Lesson 67: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed!

(I am not super into cats, it just happens that the cute animal slogan pictures tend to have cats in them.... ok Ruby and Max?)

Last night Tyler was in charge of FHE. We learned about disaster preparedness. We started by watching a youtube video with Raven Samone talking about putting together a 72-hour kit and creating a plan for when emergencies happen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNmgAIYPT4U

Then we talked about what we need to do when something happens. We decided that for a fire my job is to grab the dogs and the phone and Tyler's job is to grab the fire extinguisher outside our apt, in case of a flood Tyler suggested we hang out since we are on the second floor, and in case Mt Rainier erupts we decided to read our scriptures and pray.... We may have a part two to our preparation night.

My favorite part of the evening was holding a run through of what we would do in case of fire. We got into bed in our pajamas and Tyler started beeping loudly to signify the smoke alarm. Since my job was to grab the dogs I scooped up Ruby and missed Max as he took off down the hall following Tyler. After yelling for his help Tyler tossed Max into my arms and I ran down the stairs outside. (Max is about 23lbs so "toss" was more like "heaved"). The only thing we left out was how you are supposed to crawl under the smoke. I forgot about that.

Here are some fire facts from the American Red Cross:

~80% of Americans don't realize that home fires are the single most common disaster across the nation

~Only 26% of families have actually developed and practiced a home fire escape plan

~In 2006, a home fire was reported every 80 seconds, and someone dies from a home fire every 204 minutes

~Sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a home fire by 82%in relation to having neither.

So it is important to be prepared!

Later this week we are going to get our 72-hour kit together