September is National Preparedness Month.

You know that family escape plan you keep meaning to draw up and finalize? You know the one, where you make sure you’ve mapped out two ways out of your bedroom and two ways out of you home. And you’ve chosen a safe meeting place where every one in your family will go in case you have to escape in a fire or other disaster. That plan you keep meaning to go over with everyone in your household. The one you keep meaning to practice.

THAT family escape plan?

I know. We’re busy people. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do. But September is National Preparedness Month. So now’s the time to make that family escape plan. Review it with every member of your household. And PRACTICE it!

If not now, when?

If there’s one thing an emergency will teach us, it’s that everyone rises to the level of their own preparedness. Or perhaps more truthfully, sinks to the level of their own unpreparedness. If you wait until an emergency to come up with a family escape plan, things are bound to go badly. Emergencies and disasters are scary things. You can’t expect every member of your family, or yourself, to behave calmly and escape your home in an efficient and timely manner when the world is crashing in around you. But if you have an escape plan in place, and you’ve practiced that plan once a month, every member of your family will have a much better chance of escaping your home without injury. You’ll have a plan. Everyone will know what to do. You’ll know how to get out -even in the dark, even with the smoke alarm blaring. And everyone will know where to go outside of the home to meet the rest of the family and await first responders.

Don’t you already feel better just thinking about it?

Now is the time. September is the month. Let’s get prepared!

If you’d like a great MySafe:LA Family Escape Plan grid on which to draw a map of your home, download it here!