September is Preparedness Month: Protecting Your Family at Home

September 22, 2025

Emergencies don’t just affect workplaces and communities — they hit families first here in Sacramento and across Northern California. That’s why Week 4 of National Preparedness Month focuses on Family and Home Preparedness.

When disaster strikes, your family may not be together. Phones may not work. Roads could be closed. Pets may be in danger too. The best way to protect your loved ones is to plan ahead, practice together, and make sure everyone knows what to do.

Build a Family Communication Plan

A Family Communication Plan ensures your loved ones know how to connect and where to go if you get separated during an emergency. Here’s what it should include:

  • Out-of-Area Contact: Choose someone outside your immediate area who can serve as the central point of contact. If local phone lines are down, long-distance calls may still go through.
  • Meeting Places: Pick two — one close to home (for a fire or neighborhood emergency) and one outside your community (for larger disasters).
  • Emergency Cards: Write down contact numbers, meeting places, allergies, and medical needs for each family member. Keep these in wallets, backpacks, and cars.
  • Communication Methods: Remind family members that text messages often go through when calls don’t. Practice sending short texts.

FEMA offers a free Family Emergency Communication Plan template you can print and fill out with your loved ones.

Practice Family Drills

Plans only work if you practice them. Run a drill at least once a year — and make it a family activity:

  • Practice a fire escape with kids — can they unlock windows and get out safely?
  • Walk or drive to your meeting place.
  • Show older children how to turn off utilities like water or gas.
  • Include your pets in the drill — make sure carriers, leashes, and food are ready to go.

Customize Your Emergency Kit for Family Needs

In Week 1, we talked about building a personal emergency kit with essentials like food, water, medications, flashlights, and important documents.

For families, it’s important to tailor that kit to everyone in your household:

  • Kids’ supplies – diapers, formula, wipes, extra clothing, comfort items
  • Medications – up-to-date prescriptions for each family member
  • Pets – food, carriers, leashes, vaccination records (Red Cross Pet Preparedness Guide)
  • Special needs items – mobility aids, medical devices, or backup power sources
  • Entertainment – books, games, or small toys to help kids cope during stressful times
  • Wildfire & air quality gear (for Northern California families) – N95 masks, spare air filters, and copies of local evacuation routes

👉 Pro tip: Create individual “go-bags” for each family member (and pets) so that if you need to evacuate quickly, everyone has what they need.

For a full supply list, visit Ready.gov’s Emergency Kit Checklist.

Include Everyone in the Household

Preparedness isn’t one-size-fits-all. Consider the unique needs of everyone in your home:

  • Children: Teach them how to call or text 911, practice “Stop, Drop, and Roll” for fire safety, and “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” during an earthquake. Show them where the emergency kit is stored so they know how to find it quickly.
  • Older adults: Plan for mobility, medications, and backup power for medical equipment. 
  • Pets & livestock: Keep food, carriers, and veterinary records in your go-bag. Consider joining a Local Animal Response Team (CART) to support your community’s animals, too.

For families in Sacramento and the Bay Area, wildfire evacuations and earthquake drills are just as important as fire escape practice. These region-specific risks make it even more critical to ensure everyone knows what to do before an emergency strikes.

Training Makes Families Stronger

Skills matter in an emergency. Knowing how to respond could save the life of a child, partner, or parent. At Safety Training Pros, we offer training that goes beyond the workplace, including:

  • CPR/AED & First Aid – Life-saving basics for home emergencies.
  • Stop the Bleed – Control severe bleeding from accidents around the house or yard.
  • EpiPen & Narcan Training – Be ready to act if an allergic reaction or overdose occurs at home.
  • Wilderness Rescue – Ideal for families who love camping, hiking, or exploring the outdoors.

👉 Ready to take the next step? Find a CPR & First Aid class in Sacramento, the Bay Area, or across Northern California with Safety Training Pros.

Looking Ahead

Family preparedness means peace of mind. By creating a communication plan, practicing drills, and learning life-saving skills, you’re giving your loved ones the best chance to stay safe in any emergency.

Preparedness is about more than surviving — it’s about recovering, too. Next week we’ll wrap up our Preparedness Month Blog Series with Resilience & Recovery, exploring how families can bounce back and thrive after disaster.

This article is part of our September Preparedness Month Blog Series. Catch up on all the topics:

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