Category: Preparedness Planning

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Charities/Groups we support General Preparedness Preparedness Planning Preparedness tips

Making sure your kids are prepared for hiking

As we move into spring, more and more people will be spending time outdoors in the wilderness.  Parents should make sure all members of the family are prepared for what might happen if one, or the whole party, happens to loose their way.  Below are listed a few items that everyone should know:

1)  Each person should always carry a small fanny pack or pack with a trash bag, bottle of water, granola bar, a bright colored bandanna and whistle on a hike or camping trip.  You can make a hole in the side of the bag to use as a makeshift ‘poncho’ (make sure kids know how to do this so they don’t suffocate).  This will keep you warm and dry while waiting for people to find you.  A whistle can be heard further away than a human voice and takes less energy to use.  The water and granola bar will help you get through a couple of hours of waiting.  The bandanna can be used for either first aid type of situations or to use as a flag for attracting attention.

2)  Your fanny pack should also include basic first aid supplies.  Such things as band aids, hand sanitizer, gauze and antibiotic ointment is best.  This will handle any small scrapes and cuts that may happen while you are on the trail.

3)  If you happen to get lost, STAY WHERE YOU ARE.  One of the best things you can remember is to hug a tree.  Even small children can find a tree and sit down next to it and rest.  If you stop moving, the people who are out looking for you won’t have to chase you down!  When explaining this concept to small children, tell them to find a tree and hug it.  That tree will be their new friend until other new friends (searchers or search dogs) find them.

4)  Make sure your children know that they are not in trouble for getting lost.  “My parents won’t be mad at me”.

5)  If they hear searchers or someone calling their name, they should respond, but stay where they are.  Even if it is dark, most wild animals will be more scared of them.  If they hear something they should make a loud noise but stay where they are.  The animal will run away and hide.  Many children are scared of the ‘lions, tigers and bears’ which results in them running from noises in the dark.  This increases the chances they will get hurt and increases the chances that they are actually running from searchers.

6)  Before you leave on the trip, footprint your child.  If they do happen to get lost, having a clear copy of the tread of the child’s shoe will assist searchers in finding them faster.  This is a 5 minute drill which could make a significant difference later.

Many of these seem very common sense, but unless you talk about it with your children, they don’t know what to do.  A great program to help kids and parents be prepared is “Hug a Tree.

Be prepared.

Be safe.

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Preparedness Planning

How to prepare for “end of life” now to make it easier later

When a loved one dies, in addition to the emotional strain, arrangements need to be made and people need to be contacted.  All of these things need to be done in the shortest amount of time.  Many of these details can be planned ahead of time.  By making these important decisions now, you can minimize the emotional strain that will be placed on your survivors. Don’t leave your loved ones guessing…guide them now. Secure Vital Statistics (required for burial permit)

  1. Name, address and phone number
  2. How long in state
  3. Name of business, address and phone
  4. Occupation and title
  5. Social Security number
  6. War Veterans Serial Number
  7. Date of birth
  8. Place of birth
  9. US Citizen
  10. Father’s name
  11. Father’s birthplace
  12. Mother’s maiden name
  13. Mother’s birthplace
  14. Religions name (if any)

Pay some or all of the following:

  1. Family burial estate
  2. Memorials
  3. Funeral director
  4. Interment Service
  5. Clergy
  6. Florist
  7. Clothing
  8. Transportation
  9. Telephone and telegraph
  10. Food
  11. Doctors
  12. Nurses
  13. Hospitals and ambulance
  14. Medicine and drugs
  15. Other current and urgent bills (mortgage or rent, taxes, installment payments)

Collect Documents (required to establish rights for insurance, pensions, social security, ownership, relationship, etc.)

  1. Will
  2. Legal proof of age or birth certificate
  3. Social Security card or number
  4. Marriage license
  5. Citizenship papers
  6. Insurance policies (life, health and accident, property)
  7. Bank books and credit cards
  8. Deeds to property
  9. Bill of sale of car
  10. Income tax returns, receipts or cancelled checks
  11. Veterans discharge certificate
  12. Disability claims
  13. Memorial park certificate of ownership

Decide and Arrange Within a Few Hours

  1. Burial estate location and space
  2. Memorial type inscription
  3. Casket type
  4. Clothing for deceased
  5. Vault or sectional crypt
  6. Type of service (religious, military, fraternal)
  7. Special selection from scriptures
  8. Clergy to officiate
  9. Name of funeral director
  10. Place where service is to be held
  11. Time for funeral service
  12. Name of charitable organization to which donations are suggested in memory of deceased
  13. Providing information for eulogy
  14. Select names for pallbearers
  15. Music
  16. Clothing for you and children
  17. Preparation at home, including food for family and guests
  18. Extra chairs
  19. Transportation for family and guests, including planning funeral car list
  20. Checking and signing necessary papers for burial permit
  21. Providing vital statistics about deceased to newspapers.
  22. Providing addresses and telephone numbers for all interested people
  23. Answering innumerable sympathetic phone calls, messages, wires and letters
  24. Meeting and talking with funeral director, cemetery representative clergy, about all details.
  25. Greeting all friends and relatives who call
  26. Arranging for meeting relatives who call
  27. Arranging for meeting relatives who arrive from out of state at airport or railroad/bus station
  28. Providing lodging for out-of-town relatives
  29. Arranging for special religious services
  30. Check the Will regarding special wishes
  31. Order death certificate (multiple copies)
  32. Look after minor children

Notify as soon as possible

  1. The doctor or doctors
  2. The funeral director
  3. The memorial park
  4. All relatives
  5. All friends (email?)
  6. Employer of deceased
  7. Employers of relatives not going to work
  8. Casket bearers
  9. Insurance agents (life, health and accident)
  10. Religious, fraternal, civic, veterans organizations, unions
  11. Newspapers regarding notices
  12. Attorney, accountant, or executor of estate

Additional Advice

  1. Business online – user names, passwords
  2. Banking online – user names, passwords
  3. Friends online – email, passwords
  4. Distribution of personal property
  5. Advise who they can trust to advise in their absence
  6. Tell about loans receivable/bartering
  7. Know where stock certificates are located
  8. Locate “free” insurance policies from banks, credit cards, AAA
  9. Complete an Advance Directive, Do Not Resuscitate
  10. Who has access to Safe Deposit?  Where are keys?
  11. PINs for bank and other accounts
  12. Record information in something portable
  13. Discuss directions with your family
  14. Review it regularly.

Copyright Joyce Moseley Pierce 2010.  This list has been provided by Emerson Publications.  Visit http://www.emersonpublications.com or http://www.preparedineveryway.com for more information on being prepared for life and its surprises.

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General Preparedness Preparedness Planning

Increase your chance of surviving a plane crash

I was recently with a friend who survived the United Airlines flight that “landed” in the Hudson River and it made me start thinking about whether or not there were things I could do to increase my chances of survival if I were ever in a plane crash. I did a little research and wanted to share some quick tips I learned.

Some do’s:

1. Pay attention during the safety briefing. Many people ignore these…but in a panic…will forget what to do. Paying attention reinforces the correct things to do.

2. Sit within 5 rows of an emergency exit. Statistics show that this increases your chances of surviving a crash.

3. Count how many rows between you an the exits. Do this for the exit in front and you and behind you as your primary exit may be blocked.

4. Take a minute to think of a plan. A “what would I do if”. Look at the exits, plan where you would go, etc. Having a plan in mind increases your chance of survival and will help keep you from “freezing”

5. Be extra aware during the first 3 minutes of flight and the last 8 minutes. These are the time windows where most problems occur. Be ready to react if you have to.

6. Wear your seat belt properly, especially if you think you are going to be in a crash.

7. Brace yourself properly. You want to limit the amount of blunt force trauma you may receive.

Some dont’s:

1. Take sleeping pills or drink heavily when flying. This will obviously affect your ability to react.

2. Wear sandals, high heels or slip on type footwear. You don’t want to have to escape with bare feet.

3. If you are in a crash..DON’T try to save your carry on, purse, cell phone, etc. This will cost you time and may hinder your exit.

4. Sit in the bulkhead seats. The force of hitting the wall in front of you can cause more damage then bracing against a seat in front of you.

These are just some quick tips and ideas. The same general rules apply here as in other situations. The more you plan…the better off you will do.

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Charities/Groups we support Emergency Responders General Preparedness Personal Stories Preparedness Planning

Search Dogs in Haiti — coming home

As the efforts rescue efforts in Haiti wind down and the recovery phase begins,  think about what happens to all of the personnel who responded to the call for assistance, including the search dogs.  All will return to their ‘normal life’ back at home, whether it be a full time job as a firefighter or for many of the search dog handlers, going back to that ‘office job’.  As for the dogs, they go back to training and normal every day dogdom of eat, sleep, play, train (play and train since they should be the same thing).

I didn’t go to Haiti, Dunder and I have yet to be certified by FEMA. However, for the past two weeks I have had someone either stop by my office or send me an email  every day asking if I was going to get deployed.  I even had several people call to confirm meetings.  We will hopefully be attempting our FEMA certifications this summer, putting us on the roster to be deployed.  Dunder and I are now wilderness certified so we do respond that way. 

I know several handlers who were/are in Haiti and think about them every day.  In my experience as a search dog handler, there have been multiple day deployments which result in an almost euphoria filled feeling that when you get home, you go through something of a ‘aderinline crash’….meaning that you were so busy, you knew the job you were doing was incredibly important and getting home, back to the routine of your life, is some how a needed relief but incredibly anti climactic.  For me it often results in long bouts of sleep followed with the emotional release of a good cry.  (everyone handles it differently)

Guess what, dogs go through that too. 

In the case of Haiti or any other type of long term deployment, the dog was the center of their handlers attention, getting to go out and search (or for them, play) for hours with their handler, getting the attention of everyone else in the area and even checked regularly by a vet.  They also serve as an emotional balm to victims, other volunteers, the members of their own team and their handler.  Not to mention having the press follow them, random people asking to pet them and in general, being the center of the universe.  When the dog gets home, guess what, it’s back to just them and their handler and the every day routine of ‘just being a dog’.

One of the things as a handler we actually are trained to do, is watch out for ‘depression’ in our dogs.  This has more too do with the dog being so used to the attention, that when they get back home, they think that type of attention should continue.  We have to make sure they have an adjustment period.  In addition to trying to recover ourselves, we also have to help our dogs recover.  One of the best ways for us to make sure our dogs are mentally sharp is to continue to have them work, but to do as many fun things as possible in training.  Keeping up the motivation to train is sometimes very hard when you think no one cares several weeks after that big deployment is over.  We as a nation have a very short memory.  Don’t let these hero’s, whether they have two or four legs, be forgotten.

If you know someone who is a search dog handler or who went on this deployment to Haiti, the best thing you can do is thank them…then ask if you can hide for their dog to do a fun motivational search problem.  Also, thank them, agian in a month, and ask to hide for thier dog, agian.  Many, if not almost all of the handlers that went on the deployment to Haiti from the USA are volunteers, yes even those with the FEMA teams.  Some of the handlers are full time firefighters.  Most are volunteers who put their own personal life on hold to answer the call.  They are adjusting to being home, getting their life back in order, and having someone who will ask to be a victim can be a motivating tool for the handler.

If you are interested in becoming or learning more about becoming a search dog handler, you can go to www.k9handleracademy.com.  You should also spend some time and learn how to be prepared yourself for the type of natural disasters that are common in your area, have supplies stored.

As always, if you have questions, please ask.

Wags,

Robin and K9 Dunder  (NASAR Type I Area Search Team)

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General Preparedness Personal Stories Preparedness Planning

A Survivor of Flight 1549

A dear friend of mine, Matt Kane, was a survivor of Flight 1549.  I asked him to give me his thoughts on his experience.

As a survivor of flight 1549 I believe preparation and emotional control were the key to our survival. It starts with the crew, especially Capt Sully. Their ability to make critical/correct decisions throughout the experience was key to the final outcome. The first thing he and the crew did was face their reality. They were not immune to their fear, but they did not allow it to control them. It was all about the question what is next.  They were able to control the panic and tap into their emotional benchmark.

Both the crew and the survivors of flight 1549 were prepared for the situation. The crews years of experience allowed them to make critical decisions and execution. The passengers were not overcome by fear and panic, but were prepared by inflating lift vests, opening exit doors and existing in an orderly controlled fashion.

I can make these comments with the upmost confidence based on the fact that I  experience this from seat 24 A with water up to my waist before the exit doors were open. We were prepared for the situation, we did not panic and survived.