A first aid kit is always a good thing to have on hand. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a citizen preparedness guide: Are You Ready? with a checklist of suggested First Aid Supplies. They include: Adhesive bandages, various sizes 5†x 9†sterile dressing Conforming roller gauze bandage Triangular bandages 3†x 3 
Noncompliant ADA Facilities – Playground Access – How would you fix it?
The other day I was visiting a community in Illinois for the day and met a local person who was very excited about the new playground equipment being installed in his neighborhood. He encouraged me to check it out since he said it was the first time the community had upgraded the site since his…
Build a Kit- Flashlight/Batteries – Week 7
Last week, the weather radio we purchased came with a flashlight so we would not need to go out and get another one for our kit. We also all have flashlights on our phones. But with eight people, we figured it couldn’t hurt to get a standard flashlight for our kit. Plus Menards has a…
Build a Kit – Weather Radio – Week 6
This week we are going to focus on making sure we know what is going on during an emergency or disaster to help us make good decisions regarding our safety. Emergency preparedness sites recommend using a weather radio to receive notifications and information about a hazardous event. In researching what to buy I quickly discovered…
Build a Kit – Food – Week 5
Now that we have our water supply, next on the list is food. The suggestion is to store a 3-day supply of non-perishable food for each person. As I mentioned last week, we have eight people in our family. One is younger than two so the portions for him are probably not going to be…
Build a Kit: Water – Week 4
This week we are starting to build our preparedness kit! The first item to collect is water. The suggestion is to have one gallon of water per person per day for three days. In our house, we have 8 people so we need 8 gallons each day and would need 24 gallons for the full…
Collect & Copy Documents – Week 3
At this point, I am aware of my risks and have a emergency plan for my family based on those risk. Now, during this week, I am concentrating on collecting and copying important documents. These are the types that I might need right after a disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a publication…
Make Your Plan Part 6 – Week 2
If you’ve made it this far, you are well on your way to being prepared! And at this point we should be done with the step which included the most work – Making Your Plan. We have one more week of preparing information then we’ll start building our preparedness kit! To help out others, as…
Make Your Plan Part 5 – Week 2
Am I insured for this risk? I’ve added insurance here rather than in a separate step because I believe insurance is part of the planning process. Now that you know your risks, ask yourself if your existing insurance policies cover you for damages due to those risks. You can get insurance for many hazards such…
Make Your Plan Part 4 – Week 2
Part four of making the plan looks at communication: What is my family/household communication plan? For our communication plan, we need to have a list of all important numbers such as those of family members, doctors, emergency services, hospitals, schools, and possibly employers. This list should be kept in paper format by all household members and…