family communication and evacuation plans so that you are ready…in case of emergency!

Article by: Jennifer Elkow