There are many different scenarios where you will need to have an evacuation plan in place to keep everyone safe. It is very reassuring to have an emergency evacuation plan in place to ensure that you are able to get out of a scary scenario.
An evacuation checklist will help to make sure that you do everything in the correct order and don’t miss any stages. So, let’s dive into how to make your own evacuation checklist.
Why Would You Need To Evacuate?
You may need to evacuate your home because of a variety of different events. Below are some examples:
Fires
Floods
Hurricanes
Gas Spills
Chemical Spills
Explosions
Civil Disturbances
There are also many other reasons that you may be required to evacuate your home.
Your Evacuation Checklist For Families
This checklist has been made with families with children in mind. This list presumes the children are of teenage age, and so the checklist may need to be adjusted if you have younger children.
It is very important that you understand the role of the checklist and how it works. It is a good idea to have someone who is in charge of the evacuation checklist and who hands out the tasks and checks that they have all been completed.
This checklist is created in order of importance. The further down the list you go, the less important the task will be. This is in case you have run out of time before you get to the end of the checklist.
To Do List In Case Of An Evacuation
Put your own shoes on, and help others with their shoes if it is necessary. This is the first stage of the evacuation process.
Put any animals into their crates.
Place your bug-out bags into the car. (The definition of a bug-out bag can be found below)
The number of things that you can complete on this list will depend upon the urgency of the situation. Often, you will have a little bit of time to get out of your home. However, as in the case of a fire, you may have very little time.
Once you have everything you need prepared, you should finish off the final actions. You should place all animals in the car, lock all doors and set the house alarm. Then, get everyone in the car and head off!
What Are Personal Items?
Personal items refer to a wide range of things, ranging from photo albums, laptops, toys, and important possessions.
It is a good idea to encourage each member of your family to make a list of around 4 items that they would want to take with them during an evacuation.
This will make it much easier to grab them and leave if you are required to leave quite quickly. It also ensures that if some members of the family aren’t there or they aren’t able to get their items, someone else can get them for this person.
It is very important to ensure that you have all essentials before you start getting your personal items. It must be safe to do so.
What Is A Bug Out Bag?
A bug-out bag is a bag filled with items that will be useful to you when you are evacuating your home. This bag will help you to travel from your home to an alternative location. Usually, the bug-out bag is just one part of your bug-out plan.
Practice Using Your Evacuation Checklist
It is a good idea to do a drill to check that the plan will work as well as you hope. Set aside an afternoon where you can do a run-through of exactly what you would all do if you had to evacuate your home.
When you do this, set a timer and see how long it takes to complete the list. You might find that you have to pack the car in a certain way to ensure that everything fits in.
Doing a run-through of the evacuation checklist and process will help to alleviate stress and panic as well as make sure that you have everything you need when you leave the house.
Evacuation Checklists At Work
When you have to leave your workplace due to an emergency, it is very important for the workplace to have a checklist in place for that exact situation.
This will ensure that, in the case of an emergency such as a fire, you can be sure that both you and your employees know exactly what you should do and how to do it safely and efficiently.
A checklist not only works as a plan, but it also ensures that you don’t miss any steps in the evacuation process and it reduces any risk that is associated. Some steps that should be listed on your evacuation checklist in the workplace are:
You should immediately alert everyone to the emergency.
If needed, you should ring the fire department or the police.
You should close all doors behind you when you leave the building.
You should always stick to the escape route that has been predetermined and head for your specific assembly point.
You should ensure that everyone is present.
You should not reenter the building and report anyone who isn’t present or unaccounted for.
You should alert anyone in the vicinity of any danger that might be involved from coming close to the danger.
Final Thoughts
Now you have an idea of what should be included on your evacuation plan, you should make one up for your family. It is a very good idea to have a checklist to make sure that you can leave your home quickly, without leaving anything essential behind.
Hello, my name is Tim Roth and I have lived in Texas all of my life. I have seen it all - tornadoes, flash floods, and other natural disasters that have come our way.
I have kept a survival kit for all my family members in my basement since I was in my 20s. Every time a new member comes along, I make them a new kit. No one in my family will be caught out in a disaster - I make sure of it.
I teach a survival class at the local hall as well. It’s free for anyone who wants to learn about keeping themselves and their family safe, should the worst happen. We cover how to help children and the elderly, make your own evacuation and survival kits, and much more.
