Starnes Family
Emergency Plan

Starnes Family menu

What is an emergency?

Meeting instructions

Scenarios

Outside contact

How to turn off utilities

Transit information

Alternate routes out of Bay Area

Phone numbers and other contact info

Reference

last updated 5/2/2010

What is an emergency?

For purposes of this plan, an emergency is some event that is dangerous to our family and in which it is difficult to contact each other. Our family includes those of us that live in our home.

Meeting instructions

If there is an emergency, we will meet at one of the following places. We will meet at whichever place is closest to home and is safe:

1. Home	If our home is safe, we will meet there.
2. our fire station	If our home is not safe, then we will meet at the fire station on Civic Center Drive, near North San Pedro Road (it is between the park and the post office).
	City of San Rafael Fire Station 7 3530 Civic Center Drive San Rafael, CA  94903 415-485-3304 Sheriff: 415-479-2311
3. Petaluma  If our neighborhood is not safe, we will meet at the
	Petaluma Fire Department, Station 3 831 S. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma CA 94952 707-778-4390 emergency: 707-762-4545 Petaluma Police: 707-778-4370 emergency: 707-762-2727 directions on US 101 alternate route
4. Minnesota  If the West Coast isn't safe, we will meet in Minnesota:
	directions from Minneapolis airport United, American, Continental, Northwest and Delta airlines fly to Minnesota via the Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento airports (see transit info). alternate route

If someone leaves the meeting place, that person must leave a note or message at the meeting place explaining where and when he or she went, why, and when he or she will return to the meeting place. 

Scenerios

Stay or go?

If an emergency happens, you will have to decide quickly whether to stay where you are or go to our meeting place. If it is not safe where you are but it is safe to travel, go to our meeting place. If it is not safe to travel, stay where you are ("shelter-in-place") and try to contact the rest of our family.

Once you get to a safe place, make it safer if necessary. Make sure that you are warm, have clean air, food and water. Then try to contact the rest of our family and get news about the emergency, if possible.

How to "Shelter-in-Place"

Away from home

If the air may not be safe, cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief or your shirt. Seal the cracks under doors with towels or clothes. Tape around doors and windows if possible.

Get into the safest structure possible. If there is an earthquake and you are inside, get into a small interior structure like a doorway or closet door. Flood? Get to high ground. 

Note the best way to exit in a hurry if necessary.

If you are with other people and it is not safe to travel: stay there and shelter.

At our house

Our house has three emergency kits: one in the office, one in the upstairs-hallway bathroom, and one in the downstairs bathroom. Each contains food, water, first aid and other emergency supplies.

A. Gather everyone together who is within shouting distance. Then:

1.	Get inside.
2.	If we are all together, lock the doors. If not, consider leaving the front door unlocked in case one of us has to get inside quickly.
3.	If there is time, close the downstairs windows, air vents and fireplace damper. Turn off any fans. Get fresh food from the kitchen, blankets and warm clothes.
4.	Go into the office. The emergency kit is in the banquette, under the cushion.
5.	Put the occupied sticker on the door. Mark on it how many people are inside and their names. This tells rescue workers and others who is inside.
6.	Lock the office door by putting it's locking bolt under the inside door handle.
7.	If the emergency could possibly involve contaminated air:
		Seal around the windows and the office door with duct tape (leave the office's bathroom door open). The emergency kit contains a cardboard spacer for the crack under the office door.
			Tape the spacer under the door as snugly to the rug as possible and then tape around it and the rest of the door, including the door knob.
		Take the plastic cover off of the bathroom's ceiling fan. Tape the emergency kit's cardboard cover over the fan. Tape the switch for the fan to the off position.
		Put the stopper in the sink and activate the bathtub stopper; plumbing drains have air vents to the outside.
		If you have tape and time, tape around the light switch and electrical outlet plates.
		Make sure to seal gaps so that you create a barrier between yourself and any contamination.
8.	If the electricity is out, there is a flashlight plugged into the wall.
9.	Local authorities may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should listen to the radio and check the Internet often for official news and instructions as they become available. There is a battery powered radio in the emergency kit in case the electricity is out.

B. The second ones in: find out if the office door is locked and sealed. If it is:

1.	Go into the upstairs-hallway bathroom. The emergency kit is under the sink.
2.	Put the occupied sticker on the door. Mark on it how many people are inside and their names. This tells rescue workers and others who is inside.
3.	Lock the door.

C. The third ones in: find out office door and upstairs bathroom are locked and sealed. If they are:

You will be sheltered and protected from many things. You will have some food, communications equipment and a bathroom. Be sure to:

• Ration the food and water. There isn't much. You don't know how long you may need to shelter.
• Don't drink or use the tap water if you think it could be contaminated.
• Don't unlock the door or let anyone in the door unless you are sure it is safe to do so.

In our car

The car has a first aid kit, water and two emergency kits in the trunk: the green tub marked "Emergency" has food, the green water tank has water, and the red tackle box has emergency supplies. The other green tub has the first aid kit and other supplies. Duct tape is in the glove compartment. Food bars and a flashlight should also be in the glove compartment.

Gather everyone together. Then:

1. If there is time, get the emergency kits out of the trunk and into the back seat.
2. Get inside the car.
3. Lock the doors.
4. If necessary, drive to the safest place possible.
5. If the emergency could possibly involve contaminated air,

   	turn off the fans
   	seal the air vents with duct tape. Tape the fan switch to the off position.
   	Make sure to seal gaps so that you create a barrier between yourself and any contamination.

6. If you have Don's cell phone, plug it in to the charging cable.
7. Local authorities may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should listen to the radio often for official news and instructions as they become available. There is a wind up radio in the emergency kit in case the electricity is out.

You will be sheltered and protected from many things. You will have some food and communications equipment. Be sure to:

• Ration the food and water. You don't know how long you may need to shelter.
• Don't drink or use other water if you think it could be contaminated.
• Don't unlock the door or let anyone in the car unless you are sure it is safe to do so.

Outside contact

To contact our entire family at once or when normal communication isn't possible, exchange messages using one or more of these outside contacts:

1. Starnes family messages: http://www.donstarnes.com/guestbook.html (server in San Diego)
2. David, Rachel, Micah and Isaac Kronlokken

How to turn off utilities

If our house is structurally compromised (by a fire or earthquake, for example), turn off the utilities.

The gas and electricity are in the utility closet next to the car port.
Gas
Once you turn off the gas, do not turn it on again! The gas should not be turned on until the water heater's gas valve has been turned off or it's pilot light has been re-ignited. PG&E recommends that you call them to turn on the gas so that they can check the house for leaks and so on before it is turned on.
To turn off the gas, use the gas valve wrench (it is in the utility closet) to turn the gas valve clockwise.
Electricity
Turn off the main breaker switch, which is behind a marked panel in the utility closet.
Water
The water main is next to the front door, below the water hose. Turn the water main valve clockwise to close it.

Transit information

The following have useful information. Some of the web sites have web cam traffic pictures of roadways and interactive traffic data:

other contact info

Alternate routes out of Bay Area

Try to find out if the roads are bad before starting out. Take the alternate route if necessary.

To the Petaluma fire station

If US 101 is blocked: take either the Lucas Valley Road or Novato Blvd. exits from US 101 going West; both dead end at the Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road.  Turn right and take the road to Petaluma; it becomes E. Washington Street. Turn right on S McDowell Blvd and drive to the fire station.

To Minnesota

To drive to Minnesota: Take US 101 North to CA 37 East. Take I-80 East towards Reno. Take I-215 South towards Park City/Provo Take I-80 East towards Cheyenne/Denver Take I-680 North Take I-29 North/I-680 East towards Des Moines/Sioux City Take I-90 East Take MN-60 towards Windom Continue on US-71 North Continue on MN-60 East Continue on US-169 North Take the Center St/Lookout Dr. exit Continue on Center St Turn Left on Belgrade Ave. Turn Right on Sherman St. Yahoo directions

To fly to Minnesota from Sacramento: Sacramento International Airport (SMF) 916-929-5411 Take US 101 North to CA 37 East. Take I-80 East to Sacramento Take CA-113 North Take the Main St. exit Turn Right on E Main St. Turn Right to take the I-5 South Take the Airport Blvd. exit to Sacramento International Airport Yahoo directions United, American, Continental, Northwest and Delta airlines fly to Minnesota (see transit info).

Phone numbers and other contact info

Name		Contact
Kaiser hospital		phone	415-444-2000
99 Montecillo Road, San Rafael		emergency	415-444-2400
		urgent care	415-444-2940
		advice/appt.	415-444-2960
		member svcs	800-464-4000
		health tips	800-332-7563
		Don's	Kaiser: 7911205
		Jesse's	Rockwood Clinic, Spokane 509-838-2531 chart number 698892
		Connie's	Blue Cross XDS 480-62-5003
Marin County		web	http://www.marin.org/
		emergency	911
		sheriff	415-479-2311
		fire	415-485-3304
PG&E (gas, electric)		emergency	800-743-5000
		outage info	800-743-5002
Marin Municipal Water District		web	http://www.marinwater.org/
		phone	415-924-4600
CA Office of Emergency Services		web	http://www.oes.ca.gov/
		warning center	916-845-8911
Federal Emergency Management / Homeland Security		web	http://www.fema.gov/
		phone	202-566-1600

Reference

HealthWorld Online First Aid

Kaiser Permanente: Bioterrorism FAQ

How to do CPR

How to purify water

A water filter is in the car's emergency kit. The emergency kits in the house contain chlorine bleach and an eye dropper.

If water is polluted with dirt or sediment, strain it into a container through paper towels, paper coffee filters, or several layers of clean cloth to remove any sediment or floating matter. Disinfect the strained water with liquid household chlorine bleach or with tincture of iodine. DO NOT use the granular form of household bleach, it is POISONOUS!

If liquid chlorine bleach is older than one year, the amount used should be doubled, as it loses strength over time.

Mix well by stirring or shaking the water in a container. Let stand for 30 minutes before using. A slight chlorine odor should be detectable in the water. If not, repeat the dosage and let stand for an additional 15 minutes before using.

If the water can be boiled, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that it be boiled for at least 1 minute. This should remove any harmful bacterial contamination. Check with your local Health Department for local recommendations.

Using water purification tablets: follow the directions on the package. Water purification tablets have a shelf life of 2 years and lose their effectiveness if they get damp before use.

Purify only enough water at one time to last for 48 hours. This will minimize the chances of re-contamination.