IsraelEMS-Home Front Command - Series 2: Family Emergency Supplies

An essential element of the family emergency plan is preparing the family's emergency supplies

Certain types of emergencies, which set in motion one or more of the following scenarios, might oblige the members of the family to deal with the new situation on their own for a considerable period of time.

What are the possible scenarios?

• Damaged infrastructure: Certain emergencies (such as earthquakes) damage infrastructure. Roads are destroyed, electric and phone wires are downed, and water pipes burst. Rescuers might find their access blocked; certainly, their response will be delayed.
• Mass injury event: Emergencies that injure many people put a strain on emergency response personnel (people trapped under rubble, many wounded and dead), and will force the rescuers to triage. During routine times or even during a local emergency, responding to all needs happens simultaneously. However, when the emergency involves many instances of need, rescuers will first deal with the worst cases. Therefore, response time to each home will be longer than normal.
• Isolation and evacuation: Certain emergencies, or the turns they take, may oblige people to isolate themselves (i.e., stay in an enclosed place such as shelters, secure spaces or rooms, or simply at home), in order to protect themselves against shock waves, or to avoid contact with hazardous materials. Other emergencies might oblige people to evacuate (i.e., leave their homes), as the area itself might pose a threat to life. Evacuation might happen suddenly (as in the case of a spreading fire or an event involving hazardous materials), or after some period of isolation, initiated by external factors or by the family itself. Either way, family members will need certain items, so it is best that these be kept on hand and be assembled together in one place.

What these situations have in common is that security forces, emergency teams and rescue services will find it difficult to reach every area, and certainly every home. Preparing “family emergency supplies” will enable survival for 24 to 72 hrs., until help arrives. The warning span of most emergencies does not allow enough time to pack a designated emergency bag. In other cases, such as the firing of unconventional missiles, warning will be given that will make it possible for people to equip themselves accordingly (acquiring sealing supplies, getting personal protection kits, etc.).

What should the emergency supplies include?

As you get ready to prepare the “family emergency supplies,” make sure to include everything you may wish to take (what is necessary for leaving the home for a few days, or, worse, what to save in case of a fire). First, try to meet basic, essential needs. Try to think about the supplies, their contents and storage, in the context of scenarios in which they will serve you: staying at home during an emergency (including extreme scenarios involving damage to the electric and water supplies to your home), or, alternately, equipment to take outside the home (in the case of an evacuation). The following is a list of recommended items that the Home Front Command has formulated together with various emergency and rescue organizations:

• A booklet of directions and contacts: Together with the supplies, keep a copy of the family emergency plan that details the order of actions to take in various types of emergencies, and contact information for both the immediate family and the extended one (including neighbors, friends, etc.).
• Emergency lighting or a battery-operated flashlight (including spare batteries).
• A first-aid kit (including antibiotic cream, painkillers, disinfectant solution, water purification tablets, bandages, adhesive bandages, a tourniquet, a splint).
• A fire extinguisher.
• A battery-operated radio (including spare batteries).
• A change of clothes for each family member. It is recommended that spare clothing be packed in sealed plastic bags. It is also a good idea to include an extra pair of shoes.
• A supply of water. Store minimally one liter of water per family member. There is no need to buy water; it is fine to use the same drinking water you normally use, as long as you prepare it ahead of time. The water in the bottles should be changed once every three months.
• Medications that family members take on a regular basis, including a copy of regular prescriptions, if possible.
• A whistle (for warning).
• A three-day supply of preserved or dried food. It is highly recommended to keep ready-to-eat food (such as snacks, canned goods) in hermetically sealed packages (aluminum or glass utensils).
• Special supplies for children and infants, or for family members with special needs (an activity kit for the children, a spare hearing aid, etc.).
• Identification papers (if these are in everyday use, you may use photocopies), important documents (inoculation records, health organization membership card, insurance policies), and medical documents. It is highly recommended that you keep these in a sealed document bag that will protect the papers from moisture and other damage.
• Any item that the family deems essential in case of a forced evacuation (e.g., an unusually valued item).
• Spare eyeglasses, if possible.
• Matches and candles.
• A multi-purpose knife.
• Items of personal hygiene.

·         How do I store the supplies? – The Emergency Bag

·         The supplies you have gathered should be stored in the secure space or room in the home. It is highly recommended that you choose a bag and store all the emergency supplies in it, to the extent that its size allows for it. Particularly large or heavy objects (such as the fire extinguisher, the water bottles, the emergency lighting) may be stored next to the bag. At any rate, it is recommended that you do not remove them from the secure space or room. In case it is necessary to store the supplies elsewhere, it is important to let all family members know where they are, and even to mark the bag itself.

·         You may organize the bag by the categories listed above (all food/toys/clothing together), or you may wish to divide the bag into family items versus personal bags (in which case a personal bag should contain the individual supplies of one family member). Either way, it is very important to pack as many items as possible that need to be kept dry in sealed plastic bags (instruction booklet, spare clothing, important documents and copies of identification papers).

·         Do not forget to appoint one of you to be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the bag (changing the water and checking the food supply once every three months, periodic  testing of the extinguisher once every six months or according to manufacturer’s directions, checking that batteries and cellular devices are in working order once every six months, updating the documents once a year or based on changes etc.).

·         Write down to include the presentation of the emergency supplies as part of the family talk. (If you have already held the talk, invite family members again.) Present the bag to them, tell them where it is stored, and list the items in it. Make sure to verify that all family members know each item, and know how and when to use it.