Shack To Showcase :: Home Repair and Replacement :: Home Exteriors, Landscape & Hardscape :: Did you know? :: Emergency Preparedness Author Topic: Emergency Preparedness (Read 300 times) Tumbleweed Administrator member is offline [ss:Old Victorian][ss:Old Victorian][ss:Default] Joined: Sept 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 894 Location: On the Mo in the big "O" Emergency Preparedness « Thread Started on Feb 14, 2008, 9:52pm » Every household should have an emergency kit containing the following: Battery-powered flashlight Light sticks Battery-powered radio Battery-powered or wind-up alarm clock Note: Since batteries lose power after time a good rule of thumb is to change the batteries in your emergency kit at the same time you change them for your fire alarms. And include extra batteries if at all possible. Manual can opener with a supply of canned foods such as fruit and veggies, non-salty crackers, peanut butter, instant soups or you can look into MRE's (Meals ready to eat) that the military uses, high protein food bars, and B&A carries a product called AlpineAire which is freeze dried. http://theepicenter.com/mre_military_meal_ready_to_eat.html http://alpineaire.com Bottled water and water for cooking Disposable plates and utensils Extra blankets or sleeping bags A corded telephone available — cordless phones will not work when the power is out. Matches and a supply of candles (candles only to be used if you lose battery power and run out of light sticks.) Other things to prepare or plan for: Have an alternative heat source and supply of fuel. My recommendation is a propane heater with O.D.S warning built in. O.D.S is an Oxygen Depletion Sensor. If you own an electric garage door opener, know how to open the door without power. Camping equipment such as sleeping bags, a portable lamp or lantern, and a camp stove. (You can use the camp stove to heat up water or food outside) Note: Make certain you have good ventilation before using candles, kerosene lamps or heaters, and camp stoves. You may want to add instruction on how to drain your water heater in case of prolonged outages and freezing temperatures to your emergency kit as well as instructions on how to drain your plumbing noting where main water shut off valves are located. If you have an elderly family member living with you, make a plan or list of what you need to gather such as, medication or portable oxygen tanks. If you have a baby keep diapers, baby food & formula in your emergency kit . And most importantly, a generator will provide you with your basic needs for electricity. Keep in mind a generator is significantly lower in voltage so you will still need to conserve your electricity consumption. There are two types of generators: A portable generator is the most common choice for home use. Most portable generators you can install yourself. A stationary generator is connected to your home wiring and requires the services of an electrical contractor for installation. Before a power outage Register life-sustaining and medical equipment with your utility company. Most utility companies will try to restore your service first (when they are ready to move to individual customers still without power) but there are no guarantees so have contingency plans in place. Contact your health-care provider so you know before hand if any life sustaining equipment for you or a family member has back-up battery power. Establish a contingency plan for extreme emergencies. Identify places where you can go for shelter, and remember to call first to make sure these locations have power. Make provisions for emergency transportation if it becomes necessary to leave your home. Provide helpful information when reporting a power outage Did you hear a noise? Are your lights dim or out? Are your neighbors’ lights out? Is a power line down? Did a tree limb fall on a power line? Is there any damage to the utility pole? Are the streetlights out? Note: This may not be necessary if it is obvious you are having a severe snow or ice storm. During a power outage Turn off lights and electrical appliances except for the refrigerator and freezer. Even if it is dark, turn light switches and buttons on lamps or appliances to the “off” position except for one lamp or light switch so you'll know when service has been restored. Unplug computers and other sensitive equipment to protect them from possible surges when the power is restored and to prevent "overload" when power is restored causing a 2nd interruption. Never use gas ovens, gas ranges, barbecues or portable or propane heaters for indoor heating—they use oxygen and create carbon monoxide that can cause suffocation. Candles can cause a fire. It's far better to use battery-operated flashlights or glow sticks for lighting. Using a kerosene heater, gas lantern or stove inside the house can be dangerous. Maintain proper ventilation at all times to avoid a build up of toxic fumes. Stay away from downed power lines and sagging trees with broken limbs. Keep food safe Keep doors to refrigerators and freezers closed. Your refrigerator's freezer will keep food frozen for up to a day. A separate fully-loaded freezer will keep food frozen for two days and it may be a good idea to wrap blankets around it for extra insulation if you have a prolonged outage. Use foods first that can spoil most rapidly. Foods that keep a few days Barbecue sauce Butter Bread, rolls or cakes Cheese Fruits and veggies (fresh) Jelly Fruit juice Margarine Peanut butter (opened jars) Pies (fruit) Relish and pickles Salad dressing (mayonnaise is not O.K.) Foods that spoil fast. Meat, poultry and seafood raw or cooked Pizza with meat toppings Lunch meats Gravies Doughs like refrigerator cookies Stews & soups Casseroles Milk, cream, yogurt and soft cheeses Fish Eggs or egg products like mayo, custard and pasta I guess the old saying is appropriate here: If in doubt throw it out. Use an ice chest packed with ice or snow to keep food cold or you can buy dry ice for frozen food but do not handle with bare hands. Use caution if storing food outside during winter to keep it cold. The outside temperature varies, especially in the sun. Frozen food may thaw and refrigerator food may become warm enough to grow bacteria.. What Causes Power Outages Most interruptions in your electric service are caused by situations, such as, lightning and high winds in the summer, ice and heavy snow in winter, or when a vehicle hits one of the utility poles. Try To Be Patient It takes time, when a major electrical outage occurs, for service crews to restore service. Most electrical companies will eliminate safety hazards first, such as downed lines, fires, and accidents. They then will try to restore substations and main feeder lines. Next they restore critical services, such as hospitals, emergency services, communication facilities, and water/sewage facilities. They next try to restore service to the largest blocks of customers possible with each repair and hopefully that will include all individuals but if not then they will try to restore service to life support customers first when possible. Prolonged power Outage: If there is a prolonged power outage and there are freezing temperatures outside you may want to prevent damage to your water heater by draining it. Be sure to turn off the appropriate circuit breaker or remove the fuse to disconnect the appliance because if you drain the water heater and electricity is restored it may burn out the heating element with no water in the tank. Be sure to fill the tank completely before switching the circuit breaker back on. Click here for instructions on how to drain your water heater. Plumbing can present problems during a prolonged power outage because of the potential for freezing. Take note of the areas in your house where water collects and, if possible, drain them. These areas include pumps, supply lines, water heaters, boilers, and traps in drains of tubs, sinks, commodes, washing machines, and dishwashers. Utilize your fireplace Make good use of a fireplace. It can provide some heat, light, and cooking capabilities. Try to live in the room with a fireplace or portable heater. IMPORTANT:You need to keep very good ventilation when using a portable heater and may even need to crack windows to be safe. Adding a bit more info I ran across while looking for some other information on the FDA web site: * Determine the safety of your food. If an appliance thermometer was kept in the freezer, check the temperature when the power comes back on. If the freezer thermometer reads 40°F or below, the food is safe and may be refrozen. If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, check each package of food to determine its safety. You can't rely on appearance or odor. If the food still contains ice crystals or is 40°F or below, it is safe to refreeze or cook. * Refrigerated food should be safe as long as the power was out for no more than 4 hours. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsdisas.html I think that is great advise to have a thermometer in both the freezer and the fridge so you know for certain what is safe to eat and what isn't. « Last Edit: Jan 3, 2008, 12:23pm by Tumbleweed » Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged Nigel Esteemed Member1 member is offline SPRINGFIELD ~ Somewhere South of CLEVELAND Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 78 Re: Emergency Preparedness « Reply #1 on Feb 16, 2008, 11:59am » It also might be a Good Idea to print this out NoW because you probably will not be able to when your electricity goes out . . . Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged tridlette New Member member is offline Joined: Nov 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 8 Re: Emergency Preparedness « Reply #2 on Feb 16, 2008, 10:46pm » Feb 16, 2008, 11:59am, Nigel wrote: It also might be a Good Idea to print this out NoW because you probably will not be able to when your electricity goes out . . . Nigel, GREAT IDEA! As a mother of 3 Boy Scouts (one Eagle), I always rely on them for back up, but without these tips in print, I don't think any of us stand a chance of surviving much! Then, the next important tip is to keep the printout in an easily accessible place. I know my last major power outage, I had to pat around my messy desk for 10 minutes to find my car keys so that I could unlock my car, so that I could listen to the emergency radio broadcasts and find my flashlight. 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