Last night, around midnight, I found myself reflecting on emergency preparedness as I waited for the fire trucks to come to my home (a small apartment building in North Vancouver). There was a fire in my building (no one was hurt) and I was outside with all the residents.

Waking up to the fire alarm sure has a way of getting your heart rate up. I quickly got dressed, grabbed my shoes, my keys, my wallet, my phone, and then headed out the door. My neighbors were in the hallway, and we found out one of them had a fire in his kitchen. The fire was out, but the alarms were ringing. We knew all was safe, but we still had to go outside.

How prepared are you if there is a fire in your home?

What about an earthquake?

Is your phone fully charged?

Do you have a grab and go kit for your family?

These questions are timely. We had a fire drill last week, and we are participating in the Great British Columbia Shakeout on Thursday, October 20^th at 10:20 am. Thanks to several parent volunteers, our classroom Grab and Go bags are properly stocked, and we are ready if we need to evacuate the school.

We are also making sure that all our emergency procedures are in place, but we need your help.

• Please make sure you have returned all emergency release forms to the school. Not all forms are in, and we need them.
• Please fill in your child’s comfort kit that was sent home last week and return it to school.
• Please discuss drills and procedure with your children, for both at home and at school.
• Please attend the PAC meeting on October 25^th (7:00 pm in the library). The PAC has invited Bernadette Woit to discuss emergency preparedness and answer questions parents may have. We are looking forward to her visit.

Back to last night: the fire trucks arrived (3 trucks), they confirmed all was safe, put fans in place to remove smoke, and after awhile, allowed us back in to our apartments.  Thankfully no one was hurt, and thankfully we were able to go back inside to our warm beds.

Being prepared is very important. Please make sure you are ready.

Take care.