Personal and Family Preparedness

It is important that your entire family is prepared and informed during a disaster or emergency event. You may not all be together when these events take place and you need to have a plan in place to be able to contact and find each other. When creating a household emergency plan, include information on the following points:

• Determine the best ways to evacuate your home in case of an emergency;
• Make sure adults and older children know where fire extinguishers, water, electric and gas utilities are located;
• Make sure everyone in the house knows the location of your emergency kit;
• Keep important documents in water/fire proof container and when evacuating bring this with you;
• Establish a safe place for your family to meet outside your home and outside your neighbourhood;
• Establish an out-of-town contact person – make sure the designated person knows they are your family contact. Provide a printed version of the contact information for each family to carry with them at all times;
• Include a plan for evacuating your pets;
• Practice your evacuation plan frequently.
• If you can’t evacuate your home, prepare to be self-sufficient in your home for three days (or seven to 10 days in a health emergency);
• If a member of your family has special needs that would require extra assistance, include those details into your family emergency plan and emergency kit;
• Know the plans for your workplace, school, community centre, etc. in the event a disaster happens when you are not at home;
• Know your neighborhood so you can work with your neighbors to identify people who may need extra help, or who you can turn to for help;
• Identify your community’s emergency plan, evacuation routes and emergency shelter locations.

Your fire escape plan should include the following points:

• Have working smoke alarms on every level of the home, and near all sleeping areas;
• Draw a map of the home with all household members and mark two ways out from each room and a path outside from each exit;
• Practice a home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with the entire household and practice using different ways out;
• Teach children how to escape on their own in the event an adult cannot be present;
• Make sure home numbers are clearly marked and easy for the fire department to locate;
• Close all doors along the escape route – this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire;
• Never go back inside a burning building. Once outside, remain outside!

A Shelter-in-Place Order will be issued if the Village of Valemount determines that it is unsafe for you to leave your property. This could be due to roads being closed, toxic railway spills or power outages. With Shelter-in-Place, your emergency kit supplies will still be needed, but you will need to take extra measures to protect yourself, such as turning off the ventilation system and sealing windows and doors with thick plastic and duct tape. An Evacuation Order may still be issued after a Shelter-in-Place Order if the danger escalates.

Things To Do To Shelter-In-Place:

• Go indoors and stay there;
• Close all outside doors and every door inside the building;
• Close all windows;
• Do not use kitchen or bathroom vents;
• Set thermostats so air conditioners, furnaces and hot water heaters will not come on;
• Do not use fireplaces. Close all dampers;
• Do not operate the clothes dryer;
• Stay in an inside room away from windows and doors if possible;
• Reduce or avoid smoking as it contaminates the air;
• Do not leave the building until told to;
• Stay tuned to local television or radio for information;
• Do not use the telephone, leave the phone lines open for emergency

Shelter-In-Place Kit
In addition to your emergency kit, you will need the following items:

• Plastic sheeting (pre-cut to size, to cover any windows & doors and labelled);
• Duct tape for sealing cracks around doors and windows;
• Alternate lighting, in the event of a power outage (i.e., candle free lanterns, flashlights, headlights (keeps your hands free), batteries, and light-sticks).

This bag is a smaller version of an emergency kit that you keep at work or in your vehicle in case you need to immediately evacuate and are unable to retrieve your 72 Hour Emergency Kit. The bag should include:

• Ready to eat food (granola bars, crackers, etc.) and water
• A phone charger
• A radio with extra batteries
• A first aid kit
• A copy of your household emergency plan and important documents
• Seasonal clothing and footwear
• A flashlight, and
• A whistle