Safety: Introduction

Safety is a broad category. It includes keeping a supply of personal protective equipment like gloves and hard hats in useful locations such as underneath your bed, the trunk of your vehicle, or your bicycle's panniers. But this category also includes damage assessment and site size-up, conducting home safety assessments, traffic control, and search and rescue. The main team that supports the category of Safety is the Community Emergency Response Team.

Household Level

Safety starts at home. It includes having personal protection equipment accessible for all household members (see the Ready Your Street guidelines for the Household Level). It also includes making sure there are no household hazards, like chemicals kept in an unsafe place or large pieces of furniture not bolted to the walls. 

Street Level

At the Street Level, safety is about following the Ready Your Street steps to ensure that people and animals are okay after a disaster. Look for potential hazards, possibly turn off utilities, and help neighbors who might be injured or trapped.

Neighborhood Level

At the Neighborhood Level, safety focuses on ensuring that Disaster Hubs are not damaged and that people can access those locations safely. It also involves coordinating search and rescue operations at the neighborhood level. 

Community Level

Finally, at the Community Level, safety is about damage assessment and crowd control at Disaster Hubs, specialized locations such as the Disaster Medical Center, and food and water distribution sites.