Emergency evacuations

in a fire zone or in any other situation must be planned to include everyone. 

There has been much made here of the fact that a father and son did not make it out of the fires in Los Angeles and that they were both disabled. The father was apparently in a wheelchair. His son had visual and mobility issues. 

Someone should have been assigned to help them not on the day of the fire but years ago. There should have been a relative, a friend, a neighbour, someone from an organisation who had the first responsibility to evacuate them. If that person was not available then they should have the responsibility of passing the message on. "I am out of the city X...and Y.. need to be evacuated."

One of the reasons I have never wanted to live in the hills behind us is the fire danger. I would not be able to get in a car and drive out in an emergency. I would be dependent on someone else. I could only pedal so far - and perhaps not pedal at all. 

Here in the suburbs I would have more chance of reaching safety but even then I am conscious that leaving quickly and doing so independently is nor an option for me. I will not simply run from my place of residence and seek safety - but I can leave. 

Making sure people have access to a phone for emergencies will help of course but not everyone has such access in an emergency. If the system fails then other measures need to be put in place, tested and tried before there is an event which puts lives at risk. 

And there need to be very special measures for people who cannot communicate easily - or perhaps at all. I know of a non-verbal man who works in a small family orchard. He knows how to do all sorts of things around the property but it is unlikely he would be safe alone in an emergency. His adopted family have a system in place and hope it will be enough if there is ever an emergency. It has been a lot of work and involved teaching more than one other person how this man communicates. I hope all that preparation is never needed but I also know that those who care deeply about this person are happier knowing that they might be keeping him as safe as possible. 

There are also the very young, the very old, those who are frail in other ways and others who may need help. It is all very well to try and rely on mobile phones, on "alerts" and more but nothing can replace human to human contact and preparedness. 

And when people are safely evacuated we need to be aware some of them might still need more help than others need.  I can remember all too well the occasion on which my friend J.... was stuck in a corner in a crowded room at a conference. I finally managed to reach him and his first words were, "Cat, could you please get someone to give me some water?" That was just at a conference. It was not an emergency setting. J... had a doctorate in mathematics but he could not get himself a drink and needed a straw to be able to drink at all. We raised the issue then and all these years later, more than twenty years after his death, I am still having to raise it.

Emergency evacuation procedures and after care are not working unless they include everyone.