Cheat sheet: Family and household

1. 1Talk in an age-appropriate way – Explain calmly what an emergency is and that the family has a plan.
2. 2Contact card for children – Give children a card with their name, address, the parents' and contact person's phone numbers and the meeting point.
3. 3School and childcare – Find out how the school and childcare proceed in an emergency and who may pick up the children.
4. 4Pack familiar things – A cuddly toy, book or game and familiar snacks help children in an emergency shelter.
5. 5Emergency kit for pets – Food and water for several days, bowls, a leash or carrier, medication, vaccination records and a current photo of the animal.
6. 6Identify animals – A collar with contact details and, where common, a microchip with current registration help reunite lost animals.
7. 7Arrange somewhere for pets to stay – Not all emergency shelters accept animals.

Danger: Never leave children or pets alone in a parked vehicle – especially in warm weather it can quickly become dangerously hot inside.

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1. 1Record daily needs – Go through a normal day: meals, bottles, nappies, care, medication, sleep.
2. 2Plan food without cooking – For bottle-fed babies keep ready-to-feed formula in single portions; for older children jars, pouches and food the child knows.
3. 3Hygiene without running water – Nappies, wet wipes, nappy cream, bin bags, hand sanitiser.
4. 4Warmth and clothing – Spare clothing in the right size, hat, baby sleeping bag, blanket.
5. 5Transport without a pram – Put a baby wrap or carrier in the go bag: stairs, debris and crowds are often impassable with a pram.
6. 6Pack familiar things – Cuddly toy, dummy, a book or a small game.
7. 7Adjust regularly – Check sizes, food and expiry dates every few months.

Danger: Never dilute infant formula and do not replace it with other milk or homemade mixtures. Prepare powdered formula only with safe water prepared as directed on the pack. Ready-to-feed liquid formula needs no water.

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1. 1Discuss together – Ask calmly: what worries you about an emergency?
2. 2List medication and aids – Current medication plan, glasses, hearing aid with batteries, walking aid, continence products, dentures.
3. 3Build a support network – At least two people nearby – family, neighbours, friends – agree to drop by during outages, heat or cold.
4. 4Coordinate with the care service or facility – Ask what emergency plan the care service or care home has, how relatives are informed and where people would be evacuated to.
5. 5Make the home safer – Battery lights by the bed and the door, a radio, emergency supplies at a reachable height, phone numbers in large print on paper next to…
6. 6Think through evacuation – How does the person get out of the building if the lift fails?

Danger: Older people often feel heat and thirst less and cool down faster in the cold. With confusion, weakness, dizziness or impaired consciousness, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

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1. 1Describe needs – Record together: what do I need daily (aids, medication, assistance, diet)?
2. 2Personal support network – At least three people in different places (home, work, neighbourhood) who know the plan, arrange access to the home and check in an…
3. 3Adapt warning channels – Warning apps with vibration or light signals, smoke alarms with strobe or vibrating pad, an agreement that someone will let you know.
4. 4Information card – A short card for rescuers: how to communicate with me, which aids are essential, important contacts and medication.
5. 5Practise the escape and evacuation route – Try the way out of the home with aids, also without the lift and in the dark.
6. 6Backup for aids – Spare glasses, chargers, if possible a manual backup for electric aids.

Danger: Leave early when evacuation warnings come – anyone needing support to leave the building needs more time. In danger, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) and state the support needed.

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1. 1Carrier and lead training – Leave the carrier open in the home with a blanket and treats.
2. 2Keep identification up to date – Check the microchip registration has a current phone number, collar with contact details, a current photo of the animal with its owner…
3. 3Pet emergency kit – Food and water for a few days, bowls, medication, vaccination record, lead, poo bags or cat litter with tray, blanket, the vet's contact…
4. 4Clarify accommodation beforehand – A list of friends, relatives, boarding kennels and hotels outside the danger area that accept animals.
5. 5Leave early – When a warning is issued, bring animals indoors and get the carrier ready.
6. 6When nobody is at home – Agree with neighbours that they can take the animals in an emergency: key, where the carrier is, contact.

Danger: Never return to a closed area against the authorities' instructions to fetch animals. Instead inform the authorities, animal welfare organisations or responders.

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1. 1Involve them in planning – Go through the family plan together, set meeting points and an out-of-area contact, and take questions seriously.
2. 2Decision rules – Agree: when do you stay where you are?
3. 3Checking in without a network – A short text to the contact person rather than a call.
4. 4Their own tasks – Hand over suitable tasks: pack their own go bag, check torches, look after younger siblings, follow the news on the radio.
5. 5Build skills – First-aid course, making an emergency call, being able to shut off water and power, knowing the way home on foot.

Caution: Teenagers should know: instructions from the school, emergency services and authorities come first – even before the wish to get home. Do not walk through floodwater, smoke or cordons.

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1. 1Personal profile – One page with name, diagnosis, medication, allergies, communication tips, what calms and what upsets, contact details and a recent photo.
2. 2Identification – Name and emergency contact on clothing, a bracelet or in the jacket pocket – in case the person is found alone.
3. 3Add to the go bag – Medication for several days, aids (glasses, hearing aid, walking aid), continence supplies, change of clothes, a familiar item.
4. 4Decide who accompanies – One main person and a deputy who knows the person.
5. 5In the situation – Speak calmly, short sentences, one piece of information at a time.
6. 6In the shelter – Hand the profile to staff, ask for a quiet spot, keep routines such as meal and sleep times.

Danger: If a person with dementia has gone missing, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) at once and have a recent photo ready. Do not search alone for long before getting help.

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1. 1Records at hand – Pregnancy records (e.g. maternity record book where one is issued), medication list, health insurance and the hospital's contact details in…
2. 2Contacts – Numbers of midwife, practice, hospital and emergency services in the phone and on paper.
3. 3Plan routes – Know the main and an alternative route to the hospital, note a second reachable facility and agree who drives if the partner is not there.
4. 4Add to the bag – Add records, medication and important personal items to the go bag; in the last weeks have the hospital bag ready.
5. 5Ask professionals – Ask the midwife or practice what to bear in mind in an emergency or evacuation – individual advice takes precedence.

Danger: With warning signs the midwife or doctor has named, with bleeding, severe pain or if the pregnant person suddenly feels very unwell: call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) at once. Do not wait to see whether it improves.

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1. 1Choose a calm moment – Not right after worrying news or just before bedtime, but while playing, cooking or out walking.
2. 2Ask first – "What do you already know about power cuts/fires/storms?" – pick up on misunderstandings rather than giving a lecture.
3. 3Simple and honest – Briefly explain what can happen and that adults, the fire service and other helpers take care of it. No frightening details.
4. 4Let them do something – Pack the children's go bag together, check torches, practise the emergency call, look at the meeting point.
5. 5Repeat – Short and often is better than once and long.

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1. 1Identify risks – Consider which emergencies are likely in your region (flood, storm, heat, power outage, earthquake) and how the authorities issue warnings.
2. 2Two meeting points – Set one meeting point right by your home (e.g. for a fire) and one outside the neighbourhood in case you cannot get home.
3. 3Out-of-area contact – Choose a person in another region with whom everyone checks in. Long-distance calls and messages often get through more easily than…
4. 4Contact card – Every person – including children – carries a card with the most important numbers, the address and the meeting points.
5. 5Assign tasks – Who picks up the children?
6. 6Know the house – All adults should know where the main water and gas valves and the fuse box are.
7. 7Practise and refresh – Go through the plan once a year, update numbers and practise the route to the meeting points.

Danger: In acute danger, get yourself to safety first and call the local emergency number (112 in the EU). Do not return into danger areas to reach meeting points.

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1. 1Make a list – Gather: ID cards and passports, birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies, bank and account information, tenancy or ownership…
2. 2Make copies – Copy the documents and put them in a waterproof folder.
3. 3Contacts and medical information – Add a list of important phone numbers, doctors, insurance numbers, allergies and medication.
4. 4Document household contents – Photograph or film rooms and valuable items; this helps with insurance claims.
5. 5Digital backup – Scan the documents and store them encrypted, for example on an encrypted USB stick or in secured cloud storage.
6. 6Keep it within reach – Keep the folder where it can be taken quickly in an evacuation – not in the basement if flooding is a risk.
7. 7Update – Once a year check whether documents have expired or new ones have been added.

Danger: In a fire or immediate danger, do not look for documents – get out immediately. Documents can be replaced, people cannot.

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1. 1Ask about emergency rules – Ask the school and childcare: how are parents informed?
2. 2Register authorised pick-up people – Name at least two other trusted people in writing as authorised to pick up, and tell the child who might come.
3. 3Include the workplace – Know the employer's emergency rules.
4. 4Set meeting points – One meeting point near home and one outside the neighbourhood, on paper for everyone.
5. 5Out-of-area contact – Everyone checks in with a contact person outside the region.
6. 6Card for children – Children carry a card with the parents' names, phone numbers, contact person and meeting point – without the home address visible from…

Danger: If the school or authorities order everyone to stay indoors (e.g. after a hazardous-substance release), do not pick up children – the building is then the safer place, and you put yourself at risk on the way.

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1. 1Draw an escape plan – Floor plan of the home with all rooms, if possible two ways out of each room, a meeting point outside the house.
2. 2Fire escape drill – Test the smoke alarm, then walk to the meeting point: check doors with the back of the hand before opening, stay low, close doors.
3. 3Go-bag drill – Stopwatch: everyone takes the go bag, documents, medication, pets and goes to the door.
4. 4Indoor shelter drill – Depending on regional risk: Drop, Cover, Hold On for earthquakes, or close windows, switch off ventilation, turn on the radio for a…
5. 5An evening without power – Spend one evening handling light, cooking and communication without grid power – for example with the main switch off only if that is…
6. 6Review and adjust – After each drill talk briefly: what went well, what do we change?

Danger: In a real fire: get out at once, close doors behind you, do not go back, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) from outside. Never go back into a burning building, not even for animals or valuables.

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1. 1Select documents – ID documents, birth and marriage certificates, insurance policies, property or rental contract, bank and pension documents, vaccination…
2. 2Scan and name – Scan or photograph legibly, name consistently (e.g. person_document_year) and sort into folders.
3. 3Encrypt – Protect the collection with a recognised encryption method – such as an encrypted archive or an encrypted storage device – and a long…
4. 4Store in at least two places – One copy at home in the go bag, one in another place – with relatives outside the region or with an online storage service of your choice…
5. 5Secure the password – Keep the passphrase so that at least one other trusted person has access in an emergency, but not together with the storage device.
6. 6Test the restore – Once a year open the backup on another device, check the files, add new ones, securely delete outdated copies.

Caution: Unencrypted copies of ID, bank details and health data are a risk of identity misuse if lost or stolen. Always encrypt.

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1. 1Choose a word – An unusual but easy-to-remember word or pair of words – not a pet's name or street, nothing that can be found online.
2. 2Share selectively – Only parents, children and the people named in writing for pick-up learn the word, in person.
3. 3Combine with pick-up authorisation – Register the trusted people in writing as authorised to pick up at school and childcare.
4. 4Practise playfully – Practise in role play: someone says "your mum sent me" – what do you ask?
5. 5Renew – Set a new word after it has been used by third parties or if it may have become known.

Caution: Do not write the code word where others can read it and do not share it on social media or group chats. Agree a new one after it has been used by an outsider.

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1. 1Header – Emergency number, full address with floor and doorbell, nearest cross street or landmark.
2. 2People – Name and age of each child or person cared for, allergies, medication and where it is kept, family doctor or paediatrician, phone numbers…
3. 3House – Escape route and meeting point outside, location of extinguisher, torch, first-aid kit, fuse box and water shut-off.
4. 4House rules – Who may pick up, which pets there are, what to do in a power outage (no candles, use the torch).
5. 5Quick walk-through – On the first visit show exits, extinguisher and torch together.
6. 6Keep it current – Change immediately for new medication, numbers or a move; write the date on the sheet.

Caution: At the very top: in a life-threatening situation call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) first, then the parents. The full address directly below so it can be read out under stress.

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1. 1Find a backup – Name a main person and ideally a second one who can look after the children at short notice – ideally one nearby and one outside the region.
2. 2Put it in writing – Register pick-up authorisations at school and childcare.
3. 3Prepare the children – Practise age-appropriately: dialling the emergency number, saying the address, knowing the backup's number and where the emergency card is.
4. 4Share information – Give the backup an emergency sheet with allergies, medication, doctors and routines; agree on key access.
5. 5Think of yourself – A note in the wallet: "I am a single parent – please inform: …" so that helpers do not overlook the children if you have an accident.

Danger: Children should learn as early as possible: if mum or dad does not respond, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU), give the address and open the door for the helpers.

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1. 1Look up your agency's recommendation – Look up what your national agency recommends.
2. 2Map your household – Note who needs to be supplied: infants, children, older people, people with allergies, special diets or chronic illnesses, pets.
3. 3Water – Store drinking water in bought bottles or clean, food-grade containers, cool and dark.
4. 4Food – Choose non-perishable food that can be eaten without cooking or refrigeration and that the household likes: tins, ready meals, nuts…
5. 5Medication and first aid – Keep regular medication, a first-aid kit and aids such as glasses or hearing-aid batteries ready.
6. 6Hygiene – Toilet paper, soap, hand sanitiser, rubbish bags, nappies and menstrual products.
7. 7Use and renew – Use older stock first and replace it. Check expiry dates at fixed intervals.

Danger: Never use emergency stoves, grills and fuels indoors (carbon monoxide, fire). Prefer supplies that can be eaten without cooking.

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1. 1One bag per person – Each person gets a bag they can carry themselves.
2. 2Documents and money – Copies of documents in waterproof packaging, a contact list on paper, some cash.
3. 3Health – Medication for a few days, a medication list with doses, spare glasses, a small first-aid kit, hygiene supplies.
4. 4Water, food, light – Drinking water, non-perishable snacks, a torch or headlamp, a power bank with cable and, if possible, a small radio.
5. 5Clothing – Weatherproof jacket, warm layer, change of underwear, sturdy shoes, and if needed a blanket or emergency blanket.
6. 6Last-moment list – Put a list on top of the bag: phone and charger, keys, wallet, refrigerated medication, pets.
7. 7Check regularly – Once or twice a year check water, food, medication, batteries and children's clothing sizes.

Danger: In a fire or immediate danger, do not gather things – leave the building immediately and call the local emergency number (112 in the EU). The bag is for foreseeable or orderly evacuations.

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1. 1Every time – Expiry of supplies and medication, water stock, charge batteries and power banks, test smoke alarms, update contact list and go bag, check…
2. 2Spring – Check gutters and drains, review flood risk and insurance, take winter gear out of the car and clean it, an escape-route drill after the…
3. 3Summer – Heat plan: coolest room, shading, drinking supply, include neighbours and older relatives.
4. 4Autumn – Storm preparation: secure loose objects on the balcony and in the garden.
5. 5Winter – Winter gear in the car, grit and snow shovel, a plan for heating failure (one warm room), protect water pipes in unheated areas from frost.
6. 6Tick off and note – Note the date of the check and put the next date in the calendar.

Caution: Have heating systems, stoves and chimneys checked by professionals before the heating season where this is required or recommended – carbon monoxide danger.

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1. 1Take stock – What is already there?
2. 2Set priorities – Order by urgency: drinking water, necessary medication, light and radio, food that needs no cooking, hygiene, then warmth and equipment.
3. 3A little more on every shopping trip – Buy one or two extra long-life products the family likes on each shopping trip.
4. 4Store water cheaply – Bottled water is the simplest.
5. 5A small emergency fund – Regularly put aside a small fixed amount, plus some cash in small notes at home.
6. 6Use and replace – Use the oldest products first and replace them on the next shopping trip.

Caution: For prescription medication, clarify with the doctor or pharmacy whether and how a small reserve is possible – do not hoard or ration on your own.

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1. 1Their own lamp – Give each child a torch or headlamp they can operate themselves, kept in a fixed place such as by the bed.
2. 2No flames – Battery lanterns for rooms instead of candles.
3. 3Danger zones – Generator outdoors only, far from windows and doors; children keep away.
4. 4Keep warm – One room for everyone, layers, blankets, sleeping bags.
5. 5Secure paths – Light stairs and corridors with battery light, clear cables and objects out of the way, close stair gates.
6. 6Explain – Explain briefly and calmly what has happened and which rules apply; turn it into a torchlight games night.

Danger: Never run generators, barbecues or camping stoves in the home, basement, garage or on enclosed balconies – carbon monoxide is invisible and odourless. Children are especially at risk. With headache, nausea or dizziness get into fresh air at once and call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

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1. 1Choose the bag – Small, light, with padded straps; fully packed, the child should be able to carry it comfortably.
2. 2Basics – Change of clothes, rain cover, water bottle, long-lasting snack, torch, whistle, tissues.
3. 3Contact card – The child's name, the parents' names and numbers, out-of-area contact, meeting point – inside the bag.
4. 4Something familiar – Small soft toy, book, card game, crayons – chosen by the child.
5. 5Practise – During a drill let the child fetch and put on the backpack; explain the whistle: emergencies only.
6. 6Check regularly – About every six months check clothing size, snack dates and batteries.

Caution: The child's medication, emergency medication and important documents belong in the adults' bags, not in the child's backpack.

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