Summarize the following:
The best response in an emergency situation is to follow the emergency plan of your home or workplace. Certain people may be identified as emergency leaders, with special training. In an emergency, you will save necessary time and energy by following the plan and your designated leader, even if you don't fully agree with them. Your emergency plan should have an assembly place to gather once you've evacuated the home or building. Keep emergency phone numbers posted near the phone. Important medical data should be stored in your phone or your wallet. You'll need to know your location in order to tell any emergency dispatcher where to send help. While it may be easy to know the address of your home, it's also important to memorize the address of your workplace. Get into the habit of checking the address wherever you are. If you don't know the physical address, be ready to say the name of the street you're on and any nearby intersections or landmarks. If your cell phone has GPS, you can use it to determine your physical address. However, this wastes much needed time in an emergency. Always be aware of the exits to any building you're in, whether they're home, office, or commercial locations. Identify at least 2 exits, in case one is blocked. In a workplace or public location, exits should be clearly marked. Choose two places where you can regather with your family or coworkers. One location should be outside the home or workplace. The other location should be outside the immediate vicinity, in case the neighborhood is unsafe. Emergency exits should be physically accessible, according to ADA laws. Having a first aid kit isn't helpful unless you have training to use it. Having training to properly apply bandages, compresses, tourniquets and other tools will help in an emergency. The Red Cross regularly offers these courses in most areas of the US. Many Red Cross courses are also offered online. First aid courses can be age specific. If you have children, or just want to know how to help children in case of an emergency, take a first aid course specific to assisting children in an emergency. If you work with children, you'll be required by law to receive this training. Having CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training is a life-saving help for someone having a heart attack. If you haven't taken a CPR course, you can still offer chest compressions for someone suspected of having a heart attack. A chest compression is hard pressure applied swiftly to the ribcage at the rate of 100 compressions per minute, or just over 1 per second. CPR for children and infants is taught by the Red Cross. If you have children, take a course in providing CPR for children in order to be prepared in case of an emergency. If you work with children, you may be required by law to receive this training. If the emergency occurs in your workplace, you should know where to find the MSDS (Material Data Safety Sheet) for any chemical used. Having a list of the chemicals used in your home or workplace, together with any first aid measures required in case of emergency, will be the most effective way you can prepare for emergency situations. Your workplace should have an eyewash station if you regularly come into contact with hazardous chemicals. Make sure you are prepared to share any relevant information regarding chemicals with your emergency response team. Post the number for 911 as well as other important medical phone numbers, including the phone numbers of family members who should be contacted. The phone number of the poison control center, ambulance center, your doctors' phone numbers should be posted alongside contact numbers of neighbors or nearby friends or relatives, and work phone numbers. All members of your house, including your children, should be able to access these phone numbers in case of an emergency. For children, elderly people, or disabled people, consider having a posted script to help them remember what to tell others when calling on the phone with an emergency situation. You can even role play with them to go over the script and teach them proper actions for different emergency situations. If you have a condition that a medical response team should be aware of, such as diabetes, certain allergies, epilepsy or other seizure disorder, or other medical conditions, a medical ID tag can provide this information should you be unable to. Most medical responders look on a person's wrist for medical ID tags. The second most common place to look is at the person's neck, as a necklace. People with disabilities and health conditions, such as Tourette syndrome, autism, dementia, etc., may wish to consider wearing medical ID badges to help any emergency responder better understand their needs and behavior.
Have an emergency plan. Know your physical address. Identify your closest exits. Take a first aid course. Consider taking CPR in addition to first aid. Know what chemicals are found in your home or workplace. Keep emergency phone numbers posted near the phone. Wear a medical ID tag if you have a chronic health condition.