October 18, 2016,

by Lynn Fisher, Community Preparedness Program Manager, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management

 

Fall is here. Finally. The kids are in school and I can safely drink my pumpkin spice double shot with almond milk and cream latte in peace.

And then this hits my feed, posted on my own work’s Twitter page:

“September is National Preparedness Month. Become Organized and Prepared at the same time #NatlPrep Month” -@PhilaOEM, September 22, 2016

@PhilaOEM, you want me to be Emergency Ready AND Organized at the same time?!

I have to make 4 dozen wheat free, egg free thin pretzels with a half a cheese stick sliced so it looks “fringy” and tied all together with a thin peel of carrot or green onion. These are supposed to look like witches brooms, but they are really broken pretzels, shredded cheese sticks and slimy onion for Amelia’s 1st grade Halloween party tomorrow.

And I need to figure out what to do with Speckles, who can only swim upside down because of his broken swim bladder.

Simple, you say OEM. Organized, you say?

The diaper bag may or may not have a few used wipes in it and I am pretty sure the extra clean underpants are not: extra or clean. I don’t do organized. I barely do ready.

So here is what I CAN do:

  • Have a Go-Bag. Like a diaper bag but actually useful. Use a flash drive and save a copy of my photo ID or license. I have photos of the kids – good photos – not the ones fully covered in applesauce. I saved our emergency contact form to my flashdrive. A flashlight – hide this so that little fingers don’t steal it for the fort building. Extra batteries. A $5 and a few $1s. Snacks – ditto on the hiding from little mouths. Formula, a bottle of water, a few butt wipes and a pull up. Don’t forget the dog.
  • Know where to meet up. Pick a place on the block that we can all go in case of emergency. Maybe it is the playground across the street, or the corner store, or the neighbor 3 doors down’s front porch. Make sure everyone knows where to meet if we get separated.
  • Sign up for ReadyPhiladelphia alerts. Because I want to know what is coming at me. Is it something at the prisons or refinery or a huge thunderstorm with baseball sized hail. I can then decide if we really should go play at the park or not.
  • I already do, but you can follow @PhiladelphiaGov, @PhilaOEM, @PhillyPolice, @PhillyFireDept, @PHLPublicHealth and @Philly311. And the @FreeLibrary, because they are cool and let Samuel check out WAY too many picture books at one time :)

 

**Editor’s Note: This blog was written by a Busy Mom, but posted by a Busy Dad. All information is transferable.

 

Lynn Fisher is OEM’s Community Preparedness Program Manager who takes a break from being a mom by coming to work. Her job is to educate the public on how they can become Emergency Ready. To request a presentation to your community or business organization, email oem@phila.gov

 

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