Emergency Supplies Blog

A little pre-planning doesn’t make you a dooms-day-ist.  Being prepared could alleviate a whole lot of stress and agravation.  It could even save your life and/or a family members.  If you find you never have to use your emergency supplies its even better yet.  Its kind of like the seat belts in your car.  You put them on just in case, as putting them on after an accident is too late. 

The basic survival kit should be designed to get you through a 72 hour or 3 day period.  This is what the Red Cross and most others suggest.  I believe if you give people the information and knowledge you can put together a nice kit that is unique for each member of your family.

Every time there is a disaster, people are unprepared and they cannot believe what is happening to them.  They then have to wait for State and/or Federal government help or charitable organizations to bring them emergency supplies. 

Condider your own unique situation and take the time to get informed, get a plan, and gather your emergency supplies in advance.

Its smart to find ways to protect your data before an emergency.  Its a good idea to have a copy of your important emergency contact information in your emergency kit. 

Also, your important pictures , financial information, etc… should be secured as well and be portable and/or secured in a second location.  

Below are a few of the most common ways to back up and store your data.

Use a USB flash drive to store your important data.

Put your important dats and pictures on a CD/DVD

Buy an external hard drive and put your data on there.

Use an online backup service.

Update your hand written lists, forms, etc…

If you asked your employer if they are prepared for a natural disaster, emergencies, fires, chemical releases, building lock downs, etc… the common answer would be, well, no, not really.  My experience from being a hazmat trainer would be that you find between 5% to 10 % of offices, schools, etc… are prepared.  My suggestion is to ask your employer, office manager, superintendent, union representative, etc… if they are prepared for emergency and disasters.  It really is their job while you are at work to have all of the emergency gear that will be needed in an emergency or disaster.

Emergency sanitation and hygiene kits may not appear to be important to a lot of people. In a time of crisis, there are more important things to worry about, like where you are going to get your supply of clean food and water or shelter. So spending time to think about where you are going to find things to clean yourself with or where to properly dispose your wastes seem too trivial. But if you are one of the people who think this way, you can never be more wrong. During emergencies, your survival does not only depend on food and water, but also in keeping yourself clean and sanitary. Remember that many people get sick and even die in evacuation camps that do not have proper waste disposal systems. Keeping yourself clean and making sure that your wastes, such as stool and urine, are properly disposed of can prevent the spread of diseases and infections.

Aside from keeping an emergency hygiene and sanitation kit inside your home in preparation for hurricanes, earthquakes or other unwanted incidents, you also need to keep such kit inside your car, van or RV. This is particularly important if you are planning to take your family on a road or nature trip. If you are traveling with your kids, you also need to be prepared for any eventuality. You know that children cannot properly hold their urge to vomit or use the bathroom so you need to be ready or else you have to get used to having funny smell inside your car throughout the duration of the trip.

Now that you know the importance of emergency hygiene and sanitation equipment, the next step is to determine what your kit should contain. First, you ought to make sure that you all have the necessary tools to keep you and your family clean. A personal hygiene kit that contains toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, soap and other cleansing products is necessary for every member of your family. Next, you also need to pay attention to your sanitation needs; you can bring an emergency toilet (especially if you are going camping), self-heating washcloths or hot water on demand, and toilet bags.

Although you can make your own emergency hygiene and sanitation kit, you really do not have to. There are a lot of kits available in the market. We can help see our “Hygiene and Sanitation” category on our web site and click on these kits on our home page. Surely, you will find one that would fit your needs and that of your family.

Bird flue emergency kits should also be a part of the home survival kits of every household in the US and the rest of the world. Although you are probably more likely to experience disasters due to hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding, it does not mean that you should not prepare for whatever might endanger your health. The threat of bird flue becoming a global pandemic is still very much likely, especially now that traveling to different parts of the world can be very easy and fast. Just recently, a representative of the United Nations warned that the threat of bird flue is real and a pandemic might have a bigger impact on the country and the world than the present financial crisis. In the 14th century, the black plague claimed millions of lives all around the globe. This can still happen if the virus responsible for avian flue mutates into something that can enable man-to-man transmission.

The bird flue emergency kits you should keep must contain a particulate respirator because this is your first line of defense against contracting the disease. But studies have shown that not all masks or respirators can be effective in filtering the avian flue virus; thus, you need to make sure that your kit has at least an N95 particulate mask, which can filter at least 95% of airborne particulates. Other important components of an avian flue kit are antiseptic hand sanitizer, to stop the spread of microorganisms, and anti-microbial wipes, which are vital in keeping everything more sanitary and hygienic.

You also need to consider adding to your bird flue emergency kits items like safety goggles, in case there is defogging in your community; hooded coveralls, to cover your entire body; plastic sheeting, which can prevent contaminants from entering your room or home; and nitrile gloves, which helps prevent the spread of diseases. But aside from making sure that you have bird flue emergency kits for every member of your family, you also have to remember that a healthy and strong immune system is necessary to make you more resistant to the avian flue virus.

If you do not know what items to include in your emergency kit, you can use our free information and  you can click on these flu kits on our home. Always remember that even if the threat of a bird flue epidemic in the country is low, you need to prepare your body physically and emotionally for such a possibility.

Terrorism preparedness and kits were not viewed as important in the years before the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York. But right after the incident, people realized that bombings and chemical attacks from terrorists are a real threat not only in the US, but in other countries as well.

Now, you can never be too sure that you will be spared from a terrorist attack even if you live in the countryside. So, the best thing to do is to be prepared for anything, and that means having emergency kits.

All emergency kits, including terrorism preparedness and kits, should contain clean water and food that can last for at least three days and up to three or six months. Even if you get trapped inside your home, you and your family can at least survive for a considerable length of time while rescue is on its way. Aside from food and water, your terrorism emergency kits also need to protect you from the aftereffects of biological, chemical and even, nuclear attacks. You should not take any chances when it comes to your safety and that of your family.

So, what other items must be included in terrorism preparedness and kits? First, you need a gas mask and the accompanying filter cartridge. Make sure that your gas mask fits your face properly. It would even be better if you have a water canteen that can also be used with your gas mask, preferably the same as the ones used in the military. Next, you need to include protective suit, which can guard you from residues and other harmful traces of biological and nuclear attacks. To make sure that your hands and feet are also protected, you can look for boots and gloves that are thick and have silver shield to assure that harmful radiation can not permeate into your skin. If you have young kids, make sure that you have terrorism emergency kits prepared for them as well.

During emergencies like terrorist attacks, communication is very important. Thus, your terrorism preparedness and kits should also include a flashlight, preferably one that does not require batteries, and a crank transistor radio to allow you to know what is happening in the outside world. And apart from the terrorism emergency kits you have for everyone in your family, you should know what to do when the emergency comes. So, as early as now, it might be a good idea to read about survival techniques during terrorism emergencies in books or even in articles available on the Internet and get a basic emergency kit to start.

Triage is defined as the act of prioritizing patient according to the severity of their injuries. The idea behind a triage system is that it allows the medical personnel to treat as many patients as possible in situations where treating them is difficult due to situation, terrain, or shortage of medical personnel. Triage kits and their use are an essential part of the success of any triage operation.  You will want to obtain a basic triage kit to set up your operation.

A triage kit contains a number of items essential to any rescue and medical situation. Safety vests and colored tape to designate the different levels of severity of injury are just scratching the surface of triage kits and the use. The levels of a triage unit are generally minor, delayed, immediate and morgue/deceased. Those defined as having minor injuries obviously don’t need urgent help. Patients who are diagnosed as delayed can wait for transport to a hospital. Those diagnosed as immediate are taken to hospitals right away. For those morgue patients, body bags will be needed. Also included in a triage kit are a book on setting up your triage unit and how to perform common operations.

You will also want to obtain the tools necessary for quick and efficient CPR as well as a portable stretcher or two or three for easy and quick evacuation of the most seriously injured patients. Triage kits and their use are something most of us hope never to need. But imagine the moment arises that your community needs to set up an emergency triage unit and you’re able to help. Nothing will feel more fulfilling in that situation. Being able to contribute supplies such as your trauma kit or solar blankets to keep the patients warm in the field operation will be invaluable to your community in its time of need. 

In most cases of natural disaster situations such as earthquakes, non medical personal will find themselves involved in a type of triage known as S.T.A.R.T. which stands for simple triage and rapid treatment. This is simply designed to identify the injuries quickly and get the most seriously injured to hospitals for full care as soon as possible. That’s why it is important for volunteers to know the ins and outs using a triage kit.

For many people, keeping an emergency kit includes food, bandages and batteries.  During these times of high stress, people also forget that they have important documents such as social security cards, insurance papers and things of that nature.  Here’s a list of items that should be included in your emergency supplies  such as family records, medical records, wills, deeds, social security number, charge and bank accounts information and tax records, including copies of other important documents.

• Have copies of your medical insurance and Medicare cards readily available.
• Keep a list of the style and serial number of medical devices or other life-sustaining devices. Include operating information and instructions.
• Make sure that a friend or family member has copies of these documents.
• Include the names and contact information of your support network, as well as your medical providers.
• If you have a communication disability, make sure your emergency information notes the best way to communicate with you.
• Keep these documents in a water proof container for quick and easy access.

The thing we found out when we did a practice complete building evacuate was that we were missing proper traffic control people and tools, both in the building and out in the parking lot.  If it had been dark the sitauation would have been even worse.    People tend to panic in an emergency situation and proper crowd control in the building and in the parking lots is key in a total evacuation situation. 

What we did was to enlist more floor captains and we supplied each floor with emergency wands and lantern flashlights.  The wands work great for directing people and cars and really what you want to get is the biggest flashlight or lanters you can find.    Get your emergency lighting before you need them.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), more than 1.6 million fires were reported in the United States of America in 2005, and they caused about 3,700 civilian deaths and 18,000 injuries. In addition, for years from 2002-2004 an estimated yearly average of 166 deaths from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning exposure that had nothing to do with fires.I think one of the most important emergency preparedness ideas is to get a good carbon monoxide detector combined with the smoke detection feature and replace your batteries annually.  Approximately 97 percent of U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm—according to a national telephone survey.  Nevertheless, without fresh batteries the alarms won’t work when it is time to sound a life-saving warning. Another potential problem, and another good reason to check smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms annually, is that environmental contamination and age will cause the sensors in alarms to degrade and become less effective over time.   Its a fact that millions of Americans are without adequate protection from fire and carbon monoxide because the alarm’s battery is dead or the alarm is too old, alarms don’t last forever, and old ones need to be replaced.”

Tips to Help Prevent Fires and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
The CPSC advises all consumers to remain vigilant against fires and carbon monoxide poisoning, and recommends three simple tips to help you protect your life, your loved ones, and your home: