What to do to be prepared for a Church Facility Emergency:
Prepare the Church Facility for a Disaster
For further reference see Facility Safety Check List
A. Post emergency numbers by each phone.
• Include 911 (or area equivalent), the poison control center, law enforcement and
the fire department. Make sure a phone is accessible in each area of the building
at all hours.
B. Review insurance policies annually.
• Insurance policy meets the minimum requirements of your synod and mortgage
holder. When was the last estimate on the value of church property? How
accurate are the figures?
• Insurance policy covers the cost of recent additions or high value items such as
stained glass windows?
• Insurance policy covers the cost of temporary rental of another facility in the
event your church is severely damaged or destroyed?
• Insurance policy covers the cost of temporary rental housing for the parsonage
family in the event that the parsonage is severely damaged or destroyed? (Your
church policy may not cover the cost of replacing the clergy’s personal items;
the pastor should provide his/her own renter’s policy.
Create a “Go Pack” for an Evacuation Event
Check with your local Red Cross to assess the risk for a disaster in your area that may require a quick evacuation. If that risk is higher than you are comfortable with, create a “Go Pack” and keep it handy for a swift exit from your home or business.
“Go Pack” Contents
- EATING AND DRINKING: Three days’ worth of nonperishable food and water.
- MEDICATIONS: Insulin, antidepressants, and prescriptions.
- ONE REGION-SPECIFIC CHANGE OF CLOTHING: Plus a jacket and hat for unforeseen circumstances.
- IMPORTANT PAPERS: Photocopies of drivers license, credit cards, insurance documents, and other important papers. Jot down phone numbers for bank, insurer, and other service providers.
- WEATHER ALERT RADIO: NOAA radio, hand crank charger preferred.
- FLASHLIGHT AND EXTRA BATTERIES: Makes sure you have the right sizes.
- CASH: A variety of coins and bills is best for pay phones, laundry machines, soda machines, and vending machines.
- SITUATIONAL ITEMS: Infant formula, pet food, manual can opener, jackknife, camp stove, pot or pan for heating liquids or food, plastic utensils, and iodine tabs for purifying water.
- FIRST AID KIT: Assorted bandages, gauze pads and strips, tweezers, age appropriate pain relievers, cough and antidiarrheal meds, list of meds with dosages and frequency, bug repellent, special items—contact lenses and solutions, hearing aids and batteries, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, compression stockings to prevent blood clots from sitting too long, and tooth brush and paste.
- PET SUPPLIES: Three days food and water, leash and collar with ID and rabies immunization info, wire cage for traveling or keeping pet secure, copy of latest immunizations.
- COMMUNICATION: Cell phone and chargers (car and crank radio adaptor), copy of family disaster plan including meeting places and phone numbers, list of other family member phone numbers, and a roll of quarters for pay phone.
- DOCUMENTS INFO: Account and service numbers for credit, debit, bank, insurance policies, mortgage or lease, phone and utilities. Record of valuables in house or apartment, passports, licenses and birth certificates. Copy of last year’s tax return. Relevant, recent or urgent medical records. Will and emergency medical directive.
- OTHER BASICS: Matches in waterproof container, whistle, cash for one to two weeks, plastic garbage bags, notebook and pen, toilet paper, chlorine bleach for disinfection purposes, extra clothing, one Space Blanket for each person ($4 at www.rei.com that weighs only 3 oz. and retains 80% of body heat).
If you live in a tornado-prone area, keep these supplies near your designated family shelter area. Safe deposit boxes are good places for important papers. Keep an emergency kit—first aid kit, blanket, and highway flares—in your car.
