Take the Stairs, Not the Elevator
Emergency Preparedness – Take the Stairs, Not the Elevator
No two people react to an emergency in the same way. When adrenalin hits your system, emotion easily overrides logic and you may do things that can make your rescue far more difficult. To go down was the correct choice in the NYC Twin Towers disaster of 9/ll, but most were dissuaded by smoke in the stairwells and either stood at the elevator doors, or went up to the roof.
Training and experience provide the advantage for those who can keep their heads under stress. Experienced people will also take the low-tech road whenever possible, too. When one failure spawns others, an electrical outage not only stops elevators but also leaves you in the dark and trapped by automatic doors. The roof brings hope of fresh air, but inordinate energy is needed for a helicopter rescue.
Modern fingertip push buttons have many forgetting they have hands and feet. Gardening, bread making, and bicycling take more time than computer aided shopping and drive-up services. The former, however, are based on self-reliance and personal power while the latter make us dependent on others — energy sources that are out of our control and may not arrive in timely fashion to save us.
Survival of the fittest means staying in shape and being alert to alternative solutions. If you commute, a good pair of walking shoes and a flashlight are always good things to have to get you safely home.
For more information contact (your emergency preparedness specialist).
CATCH THE VISION, GET FACTS, DEVELOP SKILLS, AND BE PREPARED.