3 Steps to Better Prepare Your Family and Home
10 Jun 2021
Today's video shares 3 steps to take to get your family and home better prepared. Just in time to put the kids to work over the summer break! You can find the written script below the video, if you prefer to read rather than listen.
Welcome back to the HT2 channel. I am Kelly and I will be walking you through today’s video. Wherein, we share some tips for you to consider in making your family and home better prepared. We recognize that you may be delaying your efforts to get your family and home prepared, because you don’t know what to do, so we are going to make this easy for you.
So, let’s cover three places to start. The first thing to do, when developing your family’s preparedness plan, is to investigate your risk of disaster for where you live. Look for both internal and external risks. Within your home, you have internal risks like housefires, carbon-monoxide poisoning, food poisoning, tripping, falls, etc. Externally, the location of your home will largely influence your external risks. In Washington State, we have many types of geological and weather-related hazards that can occur like flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, lahars, windstorms, tornadoes, and that is just the short list.
Once you have identified the types of risks you are most vulnerable too, you can now move onto the second step of mitigating risk internally. In the mitigation step, you are looking for ways to safeguard your loved ones and protect your property. Life safety is your number one priority and knowing what to do before an event occurs is essential to survival.
Lastly, and the final step in today’s video is to mitigate your risks for external threats. You should familiarize yourself with the local risks and what emergency management mitigation plans exist. Go to your local city, county or state emergency management office to learn about the geological and weather-related risks that are likely to occur where you live. Think about events that have happened in the past too. Your individual experience can guide you well as you move into implementation of mitigation plans.
So, now you know what you should do to get better prepared and next week we will get into the how to implement these mitigation strategies. Thanks for joining us today and we hope that you will continue to follow us and join us next week to learn more about making your family and home better prepared. Remember to Like, Share, and Subscribe to get the latest videos. Until next time. Have a safe day!
Business Disaster Preparedness Plans
3 Jun 2021
In today's video we cover the importance of developing or updating your business' disaster preparedness plans. We have also included the written version below, if you would rather read at your own pace.
Every business has inherent risk for interruptions. This past year alone has proven that biological events can have wide scope impacts on individuals, families, schools, businesses, and the greater society. There are internal (weaknesses) and external (threats) that every organization faces. Have you assessed your organizations risks? Check out these stats alone:• In 2013 the NFPA estimated that U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 3,340 fires in office properties per year. These fires caused an annual average of four civilian deaths, 44 civilian fire injuries, and $112 million in direct property damage. The vast majority of the fires in this category were in business offices. • Earthquakes are a threat in most states within the U.S. and WA state ranks in the top three. • According to the USGS, Flooding is the number one cause of disasters in WA State. So, we ask you to ponder the following: • Has your business looked at these threats and others to assess the risk to your business? • Has a plan been put together? • Have staff been trained? • Has the plan been tested, exercised, updated, and maintained? We share these statistics and questions to ponder to help you assess your vulnerability. Without an effective plan in place, you run the risk of becoming a statistic for failing. FEMA reports that nearly 25% of businesses do not reopen their doors after a disaster and of those that do reopen, the SBA estimates that nearly 90% will close their doors within two years following the disaster. Nearly all experts in the field of disaster preparedness agree that having an effective disaster preparedness plan in place is one of the best methods to put into practice to protect your business, its assets, and your reputation. An effective plan will include steps to establish upper management and financial support, assessments for your specific risks, identification of your essential operations, development of contingency plans for recovery, implementation of life safety and effective emergency response plans, effective testing, training and maintenance of said plans. These plans will not happen overnight. You will need to allocate significant amounts of time and money to the development, implementation, testing and maintenance of your plans. Keep in mind that for every dollar you spend on preparedness efforts, you will save 4-6 times that cost in response and recovery efforts.Now is a great time to develop or go back and look at your plans and assure that they are as robust and up to date, as possible. Take this past year and conduct an after-action report, which is basically assessing how prepared you were in your response and recovery. Likely, you will find gaps in your plan and that is where you make alterations and improve your existing plans. Likely improving your outcome to the next interruption.Good luck my friends. As always, we are here to help you with your development, implementation, testing and training efforts. You can reach me directly at kelly@ht2consulting.com or visit our website at www.ht2consulting.com.
TOP 10 TIP FOR RE-OPENING IN THE PANDEMIC
27 May 2021
In today's videos, we cover the Top 10 Tips for Re-opening during the pandemic. If you would rather read the script for the video we have attached it below for your reading pleasure.
I am Kelly and I will be walking you through today’s video. Wherein, we cover the top 10 Tips to consider when re-opening your business or organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. This should be pretty short and sweet as we will be covering the top 10 tips at a glance. If you would like a FREE copy of our Top 10 Tips, please contact us directly to access your copy. Before we get into the top 10 tips, we wanted to share CDC’s Three Golden Rules for spread prevention, which are: 1. Wash your hands frequently. 2. Maintain social distancing, and 3) Wear masks when in the presence of others, particularly if you are yet to be vaccinated. We suspect these recommendations will change over time, but for now they are still being recommended on CDCs site. Now back to the tips. We created these top 10 Tips months ago and they still hold up to current recommendations, so we encourage you to consider the following when you reopen your offices. Of course, we would also recommend that you consider your own needs and adjust your plans accordingly. Here are the top 10 tips for re-opening during the COVID -19 Pandemic1. Stay Informed2. Develop Health Screening Measures3. Develop Procedures for When Employees Become Sick4. Mitigate Exposures5. Require PPEs and Provide Hygiene Supplies6. Communicate7. Educate, Model,& Check in with staff8. Cleaning/Sanitization9. Limit Entry Points10. Limit Travel and Modify Commuting PracticesWe recognize that the list is pretty simple and we would encourage you to reach out to get the full version that outlines steps you can take for each Tip category. So, if you are thinking about re-opening your offices, contact us to get your FREE PDF version. You can download the tips from our website at www.ht2consulting.com or contact me at kelly@ht2consulting.com and I will personally send you your FREE copy.
IS YOUR STAFF PREPARED AT HOME?
13 May 2021
In today's video we cover the importance of ensuring that your staff are prepared at home. We believe that it is the first step in developing your continuity plans. Check out some fun ways to encourage and incentivize staff preparedness.
EXERCISE BUILDS MUSCLE MEMORY
6 May 2021
In today's video we continue on our emergency response plan series and focus on exercising your plans. With training, drills and exercises you are building muscle memory in your staff, so that they will know what to do, when an interruption occurs.
Check it out:
DOES YOUR STAFF KNOW WHAT TO DO?
29 Apr 2021
In today's video we continue on our quest to encourage your organization to update your Emergency Response Plans. Whether you update, alter, or leave as is, you should take this time to educate your staff on your plans, so that they know what to do.
Check it out:
WILL YOUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS WORK?
22 Apr 2021
In today's video we discuss the IMPORTANCE of reviewing your emergency respone plans to ensure that they are still current, particularly as we go back to the offices. If your group is entering the office space in a hybrid model, then it is absolutely necessary to make sure that the plans in place will work with limited staff in the offices.
Check it out below:
10 TIPS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE IN AN EARTHQUAKE
15 Apr 2021
In today's video we cover 10 Tips to keep your kids safe in an earthquake. These are things you should do before the earthquake happens.
Check it out below:
DISASTER PROOF YOUR HOME
8 Apr 2021
In today's video we cover the steps to take to assess the risk to your home and steps you can take to mitigate the risk.
Check it out below:
DISASTER KIT CONTENTS
1 Apr 2021
In today's video we talk about the different types of kits, what should be in them (at a minimum), and where should you store your kits.
Check it out below:
TO BUILD OR TO BUY
25 Mar 2021
In today's video we provide you with the benefits and drawbacks to building or buying your disaster kits. We also share a great tool developed by the American Red Cross that can be found here: https://bellevuewa.gov/sites/default/files/media/pdf_document/RedCrossCalendar.pdf
Check it out below:
WORKPLACE SAFETY
18 Mar 2021
In today's video we provide you with information to ensure the safety of everyone that works in a typical office and those that are working from home. Check it out below:
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGINS
11 Mar 2021
In today's video we share information about the the importance of using Daylight Saving Time as a semi-annual checkpoint for your preparedness plans. We will briefly cover your survival kit, family plans, and maintaining life safety devices. Check it out below:
HAZARD HUNT.....HOW TO!
25 Feb 2021
In today's video you were learn how to conduct a hazard hunt at your workplace or at home. Learn about the rooms that are typically most risky and ways to mitigate that risk. Check it out below:
WORKPLACE EARTHQUAKE SAFETY - FAMILY PREPAREDNESS
18 Feb 2021
In today's video we share the first step in any organization's earthquake safety/preparedness planning. The first step should be to mandate that staff have family preparedness plans in place, so that they are able to implement said plans and return to work quickly. Check it out below:
SEATTLE EARTHQUAKES
11 Feb 2021
TYPES OF EARTHQUAKES, THEIR FREQUENCY AND THREAT!
In today's video we share information about the types of earthquakes likely to occur in our region. We cover some historical events, as well as the need to prepare for said events. Check it out below:
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
4 Feb 2021
2020 hit us with a devastating biological event. Was your organization prepared for this event? Watch the video below to review small business survival statistics and the importance for planning for the next interruption.
DISASTERS, DRILLS & SURVIVORS
28 Jan 2021
Today's tip centers around the need to create, teach and test your emergency response plans. Whether it is for your business or your family. Everyone should be taught what to do before an event, so that the response is second nature, requiring little brain power. We want to be able to make quick decisions in stressful times and you can make that happen if you have a plan, teach the plan and repeatedly practice/drill the plan.
Take a look at our latest video that goes further into the importance around this topic below:
Take a look at our latest video that goes further into the importance around this topic below:
TIPS TO NAVIGATE THE HOLIDAYS DURING A PANDEMIC
24 Nov 2020
These are unprecedented times for sure! We have the ongoing spread of COVID-19 throughout the United States coupled with colder temperatures, significant pandemic fatigue and the Holidays upon us!
We need to remain vigil and do our best to mitigate the spread. Please consider holding your celebrations with only your immediate household or bring it outdoors. Just the other day, I learned about a family in Texas that had gathered for an indoor birthday party on November 1st. Afterwards, each of the twelve family members subsequently contracted COVID-19 and also spread it to three others not present at the birthday party. Luckily, no one lost their lives, however there are many other stories that did not end as well. So, please take a few minutes to review HT2's latest video below.
Stay safe and be thankful for your health and the health of your friends and family over the Holidays. Please let us know if you have created some creative ways to share the Holidays with loved ones, while staying safely apart. We would love to hear your stories.
We need to remain vigil and do our best to mitigate the spread. Please consider holding your celebrations with only your immediate household or bring it outdoors. Just the other day, I learned about a family in Texas that had gathered for an indoor birthday party on November 1st. Afterwards, each of the twelve family members subsequently contracted COVID-19 and also spread it to three others not present at the birthday party. Luckily, no one lost their lives, however there are many other stories that did not end as well. So, please take a few minutes to review HT2's latest video below.
Stay safe and be thankful for your health and the health of your friends and family over the Holidays. Please let us know if you have created some creative ways to share the Holidays with loved ones, while staying safely apart. We would love to hear your stories.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME: A Time to Prepare
13 Nov 2020
In this video you will learn about how you can use Daylight Saving Time to check on your smoke/carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and your kits to make sure everything is in working order. I promise you will learn something new on this video. So, click below and learn what you can do to make your home safer and better prepared.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO PRACTICE!
23 Oct 2020
Here is our latest video in our preparedness series. In this video you will learn how to properly respond to an earthquake for inside your home and if you happen to be outside. One tip we didn't share in the video, since my 11-yr. old son was the demonstrator, was what to do if you are driving. Obviously, he is too young to drive, so I thought that would be a little odd to film.
Thus, I share the tip in writing here with you now. If you are driving and you feel the earthquake (which you may not or you might think your vehicle is misbehaving), pull over, avoiding objects that could fall upon you (overpasses, trees, power poles, etc.) and stay in your car until the shaking subsides. Afterwards, proceed cautiously, as the road may have been impacted by the shaking. Drive slowly and use caution. One more related tip, it is a good practice to keep at least a quarter of a tank in your vehicle's fuel tank, in the event it is unsafe to remain in the area and you are being told to evacuate.
Now you can check out to the video and let me know what you think. Please feel free to share with your friends and family and encourage them to schedule an earthquake drill and practice their response procedures.I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your own text and edit me.
Thus, I share the tip in writing here with you now. If you are driving and you feel the earthquake (which you may not or you might think your vehicle is misbehaving), pull over, avoiding objects that could fall upon you (overpasses, trees, power poles, etc.) and stay in your car until the shaking subsides. Afterwards, proceed cautiously, as the road may have been impacted by the shaking. Drive slowly and use caution. One more related tip, it is a good practice to keep at least a quarter of a tank in your vehicle's fuel tank, in the event it is unsafe to remain in the area and you are being told to evacuate.
Now you can check out to the video and let me know what you think. Please feel free to share with your friends and family and encourage them to schedule an earthquake drill and practice their response procedures.I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your own text and edit me.
WA STATE GREAT SHAKEOUT (Earthquake drill)
6 Oct 2020
Here is our latest video in our preparedness series. Annually the State of WA hosts the Great Shakeout on the third Thursday in October. This year that day falls on October 15th.
Come join me and 620,000 other Washingtonians as we Drop, Cover and Hold on, while practicing how to respond to an earthquake. Inside this video you will learn about how to get involved and register for the event.
If you are working from home and have little ones virtually learning, you should take this opportunity to talk about your earthquake preparedness plans, assess and remedy any gaps, and teach and practice how to respond to an earthquake safely within your home.I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your own text and edit me.
Come join me and 620,000 other Washingtonians as we Drop, Cover and Hold on, while practicing how to respond to an earthquake. Inside this video you will learn about how to get involved and register for the event.
If you are working from home and have little ones virtually learning, you should take this opportunity to talk about your earthquake preparedness plans, assess and remedy any gaps, and teach and practice how to respond to an earthquake safely within your home.I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your own text and edit me.
As always we are here to support you in your preparedness efforts. Particularly, in these novel times.
For a limited time, we are offering free 30-minute consultations to address your questions and concerns. Give us a call at 206-914-3812 or send me an email at kelly@ht2consulting.com to set up a time that works best for you.
Think of us as the missing piece in your preparedness puzzle!
Stay safe!
For a limited time, we are offering free 30-minute consultations to address your questions and concerns. Give us a call at 206-914-3812 or send me an email at kelly@ht2consulting.com to set up a time that works best for you.
Think of us as the missing piece in your preparedness puzzle!
Stay safe!
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS COMES TO AN END
30 Sept 2020
TOP 10 TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS
Here is our latest video in our preparedness series. It seemed fitting to celebrate the last day of September and the National Preparedness Month with today's video. In today's video you will learn about our Top 10 Tips for Earthquake Preparedness.
Not the best snapshot of my talking head, bu the content is valuable nonetheless. Don't let the end of September stop you from continuing to prepare. Take a few minutes to review the tips and then look at the weekend quickly approaching to implement the tips!
If there is something in particular that you would like us to cover in our weekly tips series, please send us a message. Kelly's contact information is outlined below.
Not the best snapshot of my talking head, bu the content is valuable nonetheless. Don't let the end of September stop you from continuing to prepare. Take a few minutes to review the tips and then look at the weekend quickly approaching to implement the tips!
If there is something in particular that you would like us to cover in our weekly tips series, please send us a message. Kelly's contact information is outlined below.
As always we are here to support you in your preparedness efforts. Particularly, in these novel times.
For a limited time, we are offering free 30-minute consultations to address your questions and concerns. Give us a call at 206-914-3812 or send me an email at kelly@ht2consulting.com to set up a time that works best for you.
Think of us as the missing piece in your preparedness puzzle!
Stay safe!
For a limited time, we are offering free 30-minute consultations to address your questions and concerns. Give us a call at 206-914-3812 or send me an email at kelly@ht2consulting.com to set up a time that works best for you.
Think of us as the missing piece in your preparedness puzzle!
Stay safe!
REMEMBERING 9-11 & TIPS TO IMPROVE INDOOR AIR QUALITY
23 Sept 2020
A BOX FAN AND A FURNACE FILTER
At HT2, we are trying to get back into posting our weekly tips and generating some videos for your viewing pleasure on YouTube. Our latest video is shown down below and in the video you will see the owner and principal consultant, Kelly Kasper, speak to the remembrance of 9-11 and the creation of September as National Preparedness.
We also shared a tip to help with improving the air quality indoors, in the event we have more wildfire smoke drift into our region. The video is a little over 4-minutes in length and if you enjoy the video, please like it, share it with friends, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
We also shared a tip to help with improving the air quality indoors, in the event we have more wildfire smoke drift into our region. The video is a little over 4-minutes in length and if you enjoy the video, please like it, share it with friends, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
If there is something in particular that you would like us to cover in our weekly tips series, please send us a message through the "Contact" button on this website.
For a limited time, we are offering FREE 30-minute consultation sessions to help you in your preparedness journey. Whether you want to begin planning or enhance your current plans, HT2 is here for you. National Preparedness month is almost over, so take advantage of this offer and schedule a call today. Simply click on the "Contact" button and send us a message to take advantage of this limited time offer.