Handling Emergencies

It is a must that every house has a first-air box. It is imperative that this box is not kept locked in a cupboard. Keys are the worst things to find in an emergency. It is also important that all people in ath house be given a basic training in first-aid.

Important phone numbers of all members of the household police, doctor, hospital, ambulance, fire-brigade, relatives and friends and immediate neighbours should be readily available.

When people from one state or country move to another, it is likely that the family members may not know the language of the adopted place. If this is the case, they will not be able to talk to the neighbours or the police. In such cases, they should rehearse a few phrases to use in an emergency so as to be able to give the person at the other end of the telephone line some idea of the emergency situation, the location of the house, and also say that the caller cannot answer any questions since he does not know the language. It would be ideal if some mock exercises are conducted as  to how to make an emergency phone call during a hypothetical emergency situation.

Everyone in the house should know what to do should someone get hurt. The injuries can be of several types: burns, electric shock, accidental poisoning, drug overdose, cuts by sharp-edged items, fall resulting in a fracture, heart attack epileptic attack, etc.

One should know who to contact (doctor, hospital, etc) in case of an emergency, and other preliminary steps to be taken. These steps would of course depend upon the extent of the injury as well as the experience of the rescuer. One should also know what to do if the phone does not work, if the doctor is away etc. All the steps should be reviewed after they have been used to handle an emergency, and any shortfalls removed.

Minimum essential information about each person in the household should be kept handy. It should be kept in the wallet/purse of the person, in the house, office, and with the family doctor. This should include the names of medication being taken regularly, the disease (diabetes, heart problems, etc.) one might be suffering from, blood group, allergies, any special conditions, etc.