A plan is a short written agreement the household can follow when people are tired, scared, or in different places. Ready.gov asks: How will you get alerts? Where will you shelter? How will you leave, and by which route? How will you contact one another? Is the kit up to date?
Print this page and write in the tables. Keep one copy in the document pouch, one on the refrigerator, and a photo of it in your phones. Practice it once a year, including a fire-exit walk-through with children.
For supplies, use the separate printable supply checklist. For a fillable federal form, see Ready.gov’s family emergency plan. The official South Carolina Emergency Manager app can also store a personal plan and your zone. Sign up for official alerts in each county where you live, work, or have a second address — some towns, including Summerville and North Charleston, cross county lines, so a neighbor in the same municipality may be in a different county’s alert system and evacuation zone. Contacts for all three counties are on the local resources page.
Household plan
| Field | Write in |
|---|---|
| Household name | |
| Address | |
| Evacuation zone (from Know Your Zone, with the date you checked it) | |
| County alert system we are signed up for | |
| NOAA weather radio location or SAME codes |
People
Blank rows for four household members:
| Name | Phone | Medical notes / medicines | Pickup or help plan |
|---|---|---|---|
Contacts and meeting places
| Field | Write in |
|---|---|
| Out-of-area contact (name, city, phone) | |
| Local meeting place (near home) | |
| Out-of-neighborhood meeting place | |
| School or daycare plan and authorized adults | |
| Workplace plan | |
| Neighbor we will check on, and who checks on us | |
| Pet plan and destination if we evacuate | |
| Doctor, pharmacy, and veterinarian phones | |
| Insurance (home, auto, flood) policy numbers and claim phones | |
| Electric, gas, and water outage reporting |
Stay or go
| Field | Write in |
|---|---|
| If we are told to evacuate, our first route toward | |
| Backup route | |
| Where we will stay (person, hotel, or shelter plan) | |
| Who grabs which bag, the pets, and the document pouch | |
| Utility shutoffs (location of electric main, gas, water) — only if safe |
Fire: get out, stay out, call 911
Work out two ways out of every sleeping room. Keep keys to security bars or window locks where everyone can find them. Close doors behind you as you leave if you can, to slow smoke. Meet at the local meeting place. Do not go back inside.
If the way out is blocked, get everyone into a room, close the door, seal the bottom with a towel, open a window, call 911, and signal for help. If clothing catches fire: stop, drop, and roll.
- Smoke alarms tested this month, on every level
- Carbon monoxide alarms with battery backup on every level, especially near fuel-burning appliances
- Two exit routes from each sleeping room, practiced with children
- Meeting place posted and known
- ABC fire extinguisher in a known location
- Cooking is never left unattended; phones and power banks are not charged under pillows or on bedding
See also Ready.gov: Home fires.
If you are told to shelter in place
“Shelter in place” is not the same as an ordinary stay-at-home day. If officials say the air outside may be unsafe, or you see a plume or heavy debris in the air, follow Ready.gov shelter guidance:
- People and pets are inside
- Windows and doors are closed and locked; fireplace dampers are closed
- Fans, air conditioning, and forced-air heating are off, if that can be done safely
- Everyone is in an interior room with few windows, with the emergency kit if it is not contaminated
- Pre-cut plastic sheeting and duct tape are ready if officials tell you to seal the room (cut several inches larger than each opening and label the sheets in advance)
Listen to official radio or alerts until you are told it is safe to come out. This is a short-term measure.
For a tornado or very high wind, an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows, is the usual guidance. For a flood, go up — but not into a closed attic.
Review when the clocks change (March and November)
Do this when the clocks change in March and November, which is also a good weekend to test smoke alarms. Use the full supply checklist and also:
- Evacuation zone rechecked on Know Your Zone
- Alert sign-ups still work; new phones added
- This plan’s phone numbers, meeting places, and insurance details are current
- Fire exits walked through once
If you witness a public-safety emergency
Call 911. Follow instructions from law enforcement or from an official alert. If you are in a crowded place and an attack is underway, the federal “Run, Hide, Fight” public guidance is the U.S. reference; use official sources rather than rumors, and keep away from the scene once you are out. This site is not a tactical guide.