Emergency Preparedness: Natrual and Human-Generated Disasters

Dana Helton
EDUC 1005-1: Professor Eissler
September 20, 2009

The type of building I worked in was a childcare center for ages 6 weeks to 5 years old and it is located in a rural area in Pennsylvania where very little disasters happen. I will choose winter storms and fire to talk about. Everyone in the center should be helping to gather information about previous disasters and then have a group discussion and start to prepare an evacuation plan. Being prepared is always the best option. The safety of the children and staff are the most important thing to remember, in any situation (Robertson, 2007). Preparedness is key to safety and survival. We must also allot for children who may have a disability. We must come up with the best way to get every child out of the building when an emergency occurs. This entails giving certain jobs to certain people so there is no confusion when an emergency occurs.

The first disaster I will talk about is winter storms. The first few things that should be done before a storm hits is winterizing everything so no cold air comes in because the heat and electricity may be shut off and everyone must be as warm as possible. Clear rain gutters, repair roof leaks, insolate the pipes and walls, have rock salt, lots of blankets, sand, shovels, lots of water and food in case we are stuck inside for a long time, and if there are trees that may fall into the building they should be cut down (FEMA, 2009b). Another important thing to do is make sure every class has their children’s emergency forms in one place which is in close proximity to them, so when a storm approaches each teacher can call the parents to tell them to come pick up their children because you have to close due to the storm’s severity. Hopefully each parent comes quickly so no one is stranded in the center. We could involve the families by asking them to bring in supplies that we may need in case we are stuck inside for days. Parents could also have discussions with their children about storms. I would rather be over prepared then not prepared enough. I was always taught to be safer then sorry, so this is my approach on life. If we catch the storm and its severity soon enough then we can ask that the parents come pick up their children so they can be safe with their parents at home.

The second disaster is fire. The best practices to take to ensure the safety of everyone is to make sure there are working smoke detectors in each room except the kitchen. Also make sure that you change the batteries at least every six months (FEMA, 2009a). The sooner we know there is a potential fire the better our chances are of escaping safely. We should have a fire extinguisher and a telephone in every room. Another important factor for safety is to have an evacuation plan drawn up and placed at every doorway. This plan will only work if everyone is aware of the plan and remembers to practice and have fire drills often. Lets face it young children forget so we must keep reminding them because evacuating fast is the key to everyone’s survival. I also believe that reading books and researching fires on the computer with the children will help them to realize the importance of getting out of the building as safe as possible.

Having fire fighters come in to the center is another good way to show children how to stop, drop, and roll. It is important not to open a door if the handle is hot because the fire could be right on the other side of that door. Seeing fire fighters dressed in their uniform is also a good idea. Many children would be scared to go to someone who was dressed up in all the apparatus that they wear. If children see them before an iccident occurred then they would not be so scared. Our main concern is to make sure children are not afraid of a disaster happening (Robertson, 2007). Our textbook also says that we must be truthful and answer children’s questions but we should only answer what they asked nothing more. We are not supposed to give too much information because then the children will be too scared and this is not what we want. We must be calm and get out as fast as we can. Another major problem I saw in the childcare facility I worked at was too many children always took off their shoes. This is bad because if there is a fire and we have to evacuate quickly the children could step on glass, a nail, or any debris that is on the ground; which can hurt children badly. We must teach children to leave their shoes on because of the dangers on the outside. There is no time to stop and put shoes on because the fire can injure or even kill us if we stay inside. Another thing teachers need to do is make sure that all the children’s emergency contact forms are all in one place and easily accessed in case we must evacuate fast. Ways that the family can help would be talking to them about fire safety and having them practice fire drills at their house. The more knowledge and preparedness everyone has the better chances we have of staying alive.


Resources


FEMA (a) Website on Fire Precautions. (2009, June 4). What to do before, during, and after a fire. Retrieved on September 18, 2009, from, http://www.fema.gov/hazard/fire/fire_before.shtm


FEMA (b) Website on Winter Storms. (2009, June 4). What to do before, during, and after a winter storm. Retrieved on September 18, 2009, from,
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/winter/wi_before.shtm


Robertson, C. (2007). safety, nutrition, and health in early education. 4th ed. Wadsworth, Belmont, CA