DAY-TO-DAY PREP #1, THE VENUES

Written by Nick Card

Disaster!  Whether a natural disaster (like a hurricane) or a man-made disaster (like a terrorist attack), we often associate emergency prep with more exotic disasters rather than the more common day-to-day ones we face.

Imagine a typical day: wake up, get the kids out the door, go to work, pick up groceries, meet up with friends, eat dinner, etc.  Then something bad happens.  The laundry room is flooded.  The septic system is clogged up.  We see a small fire in the oven.  The car won’t start.  Our car dies at a light, in a questionable neighborhood.

Most of us would call these emergencies, but we often fail to prepare for them or account for them in our prep strategy.  The good news is that prep can help us overcome day-to-day emergencies too.

PREP STRATEGY 101: DAY-TO-DAY VENUES

In the very first post we discussed emergency prep strategy.  We looked at prioritizing emergencies by likelihood (prep strategy step #1), including those that are devastating, but less likely (prep strategy step #2), and following this up by grouping events by the type of response (prep strategy step #3).  We saw that there are four responses that cover most, if not all, emergency situations.

1. Day-to-Day Preparedness
2. Cyber Preparedness
3. Shelter-in-Place
4. Evacuation

Today we will discuss day-to-day preparedness.  As part of this blog series we will discuss disaster emergencies more later.

For day-to-day emergencies there are two common scenarios.  Day-to-day venues (the house and car) and personages (the body, ours, and family), today we will focus on venues.  Each scenario has a unique way we can prepare for it.  Some of this is likely common sense (which is a good thing), but our aim in this particular post is to show how preparing for day-to-day venue emergencies fit into an overall prep strategy and can either be a strong foundation or the weak link in our emergency prep.

DAY-TO-DAY VENUE #1: THE HOUSE

We begin and end our days at the house, so let’s start our day-to-day prep here.

Some people are blessed with a house that is aged enough the bugs are worked out, new enough there’s no major deterioration, and generally have good luck.  Then there are the rest of us!  We have problems arise often or that are big enough to cause major difficulty in our lives.

How do we prepare for day-to-day house-related emergencies?  First, we list the things we want to go smoothly, and then consider the opposite.  While the list below is not exhaustive, it gives us a good start.  I suggest making your own list that is thorough and specific to your house/condo/apartment.  Further, we want to prioritize the list based on our normal use patterns (i.e., if you cook often then the oven is a higher priority, if you never use the oven, it is lower).

THE HOUSE IS RUNNING SMOOTHLY –> RELATED EMERGENCY:

Here is a list with some examples of smooth operation and potential emergencies:

• Plumbing –> flood, leaks, water damage, mold
• Electricity –> electricity out, electrical short, electrical fire
• Gas –> gas leak, fire
• Heat & cooling works, filters are clean –> no heating/cooling, contaminants spread by dirty/moldy filters
• Structural integrity –> cracks in foundation/support beams, issues with frame/ceiling
• Sewage & trash removal operational –> septic leaks/is plugged, no trash service or dump access
• Ducts & chimney are clean –> chimney fire, no/poor smoke or air ventilation, allergy issue
• Oven is clean & works well –> oven fire, under/uncooked food (food poisoning)
• Fridge/freezer is clean, organized, and cold –> spoiled food, contaminated food
• No sitting water –> mold, water damage

Now that we have a list, let’s look at what supplies we need and actions we should consider.

SUPPLIES FOR THE HOME

When it comes to the house, the first supply we need for most emergencies is money.  A rainy-day fund can help us deal with maintenance, repairs, and damage.  It is generally good to start by saving at least $1,000 to $2,000 (this amount can cover many emergencies, but certainly not all).  Once we have that we can start working towards a more durable rainy-day fund, typically 3 to 6 months of normal monthly expenses is enough.

Some additional supplies we should have on hand are:

• Shelter-in-place supplies (see upcoming shelter-in-place post)
• Evacuation supplies (see upcoming evacuation post)
• Fire extinguisher(s)
• Fire ladder(s)
• Home tool kit
• Cleaning & sanitation supplies
• Air filters
• Insurance (for highly probable emergencies)

Once we have our supplies, we can see what actions might be helpful to take.

ACTIONS TO TAKE FOR THE HOME

Prevention:

When we own a home, we may be aware of many of the ways to prevent an emergency from happening.  Cleaning and sanitizing are two of these very important tasks that help keep us safe.  Thanks to COVID-19, sanitize is a word that more of us are familiar with.  While cleaning helps improve air quality (preventing sickness and allergens) and reduce the chance of fire, sanitizing helps reduce germs and keep them from spreading between family members (who may be sick), from toilets (that can harbor dangerous germs) to eating utensils, from trash or rotten food to fresh food/produce, or even from outsiders to those inside our home.  Cleaning and sanitizing are two different processes (see the course Clean It Like You Mean It); sanitizing requires the use of something harsh enough to kill germs.

• Cleaning
  • Kitchen (oven)
  • Ventilation (ducts, air filter)
  • Chimney
  • Gutters
• Sanitizing
  • Bathroom (sink, bathtub, shower, toilet)
  • Kitchen (sink, counter, fridge)
  • Trash cans
  • High-touch surfaces (knobs, switches, remotes, phones, etc.)
  • Pet’s restroom areas
• Drying
  • Ventilate areas of water sources (bathrooms, kitchen)
  • Physically dry large spills (air drying may not be enough)

Response:

Being able to respond to a house fire quickly and safely is very important.  It is also important for us to consider when a fire is too dangerous so we should instead evacuate.  We will discuss evacuation in a later post.

Separately, when responding to house emergencies we want ourselves and family members to know how to shut off the house’s source of water, electricity, and gas.  This helps mitigate further damage or danger.

Beyond fire response and turning off the source, it is helpful for us to have alternatives available for heating, cooling, cooking, using the restroom, and bathing.  Together this will allow us to be best prepared to deal with common home emergencies that happen from time-to-time.

DAY-TO-DAY VENUE #2: THE CAR

Next, we look at our second home and day-to-day prep venue, the car.

Our car may be the source of an emergency (e.g., a crash or becoming stranded in a bad location).  We may also need our car to respond to an emergency (e.g., evacuation).  To make sure it’s ready to use, we need to properly care for our car.

THE CAR IS RUNNING SMOOTHLY –> RELATED EMERGENCY:

Here is a list of smooth vehicle operations and potential emergencies (this is not exhaustive):

• Stops properly –> brakes worn, air in brake line
• Runs properly –> tire blows out, engine dies, battery loses charge, rough ride (broken engine mount, shocks, etc.)
• Starts –> dead battery, starter broken
• Proper fluid level –> burns, leaks, is low on fluid, broken or loose hose/gasket/seal
• Safety features work/installed properly –> lights, mirrors, horn, defroster, seat belts, air bags, or wipers broken, child car seat installed wrong or broken

Some of these issues may leave us stranded, cause (or fail to prevent) an accident, or lead to more wear and tear.  Below we suggest how to mitigate these concerns.

As with the house, let’s see what supplies and actions we should consider.

SUPPLIES FOR THE CAR

When the car is the emergency, it can happen slow with signs or abruptly.  For example, our lights might be dim and in time our battery doesn’t start leaving us stranded or a tire can blowout while on the freeway.  Often, proper car care can help prevent these emergencies.  However, stuff happens so we need supplies to help us make repairs, get back on the road, and get home safely.

If we break down in an unsafe location (and are unable to move) we should stay in our car and call the police.  Police are better equipped to handle some safety issues, such as traffic control.

• Rainy-day fund (for repairs or damage)
• Car bug out bag
• Road flares/triangles (make others aware)
• Vehicle tool kit
• Food & water supply (one day minimum)
• Road map (e.g., Rand McNally, if our phone is dead and we get lost)
• Car manual (e.g., Haynes or Chilton DIY)
• Blanket (when freezing)
• Towing/roadside assistance (e.g., AAA)
• Insurance (health, car)

Once we have our supplies, we can see what actions might be helpful.

ACTIONS TO TAKE FOR THE CAR

While it is impossible to prevent every car emergency, we can prevent many of them and be prepared to respond if something does occur.

Prevention:

Fortunately, many day-to-day car-related emergencies can be prevented by regular maintenance and inspection.  Whether we personally maintain and inspect our cars or take them somewhere, this is part of proper car care and emergency prep.

• Maintenance
  • Fluids (oil, transmission, etc.)
  • Tires (balance and rotation)
  • Replace filters and wiper blades
• Inspection
  • Brake pads not worn
  • Fluid levels good
  • Windows & mirrors unbroken
  • Horn works
  • Lights work and point in proper direction
  • Wipers work
  • Tire (tread level, even wear distribution)

Response:

To respond to a car emergency we want to have insurance.  Health insurance is important because accidents happen and medical bills can be a major difficulty following an emergency.  Separately, having car insurance can help us get back on the road again after an accident.

Beyond insurance, having a tool kit, a manual, and a good spare tire allows us to handle some repairs.  Another option is to have roadside assistance so we can have our car towed somewhere to be fixed.  Having a rainy-day fund allows us to fix our car promptly.  If we have a child car seat, we need to know how to properly install it in another car and have a plan to get kids home if we need a tow truck.

Go to Day-to-Day Prep Post II or the first post in this blog series, Prep Strategy 101.