Welcome to May’s Safety Spotlight! This month’s drills focus on evacuation, which will occur in the context of a fire drill. However, evacuation is such an important response for situations other than fire. For most emergencies, evacuation is the ultimate goal – putting as much distance as possible between you and the threat (i.e., fire, armed assailant, oil train spills, tsunamis, etc.). If evacuation is possible, people are taught to flee the area and get to safety. This is part of the fight or flight response. If you are in a real emergency at school, do not worry about collecting any belongings, including keys, phones, etc. Your only focus should be on leaving the danger zone if it is safe to do so.
At home, your family should have an evacuation plan. This should include multiple exits, meet-up locations/points, people for children to call in emergencies, and even visual aids or images to help children remember what to do. Also, it is important to teach younger children how to use messaging technology, apps, and phone in case of emergencies. See here for more information on creating a family communication plan. Additional safety suggestions include building a “go kit” or “go bag” that could be used when evacuating for certain emergencies, as well as practicing or role-playing evacuations at the home. The CDC has a video designed for helping children with disabilities during emergencies.
As parents we can model good situational awareness by being present in our environments (e.g., entertainment venues, restaurants, community events, etc.) and looking for exits in case of emergencies and people who are safe to reach out to for help (e.g., a person with a name tag or in a particular shirt/outfit). Do not be afraid to have open conversations with your children about how and why we would need to evacuate. These conversations should be calm discussions that are age appropriate and include taking time to listen, understand, and validate their feelings (read more about this).
There are times when your family may need to evacuate from cities and counties. Most areas have designated evacuation zones and predetermined evacuation routes, so look at your city and county emergency management websites to better familiarize yourself with these. Learning more about evacuations is highly recommended. Also, ALERT King County is a good resource; consider signing up for free for their notifications to stay informed about local hazards and threats. AlertRedmond is available, too, but Kirkland and Sammamish emergency websites direct you to ALERT King County. Additional evacuation tips include having a portable emergency kit in the car and always having at least a half tank of gas at all times. If you don’t have a vehicle, think ahead about how you would evacuate in an emergency. Talk with relatives, friends, or local emergency officials to learn what transportation options exist. Download the FEMA app for a list of open shelters during an active disaster in your local area and be aware that not all shelters take animals (read how to prepare your pets for disasters). Finally, be sure you secure your home before you evacuate (e.g., turn off utilities, unplug electronics, lock doors and windows, either take valuables/irreplaceable items with you or hide them).
Please see the FEMA website for more information on planning guides.