The 6 P’s for Preparedness

In 2019, my wife and I were evacuated in the middle of the night without even an inkling that there was a fire going on! We had lost power that evening, and went to bed not knowing there was a brush fire on the other side of our hill. We were awoken by the fire engine lights and police on the loudspeaker demanding we “leave immediately”!

We grabbed what we could think of in the moment – my medication, our computers, a file box of important papers, and some clothes. We loaded up and left our home within 20 minutes of the abrupt wake-up call. Thankfully, our house was sparred and we could return two days later. However, what we did feel was a sense of not being prepared and unfamiliar with what to take when panic sets in… after all, my wife did not even grab pants for herself!

In the wake of the latest Los Angeles, CA fires, my wife and I, and our daughter, were able to calmly pack our vehicle with the most important items and be rest assured that if we did need to leave, we had it all under control.

As a frame of reference, we utilize the 6 P’s of evacuation:

1. People and Pets – Ensuring everyone, and pets, have a to-go bag prepared and ready when/if the time comes. We have a to-go bin that includes 3 days of clothes and toiletries for each person in the house. It doubles as a camping box for us, so things are in regular rotation so to make sure things do not expire.
2. Papers – Important documents like birth certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, insurance cards, medical records, etc… We have digitized everything onto a terabyte external hard drive. It (along with cash in small bills) stays in a fireproof safe, with a handle for easy carrying.
3. Prescriptions – Medications, eyeglasses, contacts, and anything specific to your needs. In this small container, we also keep over-the-counter pain medication, emergen-c packets, tums, and feminine hygiene products. Even though some of these things can be easily purchased, it is nice to have them readily available when dealing with extreme chaos.
4. Pictures – Irreplaceable photos and keepsakes. Thanks to our phones becoming a photo library, the majority of our photos are already stored on the cloud. However, my wife and I each have a plastic bin that has our photo albums from childhood and some mementos. We have started collecting these items for our daughter, so in an evacuation setting, we could grab these three bins quickly.
5. Personal Computers – Our laptops and hard drives get put away in the same place every night which helps keep things organized and together.
6. Plastic – Credit and debit cards should stay in your wallet, but if you have additional cards that are not used on the regular, make sure to take these in the event you are displaced longer than anticipated. We keep our extra cards in an envelope with our important documents.

These 6 P’s can be used for any emergency – fire, hurricane, flooding, or earthquake.

Some extra tips for emergency evacuations:

1. Keep closed-toed shoes and a flash flight by your bed, or the front door, are important to keep accessible.
2. I like to keep an external battery and our charging cords by my computer which are easy grab items.
3. Keep your car keys by the front door, and if you have time to pre-pack your car, please do so.
4. In the event you lose power, park your car outside of the garage to aid in a quick getaway.

Hopefully, these tips and suggestions will not have to be utilized, but by being prepared in advance, you can rest assured that nothing was left behind!

Stay safe, my friends.

Aaron