Family and Home Security Information

An emergency can happen anytime, anywhere. Have your family practice emergency procedures often, this will help them feel less disoriented and better organized in case of a disaster – even in the middle of the night or in the middle of winter.

Start preparing now, don’t wait for an emergency to happen. There are simple things you can do now to prepare for a disaster. This article will help get you started and future articles will show you how to prepare your emergency disaster kit. Make sure that you update your emergency disaster kit once a year, checking contacts, foods, medications, batteries etc.

On of the first things you should do is contact local authorities to find out more about the hazards in your community:

Ask how you would be warned
Find out how to prepare for each type of disaster
Meet with your family and discuss the types of disasters that could occur
Meet with you family and explain how to prepare and respond to each type of disaster
Meet with your family and discuss where to go and what to bring if advised to evacuate

Work with your neighbors to make sure everyone is taken care of in your neighborhood. Identify people who might need extra help during an emergency.

Family Communications

Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so plan how you will contact one another. Think about how you will communicate in different situations.

Complete a wallet card for each family member, this card should include names and contact information of parents as well as an out-of-area contact. The cards should also include information on meeting places both locally and out of state or province. I recommend that once you complete your cards have them laminated to help them last. Have family members keep these cards handy in a wallet, purse, backpack, etc. You may want to send one to school with each child to keep on file. Pick an out-of-area contact, someone each member of the family can call or e-mail in case of an emergency. This person can help family members stay in touch and get together if they are separated. Be sure to pick someone who is far enough away so as not be affected by the same situation

Always have personal documents and family identification and notice of any family members’ medical conditions. Make copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, licenses, wills, land deeds, keep them in a safe place at home as well as outside the home in a safety deposit box or a friend’s house.

Keep a list of important contacts easily accessible for all family members to reach. Keep these contacts near each phone.

Safety Skills

It is important that family members know how to administer first aid and CPR and how to use a fire extinguisher.

Learn first aid and CPR.

Take a first aid and CPR class. Local American Red Cross chapters can provide information about this type of training. Official certification by the American Red Cross provides, under the “good Samaritan” law, protection for those giving first aid.

Learn how to use a fire extinguisher.

Be sure everyone knows how to use your fire extinguisher(s) and where it is kept. You should have, at a minimum, an ABC type.

Safety Escape Plan

Plan escape routes from each room of your home. Try to think of two possibilities for each room. Mark each route on a map and keep the map with your home emergency kit. If you live in an apartment consider an alternate to the elevator.

Plan an escape route from your neighborhood in case you are ordered to evacuate. Arrange for temporary accommodations, such as a friend’s place or hotel, where you can stay for a few days in case you are evacuated. This may also be where you decide to meet if are separated during a disaster. When choosing your shelter, remember that bridges may be out or roads may be blocked. You may need to take alternative or unfamiliar routes if major roads are closed or clogged.

Evacuation Plans

When community evacuations become necessary, local officials provide information to the public through the media. In some circumstances, other warning methods, such as sirens or telephone calls, also are used. Additionally, there may be circumstances under which you and your family feel threatened or endangered and you need to leave your home, school, or workplace to avoid these situations.

The amount of time you have to leave will depend on the hazard. If the event is a weather condition, such as a hurricane that can be monitored, you might have a day or two to get ready. However, many disasters allow no time for people to gather even the most basic necessities, which is why planning ahead, is essential.

Ask local authorities about emergency evacuation routes and see if maps may are available with evacuation routes marked.

Being prepared is your greatest allie when it comes surviving emergency and disaster situations. Set aside time and get prepared, start this weekend.

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In general, burglars will avoid occupied houses. However, there always exceptions to the rule, and you shouldn’t assume that nothing can ever happen when you’re at home. If someone breaks in while you’re not there, your belongings are at risk. If someone breaks in when your family is home, your family is at risk as well. There are a number of measures you can follow in order to minimize the risk of being targeted and to protect your family.

Keys: Don’t hand out keys to friends, even if they are trustworthy. Know the location of all your house keys all the time. Never use hide-a-keys or leave the key under the doormat, above the door, in a flowerpot, or anywhere outside the house. You may think you’re being clever, but experienced thieves know all the tricks. Also, keep your car keys and house keys on a different ring if you ever use valet parking or leave your keys with parking lot attendants or even at a repair garage.

Don’t let strangers in the house: Think this only applies for children? Think again. Home security means being cautious. Even before you open the front door to accept a package, you should ask for photo identification. This goes for anyone you don’t recognize. Don’t assume someone is legitimate just because they’re wearing a uniform or driving a company truck–these things can be stolen. If somebody comes to your door and asks to make a phone call, offer to make it for them, but don’t let them in. If they are injured, call 911, but don’t open the door. If you walk away to make a call or some such, lock the door behind you; you don’t want to leave the door unlocked and unmanned. A chain on the door helps insure someone can’t force their way in while you’re there.

Locks: Keep your doors and windows locked, even if you’re at home. Get your children into this habit, too.

Don’t be predictable: If you always leave at the same time every day, are gone for the same length of time, and return at the same time, thieves can easily memorize your routine, taking advantage of the times your not at home. Work is work, and you probably can’t change those hours, but if you go to a class or the grocery store at the same time all the time, try to make yourself less predictable.

Valuables shouldn’t be on display: It’s not a good idea if somebody can look in your window and see your wallet, credit cards, purse, jewelry, or fancy electronics in open sight. A computer or television placed in front of a ground-floor window may make an easy target. Likewise, electronics placed across from a window are easily visible, too. Also, don’t leave your garage doors open for the world to see your belongings. Lightweight items could be snatched away quickly and easily.

Watch your trash: Just bought a new entertainment system? A bunch of empty boxes out by the curb triggers an alarm to would-be thieves. Instead of putting boxes out in plain sight, cut them down, and stuff them in trash bags. Also be wary of identity theft. Never put personal identification information in your trash unshredded.

Be alert: Try to be aware of your surroundings on a day-to-day basis, even in your own familiar neighborhood. This doesn’t mean walking around like a crazy paranoid person; just keep your eyes out for suspicious activity.

Paying attention to the simple things can make you and your family much less of a target. Burglar alarms and home security systems are great investments, but prevention is the best way to stay safe.

Source: Home Security Your Guide to Protecting Your Family

In a separate study, researchers at Pennsylvania State University conducted focus groups at senior centers to determine the need and focus for food safety education among the senior population. The target of the focus groups was to determine seniors’ knowledge of an array of food safety practices (cook, cool, store, etc.), knowledge of the consequences of inappropriate practices, barriers to change, and information required to initiate behavior change.
The researchers conducted six focus groups, three in urban and three in rural Pennsylvania counties. All six focus groups were held at local senior centers, with questions focusing on how seniors cook, cool, and thaw meat, poultry and seafood, and items containing these products. Further questions focused on the consequences for not using safe practices, and motivations for change.

A total of 74 seniors participated in the focus groups, and inappropriate practices were extensively identified:

Barriers to change were also noted to be significant:

•  Seniors ‘would not be bothered’ to use a thermometer, or do not own a thermometer
•  Seniors improperly thawing food could not be ‘bothered’ to thaw items correctly
•  Other barriers to proper thawing were being faced with issues such as things happening at the last minute, a full refrigerator, or the cost of discarding food

 The one area where seniors were most likely to modify their behavior was in the area of cooling hot leftovers food properly, a change they indicated that they could easily make.

When asked to identify types of food safety information that they would find useful, seniors recommended educational programs, videotapes, television, newspapers, radio, church bulletins, and written educational materials.

Overall, the results of this study Indicate that food safety educational efforts among seniors should include the most current, research-based scientific facts associated with food safety, the link between inappropriate practices and threat to health, and preferred delivery methods. Such educational efforts will support safe food handling at home and, thus, the continued independence of seniors in their homes.