Your town and county emergency plans won’t work unless you do your part. You and your family, co-workers and neighbors need to be Ready and Set to Act quickly – whether at home, at work or at another location in your community – if there is a chemical stockpile accident at the Army post near you.

Ready means, “Know what to do.”

• Know how you will hear about an emergency. Emergency officials use outdoor warning sirens, tone alert radios/indoor alert systems, highway message boards, radio and television. Learn which Emergency Alert System (EAS) radio and TV stations broadcast emergency messages for your community.
• Know what to do to be safe – shelter-in-place, evacuate or remain indoors and monitor an EAS station if no other protective action is recommended. Unless you are told to evacuate, stay off the roads so that those who have been instructed to leave and emergency responders are not hampered by unnecessary traffic.
• Know your community’s emergency zones and evacuation routes. Know whether home, work and other places you visit (park, friend’s home, doctor’s office, shopping center, etc.) may be in a danger area.
• Know the plans your child’s school and day care or recreation center has developed to keep them safe.

Set means, “Get it together.” Gather items to keep with you or in your car, home and workplace, and make:

• A Shelter-In-Place Kit and a Disaster Supply Kit.
• A list of important phone numbers, including an out-of-town contact that family members can call after the emergency to say they are safe. Keep a copy of the list with you at all times and in your emergency kits.
• A plan for home and work. After learning about your community’s emergency plans, decide exactly what you, family members and co-workers will do and how if you are told to evacuate or shelter-in-place. Consider what you will do when you are at home, at work, at a friend’s home, at a shopping center, at a doctor’s office, at a sports stadium or park, etc. Assign tasks and determine who will care for minors or people with special needs.
• Practice your shelter-in-place and evacuation plans often.

Act means, “Do it.” If a chemical stockpile accident happens:

• Do what emergency officials recommend -- shelter-in-place, evacuate or stay where you are and monitor an EAS station for updates on the situation.
• Act immediately. Seconds matter. Don’t waste time looking for information or items not readily at hand.

Other tips:

• Pets: Most American Red Cross shelters will not accept pets. Find out whether your community has special plans for pet care. Do you need to make your own pet care plan? Don’t delay departure or divert from the most direct designated evacuation route to look for or board your pet. Your family's safety is more important. Always leave your pet with enough food and water for a few days.
• Pick an out-of-town “family contact” for family members to call if you are separated. Put the contact’s phone number on your list of important phone numbers and have everyone memorize the number.
• Learn about emergency plans for your child’s school or daycare, for the nursing home or other facility where loved ones with special needs stay.
• Do not call 9-1-1 or use the phone during an emergency unless there is a life-threatening situation, such as a heart attack.
• If you might need or can offer a ride to someone without transportation in an evacuation, arrange this now.