How To Be Prepared For An Emergency

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How To Be Prepared For An Emergency"

Podcast Information:

• Title: All Of It
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Episode: How To Be Prepared For An Emergency
• Release Date: January 13, 2025
• Duration: Approximately 28 minutes

---

Introduction

In the January 13, 2025 episode of WNYC’s All Of It, host Alison Stewart addresses the pressing issue of emergency preparedness. Prompted by recent devastating fires in Los Angeles and a significant apartment fire in the Bronx, Stewart brings on Jason Lyons, the Red Cross's Regional Manager for Individual and Community Preparedness, to discuss comprehensive strategies for crisis readiness. The episode aims to equip listeners with actionable insights on how to effectively prepare for, respond to, and recover from various emergencies.

---

1. Common Mistakes in Emergency Preparedness

Jason Lyons opens the discussion by identifying a prevalent misconception: many individuals believe that disasters are unlikely to affect them personally.

“[02:22] Jason Lyons: The biggest mistake people make is thinking it wouldn't happen to me.”

This mindset fosters complacency, leading people to underestimate the importance of proactive preparation. Lyons emphasizes the necessity of acknowledging potential risks, regardless of one’s perceived safety net, even in a city like New York with robust emergency services.

---

2. Building the Perfect Go Bag

A central theme of the episode revolves around the concept of a "go bag"—a portable kit containing essential items needed during an emergency evacuation.

Essential Items:

• Water: At least one gallon per person per day, sufficient for up to seven days.

  “[03:52] Jason Lyons: One gallon per person per day.”

• Food: Shelf-stable, non-perishable food items that can last for extended periods (up to a year or more).

• Medications and Prescriptions: Including a supply of essential medicines and copies of prescriptions.

• Important Documents: Copies of IDs, passports, birth certificates, and other vital records.

• Flashlights: Preferably with extra batteries or alternative power sources like solar-powered or hand-crank models.

  “[04:59] Alison Stewart: What else? Medications. Yes.”

• Communication Tools: A transistor radio to receive updates if cellular networks fail.

• Comfort and Entertainment Items: Especially crucial for children and the elderly to alleviate stress (e.g., a small teddy bear, playing cards).

Personalization and Multiple Locations: Lyons stresses that each go bag should be tailored to individual needs, accounting for family size, specific medical requirements, and personal preferences.

“[03:36] Jason Lyons: So every go bag should be different...”

Additionally, having multiple go bags stored in different locations—such as home, car, and workplace—ensures preparedness regardless of where an emergency occurs.

---

3. Special Considerations in Emergency Prep

a. Pet Preparedness: Lyons underscores the importance of including pets in emergency plans, advising pet owners to pack food, water, vaccination records, and any necessary medications.

“[11:16] Jason Lyons: Prepare go bags for your pets...”

b. Digital Documentation: Listeners are encouraged to digitize important documents by storing them in the cloud or on portable flash drives to ensure accessibility even if physical copies are lost.

“[12:54] Listener Stephanie: ...copy your documents and put them in the cloud.”

c. Community and Neighborly Support: Building strong relationships with neighbors can be invaluable during emergencies. Sharing contact information and establishing a support network enhances collective resilience.

---

4. Creating an Effective Emergency Plan

Lyons outlines the critical components of an emergency plan:

• Designated Meeting Places: Establishing three muster points—nearby, within the community, and out-of-state—to ensure family members know where to gather if separated.

  “[08:54] Jason Lyons: ...Have three muster points...”

• Communication Strategy: Utilizing apps like the Red Cross’s emergency app to store and share emergency plans digitally.

  “[16:30] Jason Lyons: ...download the Red Cross emergency app...”

• Emergency Exits and Shelter-in-Place: Understanding building protocols, such as sheltering in place in fire-resistant buildings or using stairwells instead of elevators during evacuations.

  “[23:45] Jason Lyons: ...Understanding what your emergency exit is...”

---

5. Listener Experiences and Expert Insights

The episode features several listener calls that provide real-world examples of emergency preparedness and response:

• Stephanie from Long Island: Highlights the importance of warm clothing, maintaining a neighborhood communication group, and digitizing important documents.

  “[12:51] Listener Stephanie: ...started a WhatsApp group in my neighborhood...”

• Mike from Central Park West: Shares his experience with a building fire, emphasizing the value of knowing neighbors and having emergency procedures in place.

  “[18:59] Listener Mike: ...knowing who the neighbors are...”

• Delilah’s Anecdote: Recounts how her early investment in KN95 masks proved beneficial during the pandemic, illustrating proactive preparedness.

  “[17:58] Listener Delilah: ...I had a crazy stash of KN95 masks...”

Expert Advice from Jason Lyons: Lyons advises maintaining clear emergency exits, ensuring stairwells are unobstructed, and preparing emotionally to manage panic during disasters.

“[26:26] Jason Lyons: ...do not turn that panic into activities that's going to cause more chaos.”

---

6. Technological Tools and Apps

Lyons recommends leveraging technology to enhance preparedness:

• Red Cross Emergency App: Facilitates the creation and storage of emergency plans, providing step-by-step guidance for various scenarios.

  “[16:30] Jason Lyons: ...download the Red Cross emergency app...”

• Cloud Storage Solutions: Ensures that important documents are accessible from anywhere, reducing the risk of losing critical information.

---

7. Psychological Preparedness and Community Support

The episode delves into the psychological aspects of dealing with emergencies. Lyons emphasizes the importance of staying calm, supporting others, and having strategies to manage stress, especially for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.

“[26:57] Jason Lyons: ...keep calm, breathe. Try your best to do that...”

Community support systems, such as neighborhood groups and communication networks, play a pivotal role in enhancing collective resilience and providing mutual assistance during crises.

---

Conclusion

Alison Stewart wraps up the episode by reiterating the necessity of individual and community preparedness. By sharing expert insights and real-life experiences, the episode empowers listeners to take actionable steps toward ensuring their safety and the safety of their loved ones during emergencies. Stewart encourages ongoing community engagement and the sharing of preparedness strategies to foster a resilient and informed populace.

“[27:18] Alison Stewart: ...thanks for all your tips and everybody be like Sharon. Yes. That's all of it for today.”

Notable Quotes:

• “[02:22] Jason Lyons: The biggest mistake people make is thinking it wouldn't happen to me.”
• “[03:36] Jason Lyons: So every go bag should be different...”
• “[11:16] Jason Lyons: Prepare go bags for your pets...”
• “[16:30] Jason Lyons: ...download the Red Cross emergency app...”
• “[23:45] Jason Lyons: ...Understanding what your emergency exit is...”
• “[26:26] Jason Lyons: ...do not turn that panic into activities that's going to cause more chaos.”

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of All Of It serves as a comprehensive guide to emergency preparedness, blending expert advice with practical listener anecdotes. It underscores the importance of proactive planning, community collaboration, and the utilization of technological tools to navigate and mitigate the impacts of disasters effectively. Whether you're a long-time New Yorker or someone looking to enhance their preparedness strategies, the insights shared by Jason Lyons offer valuable guidance for safeguarding against unforeseen emergencies.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

WNYC Studios is supported by Carnegie hall presenting the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Yannick Nezes again in a program of Mahler's 9th Symphony and Songs for Murdered Sisters written in collaboration with Jake Heggie and Margaret Atwood. January 15th. [e-mail].

[Jason Lyons]

Listener supported WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it from WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Since last week, we've been watching as a series of fires burns their way through the Los Angeles area. As of this morning, 24 people have been killed. According to the LA Times, firefighters have made progress against the blazes, but extreme winds today up to 70 miles an hour are expected to make things worse, potentially leading to what the National Weather Service is calling explosive fire growth. NPR will keep bringing you updates about that. Here in the New York area, we do deal with fire emergencies if they're not like the scale of the California fires. This past Friday, an apartment fire in the Bronx left eight people injured and a dozen families homeless. And beyond fires, our region frequently goes through periods of high flood risk, as named storms like Sandy, Ida and Irene, and the occasional blizzard in the winter and heat wave in the summer. So today we wanted to talk about how to be prepared for a crisis, how we should plan beforehand, how we adapt in the middle, and how we pick up the pieces after us. Joining us now to walk us through all of that is Jason Lyons, the Red Cross's regional manager for individual and community preparedness. Jason, thanks for joining us.

[Jason Lyons]

Thank you for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

Listeners, if you've had to navigate a fire, a flood or any other kind of natural disaster, we want to hear what the experience taught you about emergency preparedness. What did you take with you? What did you learn? Could help a neighbor going something similar. Give us a call, 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Or you can hit us up on social media. LLNYC. So you're in charge of emergency preparedness for the Red Cross in our region. Let's talk about some of the biggest mistakes that people make in the way they think about being prepared for a crisis. What kind of mistakes do they make?

[Jason Lyons]

Well, thank you for having me and having us here. I think the biggest mistake people make is thinking it wouldn't happen to me. Right? You know, we see it happening on tv, we have seen on the radio looking at things and thinking, you know, what that's happening to someone else, not me, or just thinking that I'm so secure or I'm so prepared in my little way, because I live in New York, because we have a very wonderful emergency response system here, and the authorities are going to take care of everything, and it's not going to happen to me. I think that's the biggest mistake people make. So addressing that is the first issue of understanding that one, while there are a lot of resources in our neighborhood, in our city, in our state, we have to be on top of our game. We need to know what measures we have to take in place so that we are ready, we are prepared for any eventuality in the region.

So you're talking about being.

[Alison Stewart]

How should we prepare for being?

[Jason Lyons]

Let me start again.

Ready for everything.

Ready for everything. That's it. Bottom line. All right, onto the go bag. Let's talk about the go bag. That's the big thing. What should every go bag have?

So every go bag should be different. And that's why we say repairedness is the person's role. Because what is in your bag, Alison, would not be my bag. It might have some things that are common, right. Flashlights, first aid kit, water. 1 gallon per person per day. That's a lot of water. If you have a big family.

One gallon per person per day.

Up to seven days.

Up to seven days, actually in some.

Because some schools have thought advice to have that for two weeks. Right. And that's a lot of water, if you think about it. You can get a big tub, one of those storage bins, and fill that up with water for your family, depending on the size of your family. So, you know, there's a lot of things that you could do. Medications, prescriptions, additional copies of your documents, important documents. All of these things are things that you can have in your bag. But if you think of what I've been saying so far, a lot of those things are personal. I don't know what medicine you take. I won't be able to keep that in my kit. So you need to build that and build it for yourself. So everybody needs to make that go bag for themselves and have one. I like to have multiple. We recommend having multiple. You have one at home. We're always in the car. If you're in the car, have one in your car and maybe have one at work, because you never know where there might be a situation that you have to deal with and you have to respond to. So having the go bags is one way we can reduce the risk that we face.

[Alison Stewart]

I want to go back to some of the basics of the go bag.

[Jason Lyons]

Sure.

[Alison Stewart]

So we talked about flashlights. You talked about one gallon per Person per day.

[Jason Lyons]

Water.

[Alison Stewart]

What else? Medications. Yes.

[Jason Lyons]

And your documents. So making sure that you have copies of your documents. Driver's license, passport, whatever. Personal documents you have. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, if you treasure that. You know what I mean? Things like that. Going back on the flashes a little bit. Extra batteries, extra bulbs. Right. Or maybe having a different type of flashlight. You have a hand crank, solar powered, all these different things. Having a transistor radio, because when things happen, sometimes the cell phone network goes down. Your Internet might be out and you need to find. To get information somewhere, because that's one of the key parts of the whole preparedness cycle, is making sure that you are able to get information. So having a transistor radio, you can listen into the radio station, listening to Allison and hear what she has to say if she's broadcasting. We talked about the medication, we talked about the paperwork. Having some sort of food, right? So shelf stable food by being canned might be packets with shelves stable for food that can last a long time. And you can get go bags or emergency kits that last for a year. You could get those that last for 10 years. It all depends on what you plan to do.

That's interesting because it lasts for a year, for 10 years.

[Alison Stewart]

Because I remember.

[Jason Lyons]

I sort of remember like after 9, 11, having a go bag. And then I looked up and I went back to it in five years.

[Alison Stewart]

Like, this isn't any good anymore. But I thought myself, oh, I'm good. I have a go bag.

[Jason Lyons]

But you really do have to check on it.

You do have to check on it. There's things expire, but you have shelf stable food. If you. I don't know that. You know, look, there's. There's a community called preppers. You know, if you look at the work, the food at this store, they sell food for 10 years. You can get shelf stable food for 10 years. So it all depends on what you want to do, right? And if you're gonna get food that only lasts six months, then, you know, in four months, you need to replenish that or change it out, use it, and replace it with new food stock. So those are some of the things I would say are pretty much standard for having in a go bag.

This is a tough question. Do you recommend family items or mementos? Should they go in the go bag?

Of course. Of course. And I'm glad you bring that up. So one of the things that we often avoid when you're dealing with disasters or when it comes to recovery is comfort items, right? We recommend it big time. For everyone, especially for kids. For children, it might be a small teddy bear. It might be whatever you consider a comfort item, something that helps you relax, right? That's one thing. We recommend having that in there. Another thing that you want to have in your go bag is some sort of entertainment, right? And when the power goes out or there's no Internet, you can't use your phone, but you might be able to use your cards, a pack of cards, a deck of cards, play some card games, play some dominoes, whatever it is, something small, obviously I could fit in the bag. But some way to entertain yourself because psychologically it's a lot that makes sense when you have these disasters affecting us. And so you want to find a way to release some of that stress. So one, through that comfort toy or two, by playing some sort of a games that you might have in your bag with your family, a board game of sorts.

We're talking about emergency preparedness with Jason Lyons, Red Cross of Greater New York's regional manager for individual and community preparedness. We want to hear from you. If you had to navigate a natural disaster, what was the experience like? What did it teach you about emergency preparedness? What did you take with you? What did you learn that could help your neighbor going through something similar? We're crowdsourcing this. 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. Okay, so you have your go bag, but then you have to decide on a meeting place. When deciding on a meeting place, what should people think about?

So your first shelter is your home. Your first shelter should always be your home. So what, what, what that means is that you need to make your home as prepared as possible, right? Do what you need to make sure that you, if you're home, if you're sheltering in place, I'm going to use that. You have everything that you need at home. Should you have to move, should you have to evacuate for a variety of different reasons? Should you have to move to. You need to know where that shelter is, right? So there's a list of shelters in your community, everywhere across New York. Not just New York City, but across New York. There's a list of shelters you can find online. Go on there. Find your shelter. Find the closest one to you. Because when it's time to evacuate to a shelter, you need to know where you're going. I need to know your fastest route there. But that's for sheltering. Now, if there's an emergency in your home, you need to. We always suggest having Three muster points. A muster point or gathering point for you and your family. The first one should be somewhere in the immediate vicinity. So if you live in a home or a house, you know, down the street by this particular neighborhood, it might be a playground. Playground, wherever it is. But identify a place and communicate that within your family network and within your emergency network. Say, hey, guys, should something happen at home? Should it be a fire? Should it be whatever it is, this is where we're going to meet. And that's very important because what happens is you find sometimes one person may not know what to do. When they go, they go. I mean, and there are a lot of sad stories around that, but you want to make sure and identify that one place near your community. Secondly, identify a place outside of your immediate community. So I live, let's just say, for instance, I live downtown Manhattan. I maybe want to do something uptown, you know, a little bit further away, so in case downtown Manhattan gets affected, I can go uptown. You know what I mean? So, and again, communicate that, right? And then we always say have another point of contact outside your immediate. For instance, New York, for instance, if something should affect New York and somebody might be thinking, well, what's going to affect the whole of New York? A lot of things could affect the whole of New York. A lot of things have affected the whole of New York before. And so maybe have something out of state, another place. If something should affect the entire of New York, we're out and about. I'm going to Auntie Suzanne in, I don't know, Jersey, whatever. But communicate that beforehand so that everyone knows what the plan is should something happen.

Got a text.

[Alison Stewart]

Cell phone chargers.

[Jason Lyons]

Don't forget them. Another text says, prepare go bags for your pets, which include rabies and vaccination documents.

Wonderful topic. I'm glad I came up. One of the things we want to talk about. So preparing for pets has always been a topic that's dear to me. I love pets. I love dogs specifically. But one of the things you have to think about now is not just yourself and your immediate family, but you're vulnerable members of your family being pets, kids, seniors that might need additional assistance. So what do you have in place for someone that has functional access needs? Right. Going into a shelter, you need to make sure that they have the resources that they would need to be comfortable for children. Do you have the necessary supplies for them? Yes, the state might have, the city might have, but don't depend on that. Think about what you have, and that brings you to pets as well. What do you have in place for pets? Do you have an emergency bowl? Do you have something that a pet can drink water from? Should you be put in a shelter? Do you have food that you can walk with, treats that you can walk with? Always have these things on hand as well as prescriptions. If your pet is on prescription, do you have those medications? And so for the pets. So, you know, think about everything that you do in a normal way, in a normal day and how are you preparing for that should something happen in your community.

Let's talk to Stephanie from the North Shore of Long Island. Hi, Stephanie, you're on the air.

[Listener]

Hi. Thanks for taking my call. After Sandy, we lost power for five days. It was quite cold here. So I would recommend, like, warm clothes. I also think that this should be all the time a recommendation to always have your car filled with gas. I think it's important. And we did this, we started a WhatsApp group in my neighborhood. You don't have to be friends, but you have to be able to reach out to people and, you know, contact, you know, people that are around you. And I think it's also important we have the technology to do this is to copy your documents and put them in the cloud so you don't have to panic. And I'm trying to do that also with some of my, you know, old photographs that are not like digital and try to digitize them. So thanks a lot. I love this.

[Jason Lyons]

Thank you so much. Anything you want to add?

Yes, the document portion of it. So I always walk around with a pendant that's a flash drive that has my information on it. So a lot of business when we share putting information in the cloud, there are concerns around that. We understand that. But it's a great way of storing these documents. You have to look for ways that make sense to you that's going to keep your documents available but secure when doing it.

[Alison Stewart]

Listeners, we want to know if you've had to navigate any kind of natural disaster. We want to hear what your experience taught you about emergency preparedness. What did you learn that could be helpful for your neighbors or listeners? Our number is 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. We'll have more with the Red Cross's Jason Lyons after a quick break. This is all of it.

Here's a way you can support WNYC in our centennial years. Donate your used car. We'll turn your old car into the news and conversation that we've been serving to the community for over 100 years. Many listeners have already donated their cars to WNYC. It's an easy way to support the station and you'll get a tax deduction. Learn [e-mail] car.

[Ira Flatow]

This is Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, the science Friday team has been reporting high quality science and technology news, making science fun for curious people by covering everything from the outer reaches of space to the rapidly changing world of AI to the tiniest microbes in our bodies. Audiences trust our show because they know we're driven by a mission to inform and serve listeners first and foremost with important news they won't get anywhere else. And our sponsors benefit from that halo effect. For more information on becoming a sponsor, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.

[Alison Stewart]

You'Re listening to all of it on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is Jason Lyons. He is with the Red Crosses Greater New York Regional Manager for individual and Community Preparedness. He's walking us through what we should do in case of an emergency. We got some great texts, Jason. This one says a small roll of duct tape is invaluable. This one says list of important phone numbers for if your cell phone dies. We've forgotten certain numbers, but let's talk about apps. You said there are certain apps that we should keep in mind.

[Jason Lyons]

Yes. So one I'm glad that person raised a very, very pertinent the keeping your contact information. So in creating your plan, one thing we want to talk about is you must create. You should create an emergency plan for your family. Right? That emergency plan can look many different ways. You can create it on an app. There are many different apps you can help you create that. The Red Cross has an emergency app on there. There is an emergency plan that you can create for your family, right? You can also download it and print it out and have it home as you can use it to update yourself on that emergency for your family. You will list all the contact information for again three 1 immediate contact in your neighborhood, another one nearby, and another one out of state. So you can do that on the app downloaded printout. The app also gives you tidbits or walks you through how to deal with certain emergencies you may have. It might be a first aid emergency or even a CPR emergency or dealing with other hazards. Might be a storm, tornado, what to do and what not to do. So that's it's a very useful app. I say download it, look on, go on your app store and download. Look for a Red Cross emergency and you'll be able to find that app and download it onto your phone, and you can have all those tidbits at your fingertips whenever you need to use them.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Delilah. Hi, Delilah. Thank you so much for calling all of it.

[Listener]

Hi.

I listen to your show every single day. I just have a little funny anecdote. When I first moved to New York, I was. I have had a go bag for a very long time, and I've been a little bit of a doomsday prepper for a very long time. I just like to be prepared because I grew up in Buffalo, and I think you should be able to, like, live in your car for a couple days if you get in a sunstorm. So anyway, doomsday prepper. When I first moved to New York City from Buffalo, I was very paranoid about a subway fire or gases in the subway. So in my go bag, this was like. I mean, in the early 2000s, I bought a bunch of KN95 masks, and I had those in my go bag. And then when the pandemic, when the news came out to start wearing a mask and no one could get masks, I had this crazy stash of KN95 masks. And I was like, oh, my God, I bought those years ago. So I was, like, giving them out to the same people who made fun of me for buying them.

[Jason Lyons]

They were glad to know you. Let's talk to Mike next.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi, Mike.

[Listener]

Hi, this is Mlake. I live at 471 Central Park west in Manhattan, and our building caught on fire. It's been over two years now. And I'm from the Midwest, where in Detroit, like, you always know your neighbors. So in this building, like, I just made sure that, like, every knew each other beforehand. Like, we shared numbers. Sometimes we have dinner together. Anyway, one of the neighbors, we were all evicted. Like, there was a sign we couldn't get in the building. And I was at a wedding back in the Midwest for my brother during the fire. So, like, the neighbors had to, like, give me the information, like, you know, sending texts like, you know, during the wedding that the building is, you know, huge flames were shooting out of the roof. But the. And all I had was the stuff for the wedding. And when I got back, none of us could get back back in the building. But by being friends with all my neighbors, we found out from one of the neighbors that in order to get back into your unit, you have to get permission from the department of building. Like, our building management didn't let us get back in the building, but we got, like, the, like, the advocate that works for the Department of Building. It's. It's on Broadway right by City Hall. Like, they have open house, like, every Tuesday and Thursday. And that person came and they had to, like, ensure that certain individual units were safe to get back in because I didn't have, like, a safety bag like you were talking about. I didn't have, you know, my. My passport, anything. So it was, like, so essential to, like, to know who the neighbors are, you know, and so many of the neighbors. The building is still not completed. Like, I'm in my unit because my unit was not damaged, but the top two floors were evacuated, and they're still, like, under repair. But so I still keep in touch with my neighbors because we're all, you know, the building's, like, half empty, and we're still trying to figure out what to do, and thank God. It's just like, you know, we have this, like, phone tree automatically. So it's so important. So many New Yorkers are so private. Like, they don't want to know who their neighbors are, you know.

[Jason Lyons]

Very true. Yeah.

We're really right.

[Alison Stewart]

Mike.

[Jason Lyons]

Thank you so much. We wish you and your neighbors well. We have a question here. I'm not sure gonna have the answer, but we'll go for it anyway. Hey, Dana, thanks for calling, all of it.

[Listener]

Hi. Thank you, Allison. I love your show, but many. There are many apartment dwellers, especially. I live in Manhattan, in New York City. I'm a single senior woman. So what should I. I don't have a car. What you're describing is way too much for anybody to carry. What should I have in my go bag? Because I might have to carry it personally and possibly for many blocks, but I want to have what I really need.

[Jason Lyons]

What do you suggest for people who. It's an issue if they can't carry their bag?

Agreed, agreed, agreed. And those are the basics I mentioned in the beginning. Having some water, having at least a day or two supplies of water, a couple bottles of water in your bag. That's important because we need that. Having your documents, copies of your documents, whether it be in person, preferably, or on the cloud, whatever you want to do. Make sure you have copies of your documents, whatever prescriptions. If you're on prescription medicine, make sure you have that. And then contact information, anyone that you need to reach out to in your emergency, immediate network. Having that as a basic, you know, basics. Yeah. Would be. Is a starter. Right.

[Alison Stewart]

You could put that in, like, in your grocery bag.

[Jason Lyons]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Alison Stewart]

If you go to think about it.

[Jason Lyons]

Actually and having, I mean a little flashlight. A flashlight, you know, they have the rechargeable ones and the little ones, little batch one, having a flashlight because you know when the lights go out, it's really scary sometimes. And lastly, some of a snack, some sort of a meal, something you could eat in the interim. That's what I would suggest for a basic go bag for anyone. I wanted to go back to the caller before I just mentioned that and I'm glad you raised that point. So Red Cross in the region. We go to every fire in New York City. We provide some temporary care for everyone that was affected by a fire. So for instance, the fire you mentioned that happened in the Bronx on Friday, we're giving. Persons are getting care for that right now. We do temporary housing for us, you know, given the situation. And then we work with the city like Department of Housing to get persons back into their homes or temporary or long term housing. So it's something that you should think about as well. You know, what happens if I were to lose my home, my apartment was on fire. Where am I going next? What's the next step?

[Alison Stewart]

Here's a question for you that's kind.

[Jason Lyons]

Of hard to ask, but I'm asking anyway.

[Alison Stewart]

Sometimes people are in the middle of a disaster, they don't know whether to stay or to go.

[Jason Lyons]

What do you do in that situation? Are there questions you should ask yourself? Do I stay or do I go?

Yeah. So great question. In our environment, in our community, if you live in a home that is on an apartment or a condo that's above six floors, it will typically be, it should be in what we refer to as a fireproof or fire resistant building. So that's where sheltering in place comes in. If there's a fire in your building, we want you to shelter in place, right? Which means keep your door, your front door locked and then you can put a, hang a towel outside or something to ink it. I'm in the, I'm in this space, right? So that's a sheltering place situation, especially for the caller we had before, that might be seen. They might be able to move on their own. You want a shelter in place now. It gets risky when you're not. When you're low floors and you want to evacuate. We always advise, don't use elevators when there's a fire in your building, use the stairwell. So knowing where that stairwell is, believe it or not, a lot of people don't know where that stairwell is. And believe it or not, a lot of stairwells Sometimes are locked. Right. Because the super or the building management decided to lock that. But understanding what that means, understanding what your emergency exit is in whichever building you're in, whether it be at work, at home, is extremely important. And knowing how to traverse it when the time comes. One other point on that is if you live in a home where you're going to be using a stairwell for exit, make sure those stairwells are clear for usage. Because when something happens, if there's a fire, for instance, it's not gonna be the same environment that you remember when there is not a fire. It's dark, it's cloudy, it's smoky. You're trying to traverse it in those environments. And then if you have boxes piled up on the stairway, we have a big problem.

That's a big issue. Like people keep stuff outside of their apartments. Cause I think it's a problem. It really. You should keep the halls clear.

You should.

Let's talk to Sharon. Hi Sharon, thanks for calling all of us.

[Listener]

Hi. I live in a home and I've had two floods with five feet of water. I've learned to take all photographs and everything that's dear and put it on the second floor of my house. And I've also, I have a 95 year old neighbor and she has a code to get in her house. I made her give me the code because if she falls out or anything, I'm able to get in the house and get her assistance because she's very independent and it took me forever to get that code, but I said no.

[Jason Lyons]

Oh, congratulations to Sharon. That is key. We've got about a minute left. A lot of people panic in these situations. What advice would you give to people if they find themselves truly in a moment of disaster? They gotta make a decision and go.

That's normal. Panicking is normal. We're human and we are expected to do that. What we don't want you to do is turn that panic into activities that's going to cause more chaos. You know, that's what it is. So we know, we expect it. And if you're somebody that you're able to control your feelings better, look out for others. And we always say, you know, especially for children and seniors, but particularly with children, this is brand new to them. And that's one of the reasons why we encourage things like when the fire department has a touch of truck and we say, you know, go to those open houses. Why?

[Alison Stewart]

That's smart.

[Jason Lyons]

Yeah. A fire officer, a fire officer looks very different in bunker gear, their outfit than when you see them on the street, and if it's a fire and you see a fire officer, they're gonna think it's a monster. So keep calm, breathe. Try your best to do that and know that you made plans already to get through this disaster.

[Alison Stewart]

Jason Lyons from the Red Cross, thanks for all your tips and everybody be like Sharon. Yes. That's all of it for today. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.

[Ira Flatow]

Support for WNYC comes from Perelman Performing.

[Alison Stewart]

Arts center presenting Cuckoo by Ja Haku.

[Jason Lyons]

In partnership with under the Radar.

[Alison Stewart]

This multimedia journey through the past two decades of Korean history runs January 16th through the 18th.

[Ira Flatow]

[e-mail] on the next Brian Lehrer Show, a special edition covering the confirmation hearing for President Elect Trump's controversial nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Issues range from his behavior toward women to his prediction of some sort of civil war in which the military and the police will be forced to make a choice. His words, coverage of the Hegseth hearing and more on the Brian Lehrer show, weekdays at 10am on WNYC.

[Jason Lyons]

This is WNYC FM8.

[Alison Stewart]

WNYC Studios is supported by Carnegie hall, presenting the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Yannick Nezes again in a program of Mahler's 9th Symphony and Songs for Murdered Sisters, written in collaboration with Jay Jake Heggie and Margaret Atwood. January 15th. [e-mail] Since WNYC's first broadcast in 1924, we've been dedicated to creating the kind of content we know the world needs. In addition to this award winning reporting, your sponsorship also supports inspiring storytelling and extraordinary music that is free and accessible to all. To get in touch and find out more, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.