EIS-Emergency Information Sheet or ECC-Emergency Contact Card?

What is an EIS or ECC?

Both are in case of a crisis, emergency or disaster. The only difference is that one contains more information than the other. This additional information is not only for you, it is also in case you are unconscious.

An EIS or Emergency Information Sheet, is a sheet of paper containing basic vital information on YOU. It holds your personal contact information, emergency contacts information, your medical information, rendezvous locations (public knowledge only, not private household) and any information on your pets.

This sheet of paper can be found in paper size for Documentation Books or the paper can be folded to, almost a credit card size, for easy “storing”.

An ECC or Emergency Contact Card, is a credit card sized Identification card that contains your basic information, emergency contacts and some even have your vehicle and health care insurance providers and or policy numbers.

Do I need an EIS or an ECC?

If your immediate family and or closest friends are scattered around the city, state or country, etc.; an EIS is better suited to your needs than an ECC.

Who Should Have One and Where Should It Be?

Every family household member should have at least one each. These can be kept in wallets, purses, glove boxes, go-bags, documentation books, briefcases, diaper bags, pet backpacks or go-bags, boat tool box and the like.

You can store and protect it from the wear by placing in a freezer grade zip lock bag or add to your ID or passport cases.

Where can I find these forms?

Many web sites, including insurance companies and government sites, as well as quite a few preparedness sites, have downloadable PDF’s for Emergency Contact Cards. Some sites have Emergency Communication Cards or Sheets and some have various Emergency Information Sheets.

Now that my emergency contacts are scattered all over the place, local to international, my family and I utilize an Emergency Information Sheet that I created that folds into slightly larger than a credit card in size. My adult children and I keep one in our wallets, purse, glove box, go-bags and in our Documentation Books.

Since my Preparedness Plan and drills have me locating the Key Crisis Assessment Questions as the first step immediately following a crisis, I also have these questions on this sheet. Nothing like everything in one place for quick and easy access during a crisis!

Here are some links to these various forms, including the EIS my family and I use:

• To see more detail on the different cards see: EIS-Emergency Information Sheet or ECC-Emergency Contact Card? http://www.scribd.com/doc/51414077/EIS-Emergency-Information-Sheet-or-ECC-Emergency-Contact-Card
• EIS – Emergency Information Sheet http://www.scribd.com/doc/51411885/EIS-%E2%80%93-Emergency-Information-Sheet
• ECC Family Communication http://www.mdod.maryland.gov/uploadedFiles/MDOD/Resources/Emergency_Preparedness/related_publications/Communication%20card.pdf
• Family Emergency Plan Child http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/fep_download/FamEmePlan_Child.pdf
• Family Emergency Plan http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/EmergencyPlan_REV6.pdf
• Emergency Contact Card http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/Preparedness/ECCard.pdf
• Emergency Communication Cards for Your Family http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/AboutUs/Programs/pdfs/pr_freddie_p007.pdf
• Emergency Plan Cards http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/Research/GR/hand/e/Family_Plan_Cards.pdf
• Emergency Reference Card http://www.justincasearizona.com/resources/DHS00075%20RefSheet.pdf
• Emergency Plan Cards http://www.texasprepares.org/English/emergency_plan-cards.pdf Emergency Wallet Cards Only http://www.texasprepares.org/English/wallet_cards.pdf
• Emergency Contact Card http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Emergency_Contact_Card.pdf
• Family Communications Plan http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/family_communications_plan.pdf
• Pets Emergency ID Cards http://www.2ndchance4pets.org/idcards.pdf

"What we anticipate seldom occurs;
what we least expect generally happens."
Benjamin Disraeli

Prep On ;-}

TNT

Step Eleven: Going Mobile - How to Make a Preparedness Plan that Works & Not Go Broke

"Despair is most often the offspring of ill-preparedness”
Don Williams, Jr
American Novelist and Poet, b.1968

Step Eleven: Going Mobile

No one wants to be mobile during a crisis or have to vacate their home either. However reality and logic tell us that we may very well need to be mobile at some point during a crisis, if for no other reason than to get to our retreat.

Since our Crisis Plan needs to balance some basic human traits it must consider the worst possible scenario when it comes to mobility:

• We are not home when the crisis occurs or must vacate our retreat
• Our usual route is not available
• Our usual modes of transportation are not available – we are On Foot

Suddenly that 5 to 10 minute drive from the grocery store to home is a 5 mile long obstacle course. To all of you in the prime of your life, this may not seem like much, but to the rest of us this is a life threatening gauntlet!

If we prepare and plan for this worst case scenario, then we reduce this major hit to our survivability quotient. By planning for the worst here we can even increase our survivability quotient when luck is on our side and we can use our vehicles, usual routes and don’t have to walk!

Think about it: It is far easier to adjust a plan that has us on foot for a “good case” scenario where our vehicles and routes are available … Than it is to adjust a plan that has our vehicles and routes available and then we are faced with the “worst case” reality of being on foot!!

Think of football teams; they not only practice the passes and running plays; they also practice what to do to minimize the fumbles and interceptions too. The really good teams do this almost instantaneously and seamlessly so that they rarely get a major hit from the fumble or interception.

Failure to accept and plan for this IS hazardous to your health and MAY cause injury or death!

The next few steps will be a brief overview of some things we can do to help us through any worst case mobility scenario. (Go-Bags, Supply Storage, etc.)

Prep On ;-}

TNT

10 Essentials For Preparedness

These are back to back in a PDF document for an easy one sheet handout. You can download it at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/50950295/10-Essentials-Checklists-Actions-Supplies-Items-Be-Wise-Evac-Kit-EspfocusORG-BepreparedHoustonCOM-Vr-2

Checklists for

• 10 Essential Actions
• 10 Essential Supplies
• 10 Essential Items

From: espfocus.org (LAFD Emergency Survival Preparedness)

Evacuation Kit Items (in pictures)

From: BePreparedHouston.com

Today is the Tomorrow that you worried about Yesterday

TNT

Step Ten: Key Assessment Questions for Survival - How to Make a Preparedness Plan that Works

Step Ten: Key Assessment Questions for Survival

"The will to win is not nearly as important
as the will to prepare to win.”
Edward W. Smith

The faster you can assess the status of these questions, the faster you act and do; the less whacks you take to your survivability quotient and the less time it will take you to round up your household and/or get to a crisis retreat.

Time is of the essence!

There are about three (layman) emotional phases we humans go through when confronted with a crisis:

Shock – The deer caught in the headlights. We are immobile and not responding to what is around us.

Denial – We have spent so much time convincing ourselves that this can’t or won’t happen; that when it actually does we don’t accept it. Our illogical brain says this can’t be real while our logical brain tells us it is. The end result is that we still have not done anything to help ourselves (we are our own worst enemy) even though we are conscious of what is going on around us.

Action – We accept what has happened and start to take steps to get us out of it and protect ourselves.

The goal is to get to the Action Phase in two minutes or less.

Copy & shrink this down and put on the back of your Emergency Contact Card for your wallet or purse, place a copy in the glove box of your vehicles, have a copy of this in each go-bag and keep one in your Documentation Book/Binder to jog your memory in a Crisis.

My Crisis Drill starts with pulling the closest copy of this checklist out. This way in a crisis I only have to remember to do one thing and it then sets me off on doing the others in the shortest time possible.

These are not prioritized, as that can vary on the crisis at hand. Most can be addressed concurrently. The bottom line is to answer and act on these questions as quickly as possible.

Immediately after a Crisis Occurs Quickly Determine the Following:

Food – Where and when can I get nourishment and how soon do I need it?
Water – Where and when can I get drinkable water and how soon do I need it?
Shelter/Clothing - Am I protected from the elements?
Illness or Injury needs – Am I or anyone else injured?
Safety/Defense/Security – Am I in danger and if yes, from what?
Where is everyone and where am I?
Bug-out or Stay Put (mobile or static). Do I stay here and wait for help or do I set out towards my retreat?
Basic Tools to achieve & maintain the above necessities to life. (Leatherman and Swiss Army knives or other multi-functional tools and the like)

Emergency Contact Card-ECCard http://www.scribd.com/doc/34036777/Emergency-Contact-Card-ECCard-Red-Cross-Org
When Do You Bug-Out or Stay Put? http://www.scribd.com/doc/31422226/When-Do-You-Bug-out-or-Stay-Put

Next week we will discuss Mobility Issues …

Pray for Japan and Prep On ;-}

TNT

Step Nine: Assemble Your Documentation Book/Binder - How to Make a Preparedness Plan that Works

“There's no disaster that can't become a blessing,
and no blessing that can't become a disaster”
Richard Bach

Step Nine: Assemble Your Documentation Book/Binder

Unless you live in a hurricane zone or the like, one never really plans to have to evacuate! Yet a house fire is just one example of the unexpected that could cause an evacuation.

If a crisis is severe enough to require leaving your primary residence/retreat you can bet you will not have the time to run around and collect this information, nor can you count on the banks, etc being available to retrieve this information from in a timely fashion.

You could very well need this book to rebuild your life quickly!

This holds all important information on you and yours; property, family members, medical info (animals, pets, livestock too), inventory of goods, supplies, knowledge, skills and possessions, phone numbers/contacts, etc. (See the supplies listed in Prerequisite Five and the document items listed in Prerequisite Six.)

The Documentation Book can also have a section for Checklists for the more common caused crises or a list of your Secret Communication Symbols. It can also be used to keep an inventory of your preparedness goods and where they are located, along with a copy of your preparedness plan, the Who, What, When, Where calendar/map, potential recipes on using your food stores and the like.

You might even want a trusted relative that does not live in your area, to have a “trimmed down” copy of this book (minus the detailed personal finance info, etc.).

Nothing like having all the required information an insurance company needs to get your home back and your life on track again in a timely fashion. This book is designed to increase your survivability quotient and has the potential to shorten the duration of some crises.

Preparing Your Emergency Documentation Book/Binder http://www.scribd.com/doc/31215099/Preparing-Your-Emergency-Documentation-Book-Binder

Next week is about some vital questions to assess immediately after a crisis occurs …

TNT

Step Eight: Secret Communications - How to Make a Preparedness Plan that Works

“A person who has never made a mistake
has never tried anything new.”
Albert Einstein

Step Eight: Secret Communications

Decide on some sort of code, sign or symbol to use at your rendezvous spot.

• This communication signal is not something that just anyone can stumble upon and understand. It could be as simple as a symbol carved into a particular tree trunk located on the corner of a particular park, bus stop bench, picnic table, to the side of a vending or newspaper machine, pay phone or postal drop box, that any member of your family/group may need to pass to get to the retreat. This is to alert them that “Johnnie has been through here, waited 10 minutes and went on”.

• A good source to develop your own communication signals is the “Boy Scout Field Book” (not handbook, field book – this is also great for learning other survival skills like compass and map reading, trapping and snares and the like). The sign for “Go Right” could be used as the “Suzie has been here and moved on” signal.

The Boy Scout Handbook does have a list of the most common trail signs and the Field Book has a list of all the trail signs.

You can also utilize other symbols or codes or make up your own.

Hint: When you have your drills, use colored dots, grease pencil or some other temporary method that will not be around when the crisis actually hits. If anyone stops to ask what you are doing; just say you are setting up a scavenger hunt.

American Boys Book Signs Signals Symbols 1918
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8944046/American-Boys-Book-Signs-Signals-Symbols-1918
Boy Scout Field Book http://openlibrary.org/books/OL8224590M/Official_Boy_Scout_Fieldbook; http://pdfebooksreader.com/ebook-boy+scout+american+handbook-pdf-1.html
Signs, Symbols & Codes http://citytechnology.org/stuff-that-works/downloads/signs_workshop.pdf
Secret Communications http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00322/
Secrets: Signs and Symbols http://pathways.thinkport.org/secrets/
Codes, Ciphers & Secret Messages http://www.42explore2.com/codes.htm
Cryptology And Other Forms Of Secret Communication http://hubpages.com/hub/Cryptology-And-Other-Forms-Of-Secret-Communication
Codes and Ciphers www.sciencenter.org/getthemessage/.../d/.../codes-and-ciphers.doc

Next week will be on Compiling your Important Information & Papers Documentation Book/Binder …

"Everybody thinks of changing humanity and
nobody thinks of changing himself."
Leo Tolstoy

TNT

2011 New Mexico Gun Shows & Appleseed Shoots

2011 New Mexico Gun Shows & Appleseed Shoots

For details follow this link http://www.scribd.com/doc/49616394/2011-New-Mexico-Gun-Shows-Appleseed-Shoots-vr2

New Mexico Shooting Ranges, Clubs & Instruction see http://www.scribd.com/doc/49616378/New-Mexico-Shooting-Ranges-%E2%80%93-Clubs-%E2%80%93-Instruction

Keep On Preppin!

TNT