Recently I wrote about personal safety being the response of the individual. Well, after a power outage last night I realize that I am a little deficient in my business continuity procedures. Here is a list of thing that I realized after the fact.
- We were out of D-cell batteries. All but one of our flashlights were dead. The one good thing was that I knew exactly where the flashlight were and they were accessible (which is a big feat with a 2.5 year old in the house).
- We only had one candle. No batteries and no flashlights means that there is going to be a need for another light source. Backup, backup lightsource as you might say. A household should have several candles in containers that will not drip wax as they burn, possibly through the night. Also, remember that heat rises so be careful where you locate these for long periods of time. Check what is above the candle and make sure it is not flammable.
- We don’t have a cooler. Now that I don’t drink beer as much as I use to I never missed the cooler. With short power outages you don’t have to worry about the things in the fridge but the power was out for 10 hours last night. With a cooler I would have been able to put some of the necessities on some ice. Luckily we immediately identified that we should not open the fridge and it remained cold enough that we don’t have to throw anything away.
- We went to sleep without extra blankets. Although the nights have recently been warm, the power outage was caused by strong winds as a cold front was blowing in. By the time I woke up I was cold. Although my wife and I are resilient our two children are another story and I should have paid closer attention to their needs.
I am sure that I could have found plenty of other things that I had forgotten but as it was already late we just took the children to bed. One good thing that came out of the power outage is that I got ten hours of sleep. Now when is the last time that I could say that.
There was one other thing that I did before going to bed. I unplugged as many electronic items that I could easily get to in the dark. You don’t know if the power is going to come back on normally or if it is going to surge. Unplugging things will ensure that the equipment is not damaged and help limit the chance that a piece of equipment will start a fire. The fire danger is most important during power outages that occur at night because, well, you are asleep.
So, how can you protect yourself? Well a quick Google search on “home power outage checklist” is one way. eHow’s list definately would have help me. Of course the Upper Hastings Ranch Association’s list points out that you should not use candles and stick with flashlights. It also points out that generators should be kept outside and not run indoors. This is very important and may seem like a no-brainer but it definitelly happens. Here is a good reference about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Cutaway