Protect Yourself: Workplace Disaster Preparedness Tips

Each year, the American Red Cross responds to more than 67,000 disasters, including residential fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and more. So the Red Cross knows how disruptive disasters can be. While they can't be prevented, you can be prepared for them and take steps now to reduce their effects. To help ensure your safety at your workplace, the Red Cross urges you to follow these lifesaving and property-saving tips:

1. Find out your responsibilities and your co-workers' roles in the event of an emergency.
2. Familiarize yourself with the company's emergency notification system.
3. Create an emergency communication plan:
   • Choose an out-of-town contact your family or household will call or e-mail to check on each other should a disaster occur. Your selected contact should know they are the chosen contact and live far enough away that they would unlikely be directly affected by the same event.
   • Make sure every household member has that contact's, and each other's, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers (home, work, pager and cell). Leave these contact numbers at your children's schools (if you have children) and at your workplace. Your family should know that if telephones are not working, they need to be patient and try again later or try e-mail. Many people flood the telephone lines when emergencies happen, but e-mail can sometimes get through when calls don't.
4. Know your company's evacuation, shelter and accountability procedures-evacuation drills should be conducted twice a year and make sure you know the meeting location outside your workplace.
5. Learn how to use common emergency equipment including fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and make sure you know where the equipment is kept.
6. Build your own personal workplace disaster supplies kit. To view the contents of a personal workplace disaster supplies kit, click here: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster
   /beprepared/workkit.html
7. Find out more about disaster preparedness at your workplace by reading "Preparing Your Business for the Unthinkable," online at: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster
   /beprepared/busi_industry.html or by contacting your local Red Cross chapter. Find them by visiting www.redcross.org.