Action sheet — During a fire
Drawing up a family emergency plan: 5 decisions, 20 minutes
On the day the alert is raised, every unresolved question costs precious minutes: who’s going to pick up whom? Where do we meet up if we get separated? Who’s going to let Granny know? Twenty minutes around the table, five decisions jotted down — and your family becomes a team.
Key points
- A specific meeting point outside the coverage area, known to everyone — if the network goes down, we’ll meet there.
- A key contact OUTSIDE the region: everyone texts them saying ‘I’m fine, I’m in…’, and they alone pass the message on.
- Children at school: we will NOT be collecting them during the crisis (PPMS) — we’ll decide this and take responsibility for it together.
- The plan is written down, displayed (on the fridge) and repeated once a year — otherwise it doesn’t exist.
Equipment: the model below · a fridge magnet · the family’s mobile phones
Why it’s important
In accounts of major fires, family panic always follows the same pattern: parents rushing through the danger zone to collect children who are already safe at school; separated couples overwhelming an overburdened network by calling each other repeatedly; and pets being sought at the last minute. Each of these instinctive reactions can be countered by ONE decision taken with a cool head. This is the human complement to the 72-hour kit : the kit holds the objects; the plan holds the decisions.
How to do it, step by step
Decision 1 — The meeting point
A specific location, outside the danger zone, accessible on foot if necessary: ‘the Super U car park in X’, not ‘somewhere in town’. A second, more distant location if the first is within the evacuation zone.
Decision 2 — The pivot contact
A relative OUTSIDE the region (text messages get through even when local lines are busy). One simple rule: everyone texts them “OK, I’m at…”, and THEY are the ones who let the rest of the family know. Make a note of their number somewhere other than just in your contacts.
Decision 3 — Who gets to keep whom?
Schoolchildren: the school provides a safe haven (PPMS) — do not go there unless instructed to do so. Isolated grandparents, vulnerable neighbours: a designated person in charge, with a plan B if that person works far away. See vulnerable people.
Decision 4 — Animals
Who’s looking after the cat? Where’s the litter tray (somewhere accessible, not in the loft)? Who has the neighbour’s number so they can let the cat out if you’re away? Large animals: see the dedicated page — It all happens hours beforehand.
Decision 5 — Documents and kit
Where is the 72-hour kit, who carries it, and who checks that the documents/scans are inside. Write down useful numbers on the back of the map: school, town hall, insurance, vet.
Write, display, practise
Fill in the template below: keep a copy on the fridge and save a photo on each mobile. Do this every year in 10 minutes at the start of summer — the children love it, and it’s the perfect time to update it.
The mistakes that ruin everything
- The ‘in Mum’s head’ plan — on the big day, Mum might be at the office 40 km away.
- A meeting point ‘back home’ … right in the heart of the affected area.
- A call to “let people know”: the network in the disaster-hit areas becomes overloaded within minutes.
- Don’t draw up the plan without the children: it’s by working on it together that they’ll be able to follow it without panicking.
The tip that makes all the difference
Turn the annual drill into a game: ‘Time’s up: everyone tell me the assembly point and the pivot number’. Less than two minutes, and it’ll stick in your mind for a year.
The template to complete and display
Copy this plan, fill in the fields in brackets, print it out to put on the fridge, and take a photo of it on each mobile phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
The risk changes every day. So do your reflexes.
Check the fire alert status for your department, keep track of current fires and report a fire via the Feux de Forêt mobile app.