Disaster Preparation Contest

Fremont Fire Department Personal Emergency Preparedness (PEP Training ) Disaster Preparations Contest

(This training is free and you can arrange for the fire department to come in and train your church or other group on Disaster prep/taken from the PEP brochure)


Who can participate:

For Anyone who wants to get prepared for a disaster, if you already have everything prepared, you are ineligible. You are on your honor that you completed all 24 sections.

How to Win:

Once you have made your preparations, give Laurie Monahan a call at 510-543-7593

2 Prizes for first 2 people to complete their emergency preparations:

25 lb bag of wheat
25 lb box of macaroni

Remember to rotate food and water every six months. All food items listed are one per family member.

Week 1

Grocery Store
1 gallon of water per family member
1 jar peanut butter
1 large can juice per family member
hand-operated can opener

Remember 1 gallon of water per pet
Also: pet food, diapers, and/or baby food if needed

To Do

Make a family plan, such as where to meet if there's an earthquake, fire, or other emergency. How to turn off the gas if there is a rotten egg smell. Out of State contact phone numbers to relay messages when you can't connect in-state.

Week 2

Hardware Store
Crescent Wrench for turning off gas
Heavy Rope
Duct Tape (for sanitation and for repairing windows)
2 Flash lights
Bungee Cords (to secure garage cupboards and other uses)

Buy a leash or pet carrier if needed

To Do

Check your house for hazards such as shelves that need to be secured from falling, heavy items stored high on shelves, chemicals should be stored in rubber containers under sink and in garage so they won't spill in an earthquake and create chemical hazards

Week 3

Grocery Store
1 gallon of water per person/pet
1 can of meat
1 can fruit
sanitary napkins
video tape

Also: buy more petfood, diapers/baby food if needed

To Do:

Use videotape to tape the contents of your home
Store tape with family/friend who lives out of town

Week 4

Hardware Store
plumber's tape
crowbar
smoke detector with battery

Also: All extra medications or a prescription marked emergency use if needed

To Do:

Install or test your smoke detector
Tie water heater to wall studs using plumbers tape

Week 5

Grocery Store
1 gallon of water per person
1 can of meat
1 can fruit
1 can vegetables
2 rolls toilet paper
extra toothbrush
travel size toothpaste

Also: Special Food for Special Diets if needed

To Do

Have a Fire Drill at Home

Week 6

First Aid Supplies

aspirin or acetaminophen
compresses
rolls of gauze or bandages
first aid tape
adhesive bandages in assorted sizes

Also: Extra hearing aid batteries if needed

To Do

Check with your child's day care or school to find out about their disaster plans

Week 7

Grocery Store
1 gallon water per person
1 can ready to eat soup (not concentrate)
1 can fruit
1 can vegetables

Also: extra plastic baby bottles, formula and diapers, if needed

To Do

Establish an out-of-state contact to call in case of emergency

Week 8

First Aid Supplies
scissors
tweezers
antispectic
thermometer
liquid hand soap
disposable hand wipes
sewing kit

Also: extra eye glasses if needed

To Do

Place a pair of shoes and flashlight under your bed so that they are handy during an emergency,
(glass can fly 15 feet-close curtains/blinds at night/place sticky dark tinting on backs of mirrors)

Week 9

Grocery Store
1 can ready-to-eat soup
liquid dish soap
plain liquid bleach
1 box heavy-duty garbage bags

Also Saline solution for contacts if needed

To Do

Send some of your favorite family photos to out of state contacts for safe keeping

Week 10

Hardware Store
waterproof portable plastic container with lid
portable am/fm radio with batteries

To Do

Make photo copies of important papers and store safely

Week 11

Grocery Store
1 Large can juice
large plastic food bags
1 box quick energy snacks
3 rolls paper towels

Also: Sun screen if needed

To Do

Store a roll of quarters for emergency phone calls, locate a pay phone near your home with your family

Week 12

First Aid Supplies
anti-diarrhea medicine
rubbing alcohol
2 pr latex gloves
ipecac syrup and activated charcoal for accidental positing
Children's Vitamins

To Do

Take your family to gas meter and water meter shutoffs and demonstate which direction to turn off if there were an emergency

Week 13

Hardware Store
whistle
ABC Fire Extinguisher (fights all types of fire-check to make sure you have ABC)
pliers
vise grips

To Do

Take a first aid/CPR Class

Week 14

Grocery Store
can fruit
can meat
can vegetables
1 package paper plates
1 package eating utensils
1 package paper cups
adult vitamins

To Do

Make a plan to check on a neighbor who might need help in an emergency

Week 15

Hardware Store
extra flashlight batteries
maksing tape
hammer
assorted nails
flexible or L brackets to secure tall furniture
wood screws

To Do
brace shelves and cabinets

Week 16

If you get this far, contact me or your local fire department for a brochure!

Sanitation in an Emergency

In an Emergency, it is a very good idea to have a lot of plastic bags and duct tape. You can use plastic bags to repair holes in windows and also to make a toilet if the water is turned off.

Use one garbage bag and tape in place as an insert to your toilet. Then use another bag every day to catch refuse, twist and tape shut in the evenings and store outside until it can be properly disposed of.

Grief, Depression, and Anxiety

(Steps to Get Out of It and Avoid It)

“Man is that he might have joy.”

“Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.” Ensign Oct 2009

Five Stages of Grief: 1) denial, 2) anger, 3) bargaining, 4) depression, and 5) acceptance

Burns book; “Feeling Good” hot new field in psychology is ‘cognitive therapy’ which deals with helping people change the way they think will pull them out of depression or anxiety.

Part of Burns List of 10 Cognitive Distortions:
1) Black and White Thinking, no shades of gray, throwing in everything and the kitchen sink

2) Svengali-problems multiplying, it happened once, so it can happen again

3) Fortune Telling Error: predicting the future in a negative way

4) I should or I have to—we are not slaves, we choose to…

5) We think we are entitled to have perfect health, or perfect relationships, or the perfect job

Exercise is as effective for minor to moderate depression as medication.

Focus on Fun not your problems, then they come into perspective.

When you have a problem, only spend a limited amount of time strategizing how to address it, then take the rest of the time off so you don’t become exhausted.

Serve someone less fortunate than yourself, also brings your own problems down to size.

Pray for peace-very good advice I received from a friend of mine who had breast cancer, and it really worked for me.

Refilling yourself with things you enjoy regularly instead of just always giving makes you more able to give in the future. We can become depressed simply by doing too much work and no play.

Living within Our Means

"One of the better ways to simplify our lives is to follow the counsel we have so often received to live within our income, stay out of debt, and save for a rainy day. We should practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality. Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it."
L. Tom Perry, "Let Him Do It with Simplicity, Ensign," Nov. 2008, 9
Topics: Financial Management

The Difference Between Wants and Needs

“We should regularly review our family income, savings, and spending plan in family council meetings. This will teach our children to recognize the difference between wants and needs and to plan ahead for meaningful use of family resources.”
Robert D. Hales, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually,” Ensign, May 2009, 9

Financial Planning

Robert D. Hales, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually,” Ensign, May 2009 “Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet’ (Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts.”