Let’s say there is an electrical outage, earthquake or a home fire, are you prepared? In San Pedro any of these situations are possible and it is necessary to have a plan in place to be prepared.
Want to be prepared? Read more about how to stay safe in an emergency by checking out our blog that focuses on local emergency preparedness.
Power Outage
What should you do if there is a short-term power failure?
Stay calm! Go see if your neighbors are also experiencing a power outage, if they are not, most likely, the problem is inside your home. The first step is to check your main fuse box and circuit breakers. Check to see if there is something wrong. Have they blown or tripped? Simply resetting the circuit breaker or replacing the fuse can restore your electricity.
To help ease the stress of power outages, it’s important to keep a good supply of the following items in your home. These items should be placed in a central place, where all family members know where they are, and it’s a place that stays cool and dry.
- Flashlights
- Spare batteries for the flashlights
- Matches
- First-aid kit/supplies
- Candles
- A reserve of water and food
- Battery operated radio and extra batteries
- If there is a child/infant have separate supplies for them.
There is no need to panic in an emergency. When you plan for these situations, you can stay calm.
EARTHQUAKES
In case there are earthquakes, there are steps you can take to ensure the safety of your family, property and self.
Before: If there are large items in your home such as: bookcases, paintings, cabinets, etc... secure those items so that they don’t fall during an earthquake.
During: During an earthquake it is important to minimize your movement, if you are indoors, stay indoors until you are sure it is safe to exit. Remember: Drop, cover and hold on!
After: Once the earthquake has ended and the shaking has stopped, look around you and make sure it is safe to move.
For more information regarding what to do before, during and after an earthquake, check out the following sites.
Earthquake Kits
Earthquakes can leave people in tough situations. Make sure you and your family are prepared with everything you need to ensure your safety by preparing an earthquake emergency kit. There are some readily available for purchase or you can make your own.
Prepackaged Earthquake Kits: QuakeKare, Red Cross
Make your own kit: Red Cross Earthquake Kit List
Additional resources: Home Preparedness
Preparing for an earthquake is easy, but not being prepared can bring about more problems. Stay safe!
HOME FIRES
Do you know where most house fires start? In your kitchen. Kitchen fires are the leading cause of injury from fire.
But guess what? Home fires are preventable. Here are some steps we can take to prevent kitchen fires.
Cooking
- Stay in the kitchen while cooking. If you must step out, turn the stove off.
- When cooking the best clothing you can wear are ones with close-fitting or tightly rolled sleeves.
- If you’re tired, drowsy from medicine, or have been drinking alcohol, do not cook.
- Set a “kid-free zone” that has a 3 feet perimeter around the stove. It’s important to keep kids away from the cooking areas.
- When setting up a grill outside, make sure your grill is at least 10 feet away from the siding and deck railings. Also make sure it is out from under eaves and over hanging branches.