Map Your Neighborhood: Meeting Follow-Up

NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES:

Do you have a map of your neighborhood boundaries, complete with house or unit numbers, and the locations of gas meters and propane tanks (as applicable)?

Review Step 2 - Protect your head, hands & feet.

Head - by a hard hat or bicycle helmet (this protects against falling debris, like chimney bricks)

Feet - by sturdy shoes (these protect against the most common injury of all - cut feet)

Hands - by leather gloves (these protect against cuts from broken glass and other debris)
It is recommend that we keep these items under our beds so that we always know where they are. It is also a good idea to keep a flashlight or headlamp there (in case the event occurs at night).

Do you have these items for each household member?

Review Step 3 - Shut off the natural gas at your own home.

Shutting off the natural gas and the propane gas eliminates the most common fuel source for many residential fires following disasters, like earthquakes.

To shut off natural gas - turn the valve 1/4 turn
(90°) in either direction (it’s a valve, not a screw) so that the valve crosses the pipe.
It is recommended that everyone have a crescent wrench located right by their meter.

To shut off propane - turn the shut-off valve to the right ("righty, tighty”) until it closes completely.

IMPORTANT:
Only shut off the gas if you smell it (like rotten eggs) or hear it hissing as it escapes broken pipes (or see dials rotating more quickly than normal). And, once the gas is shut off, only a crew member from the gas company should turn it back on. They are the only ones qualified to relight your pilot lights and to inspect your pipes for leaks.

Do you know where and how to shut off your gas meter or propane tank, and have the right tool if required?

Review Step 4 - Shut off the water at the house main.

Shutting off the water at the house will help keep water in the water heater available for drinking, food preparation, and hygiene. If pipes have broken (for example, on the front lawn), gravity may drain the water out of the water heater and toilet tanks. Cracked pipes also may allow contaminants into the water supply.
Shut off the water at the house to protect the water in your water heater, toilet tanks, and house pipes.

NOTE: Shutting off the water at the meter, typically located in a cement box somewhere near the street, requires a special tool and is very difficult to do.

Have you located and labeled your water shutoff, and let everyone in the household know where it is?

Review Step 5 - Post OK / Help cards.

Following a disaster, we will want to help our neighbors who are in distress. Please post the OK/Help card on the front door or in a front window so that it is easily seen from the street. This will help us help those in need first.
First, we will check on those who display “Help” and those who have not displayed a card. Maybe they are hurt and cannot put the card up. Later, we will check on all “OK” cards to make sure that everyone is still okay.
Note: It's a good practice to staple bandaids on the signs so you have a quick way to stick them up when necessary (instead of searching for tape after a disaster).

Do you have Help/OK cards ready, with bandaids stapled on?

Review Step 6 - Put fire extinguisher on sidewalk or street edge.

Fire can be a big problem during times of disaster because the fire department may not immediately be available.
Placing fire extinguishers outside on the sidewalk or street edge makes them visible and available for use in the neighborhood
NOTE: only place them outside following disaster.

Remember: if the fire is too large, do not attempt to put it out. Quickly evacuate.

Review 'PASS':
-Pull the pin.
-Aim at the base of the fire.
-Squeeze the extinguisher handle.
-Sweep the fire from side to side.

Do you have at least 1 fire extinguisher available in your household?

REVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT LIST:

Experience shows time and again that folks who are elderly and those with disability are especially vulnerable during times of disaster. As neighbors, we are their best source of help. Other care takers or loved ones may not be able to get to them for hours or even days. Creating this Contact List will help us remember to check on everyone, even during the stress of a disaster.

Do you have the Neighborhood Contact List, with those who may need extra help clearly identified?

REVIEW the 9 Steps to take Immediately Following Disaster:

Step #1:
First, care for our loved ones. We have done a good job preparing at home, so even though we are a bit shaken up, we are fine.

Step #2:
Protect your head, hands, and feet. We put on sturdy shoes to protect our feet from glass and debris, and a hard hat to protect our head from possible falling objects like bricks, especially once we go outside. We put on leather gloves so that should we encounter sharp or rough debris, our hands are protected.

Step #3:
We go outside and inspect the gas meter. If we can smell the gas or hear it hissing and escaping from a broken pipe, immediately shut it off.

Step #4:
We then shut off our house water at the main house valve located somewhere in the house (not the valve in the cement box). This allows us to trap the water that is in the water heater and to keep it safe from pollutants that may enter through cracked pipes.

Step #5:
Post the OK / Help card from the back of this Handout on the front door or window. Neighbors will know to come and help if we have Help displayed, or if we have no card up. Perhaps we have been injured and are unable to tape it up.

Step #6:
Place our fire extinguisher outside on the sidewalk or the street edge. Make sure these are easily seen. If someone should yell “Fire, we’ve got fire” or if we should see smoke, we will be grateful to have a whole street full of extinguishers. If extinguishers are left on porches, neighbors will not take time to look for them.
We will grab the extinguishers we can see and get over to that fire while it is small enough to safely extinguish it.

NOTE: Steps 1-6 are completed at our individual homes.

Step #7:
It is now time in our disaster response to come together as a neighborhood. The first thing we will do is gather at our Neighborhood Gathering Site so that we know who is available to help. Sure this takes time. But if these few moments are not spent organizing our neighborhood response, we only have chaos in the neighborhood. We need to know who is available to help.
Q: We will meet at: ______?
A: Review this location.

Step #8:
By coming to our Gathering Site, we will be able to assign groups of neighbors to do four (4) critical tasks.
NOTE: We will always go in teams of at least two neighbors. This is for our safety and protection.
One team will stay at the Neighborhood Gathering Site and listen for emergency information on either an AM/FM radio or a NOAA Weather Radio.
-One team will go and check on all those we have identified who need to be checked on immediately.
-One team will check all natural gas meters and propane tanks, using the information from our Neighborhood Map. If they can smell gas or hear it escaping from broken pipes, they will shut it off.
-One team will go door-to-door checking for all Help cards and homes with no cards. They will coordinate giving the help and assistance that is needed. (They should take a first aid kit with them).

Step #9:
When each team has completed its assignment, it will report back to the Neighborhood Gathering Site and give a report of what they have done. As information is shared, the entire neighborhood will know what has happened and what the response has been. If additional help is required, plans can be devised to respond to those needs.

How confident are you about your ability to follow these 9 steps?

You can view a whole series of short videos in the Elements on the right.

These were filmed at an actual MYN Meeting, and make very good review material.