Tag Archives: evacuation

Cats and Fire Don’t Mix

Between the car accident and my mom’s stroke, I’m ready for things to get back to some level of normalcy. It won’t be today. I had just gotten into the shower when I heard the doorbell ring. Since I was naked and wet, as well as running behind schedule, I figured whoever was ringing would come back. Or call and say they’d tried to stop by. But a few minutes later I heard sirens. A few seconds after that I knew they had turned into our neighborhood, and it didn’t take me even a nanosecond more to realize they’d turned … Continue reading →

Wildfire Evacuation Plan: When you have some warning.

In the last blog I wrote about the things we need to do if an evacuation is ordered and you must leave now. Sometimes, especially with wild fires, local officials may not advise an immediate evacuation but warn areas that an evacuation may happen because there’s a chance things may get worse. When you are asked to Stand By for an evacuation, consider this time valuable and take steps to protect your home and family. Protecting your house: Bring everything inside, including: Patio furniture, garbage cans, the kid’s toys, gardening equipment, hanging plants, and all the other things that may … Continue reading →

Wildfire Evacuation Plan: When the Order is Urgent!

It’s fire season again! In fact, it seems things are heating up and burning earlier this year and wildfires are impacting parts of the country normally considered to be a lower risk. As we enter the height of the 2007 fire season it‘s looking like more people will need to consider ways to protect their homes, mitigate their risk exposures and evacuate their properties. Evacuations are ordered by local government officials when disaster threatens an area. Local radio and television stations generally issue reports when a disaster threatens an area. When local officials ask you to evacuate, you need to … Continue reading →

Planning for an Evacuation

You may have considered how portable your emergency kit is, but have you considered how portable your family is in the event of an emergency. Depending on the age and health of your family members you may want to plan now for what you will need to do during an evacuation. You should also plan in case you need to hike out. You may need to hike because roads are impassable due to an earthquake or other natural disaster. Here are five things to consider. 1) You should consider planning for children under the age of five. Depending on the … Continue reading →

Hurricanes: Planning for Evacuation

Evacuation due to a hurricane brings many things to mind. You may think of being stuck in the car in awful traffic for hours. You may worry about leaving your home and possessions behind. And you may worry about where you are going to stay during the period of evacuation. Once you have formed an evacuation plan then you most of these concerns will be resolved, and you will be order to move forward quickly. The first thing you should do is decide where you will stay during an evacuation. If you have family and friends in a nearby area, … Continue reading →

Pet Friendly Hurricane Shelters

A friend pointed me to a story from the First Coast News of Jacksonville, Florida. The city of Jacksonville is preparing for the upcoming hurricane season by designating four pet-friendly shelters. A spokesman from Jacksonville Animal Care and Control said that “The city certainly recognizes the close bond that people have with their pets and we’re working to provide a place for them.” The designated pet-friendly shelters are Landmark Middle School, Ocean Way Elementary School, Chimney Lakes Elementary School, and Mandarin Middle School. At least one of these shelters will also be prepared to accommodate special needs residents. If you … Continue reading →

Emergency Kits: Part 1

Posted on by

Someone I know had to evacuate her house a few months ago. She lives near a busy road, and there was some kind of accident, nothing too serious except that the truck involved in the accident was carrying some kind of dangerous chemical. So there she was, with her small children and another child she was babysitting, when a police officer knocked at her door to tell her to get out of the house immediately. She explained that it would take her a few minutes to get everything together and the officer told her she didn’t have a few minutes. … Continue reading →