Red Cross - Make a Plan

"I was only one woman alone, and had no power to move to action full-fed, sleek-
coated, ease-loving, pleasure-seeking, well-paid, and well-placed countrymen in
this war- trampled, dead, old land, each one afraid that he should be called
upon to do something." - Clara Barton, founder of American Red Cross

The second step of the "Be Red Cross Ready" plan is "Make a Plan".

• Talk with your family (about emergency plans and where supplies are stored)
• Plan (house drills)
• Learn how to turn off gas lines and how to use fire extinguishers
• Plan for alternative escape routes
• Include pets in your evacuation plans
• Select two meeting places

1. Right outside your home in case of house fires. (Pick a neighbor's driveway, the mailbox, etc. but be sure to pick ONE place. Lives have been lost when parents or fire fighters return to a burning house to rescue child that has already escaped.)
2. Also pick a gathering place outside your town. (Take for example the Indian Point Power point in my neighborhood. If evacuation were ordered one parent might be at home, another at work and the kids at different schools. No one is allowed into the danger zone and the phone lines are overwhelmed. Will your family know where to travel to?)

Bottom Line
The important parts of planning are one - have a plan, and two - communicating the plan to everyone in your family, friends and neighbors. During 9/11 some companies in the World Trade towers had emergency plans to recover corporate computer data but the plan was known ONLY to one Emergency Planner who died when the towers collasped. It is vital to share and communicate the plan as much as possible.