Sunday, March 20, 2011

Weekend Assignment #362: Emergency!

Weekend Assignment #362: Emergency!

How prepared are you for emergency situations? Do you know how to do CPR? Does your home or business have an evacuation plan or do fire drills? Do you have a generator, duct tape, candles, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, sandbags or other emergency supplies on hand? Why or why not?

Extra Credit: Does your smoke detector (if you have one) have fresh batteries in it?

Eh.  Sorta.  About a million years ago, I was certified to do CPR. Lapsed.  Which doesn't sound that bad to me since I understand the experts are in the process of arguing the best method again.

Certainly my office has procedures and drills and we have been working seriously on a Business Continuity Plan.  We were asked to set operational priorities.  After making sure people are safe, and we can communicate, my priorities were:  Payroll first, health insurance second, 401(k) third.  This was my contribution:

"Just get me access to the Internet."  

As long as we have Internet, we can keep payroll operating, keep BCBS paid, and maybe even keep up the 401(k) contributions.  So someone asks what I would do if there was just no Internet.  I turned to the committee chair and asked:

"What kind of disaster would have to occur for there to be no Internet in Chicago, Columbus or Washington, DC? (the latter cities being the alternate work sites under discussion)"

"A nuclear event," was the answer.

Some things we just can't plan for.

We don't have a generator at my house, although the sump pump has a battery back up.  We have the first aid kits and candles and bottled water.  The fire alarm is part of the security system.  But the extent of our planning is how to get all of our pets out of the house in case it is on fire.  

I think the bottom line is that if there were a big-deal emergency event, we would survive.  But it would be expensive.

2 comments:

Karen Funk Blocher said...

I suppose if half the country blew up then running payroll would be the least of your worries. I think there's probably a distinction to be made between being prepared for reasonably likely, potentially survivable emergencies and the extremely unlikely , unthinkably horrific ones. As you said, some things can't be planned for.

Sandrine said...

I know what you mean about pets.The time we had a fire in the building, we left the fish and the turtles behind. Our flat was fine so they were unharmed, but I didn't feel too good about the possibility of coming back to charred fish and turtle! Or explaining it to the children.