EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DAY

We were invited to attend a Youth Emergency Preparedness day that was put on by an older girl scout who was earning her Gold Award.

It was a great way to support our fellow girl Scout sisters as well as learn how to prepare for an emergency.

When we first got there we took a few minutes to read some of the Silver Awards other girl scouts worked on.  It was a good way to get some ideas about what type of projects other girls have done.

We then found our way to our seats and soon the class was started.

There were speakers from the Police Department, Fire Department and a local Animal rescue.

Each told us ways to get prepared and what to do should an emergency should happen.

Here the Police Officer is showing us how to turn off the gas.  We also learned that the gas should NOT be turned off after an emergency unless gas is smelled.  Otherwise, it could take a week or longer for the Gas Company to come out and turn it back on.  Once you shut it off, the only way to get it back on is if the Gas Company turns it on.  You can not do it yourself.

We also were shown how to turn off the water in case of a flood or the pipes backing up.  It's ok to turn the water off whenever you want because you can turn it right back on.

It was recommended that everyone have their parents show them where the gas, water and electric meters are so the girls can know where to go in an emergency. 

We also were told it's very important to have enough food and water for all family members to last a week.  Everyone needs to have at least one gallon of water per person and pet per day.

It's also important to be prepared to take care of your pets.  Have a collar on them with your info in case it should get lost.  Have a picture of them in case you need to go find them at a shelter. 

Be sure to have all your emergency contact numbers including your vet written down and kept together.  You may not be able to get to your phone or the battery could die out and no one remembers numbers any more.

We learned how to put out a grease fire, what to do in an Earthquake and how to be ok if the electric goes out for a few days.

An important thing for all families to do is to do a fire drill.  Everyone should know where to meet up in case there is an emergency.  It seemed like everyone did them at school and work places but no one did the them at home.

We also were shown a tool that should be kept by the gas meters so you can turn them off easy.  You can get them at Home Depo for around $6.00.  It was also recommended that everyone paint the shut off knob red so it's easy to find in an emergency and you are scared.

While I can't say it was fun day really, I can say it was full of information that everyone needs to learn and be reminded about. 

On the way home we all talked about what things we learned and I even quizzed the girls about different things to see if they remembered what was said.  They all knew the answers and I was very proud of how well behaved they were. 

I'm so lucky to have such great girls in my troop!  I've watched them grow up over the years and have noticed they are all very kind hearted girls that really do want to do the right thing.  They are super!