What’s in your kit? Packing emergency kits or grab-and-go bags

“As the owner of a very fluffy, white 11-month-old Samoyed boy, his evacuation go-bag is bigger than mine,” laughs Sue Gardner-Clark, director, Health Emergency Management, IH. “Angel needs brushing every night (with multiple brushes). A lick pad with peanut butter is required, otherwise I am wresting the brush off Angel as he thinks it’s a great chew toy.”

In Sue’s kit:

• Toothbrush, peanut butter flavoured toothpaste, and peanut butter
• Dog bed and cool mat
• Water sprayer
• Dog food for two weeks, spare bowls, treats
• Dog toys
• Shampoo, detangle spray, towels, and pet wipes
• A spare lead
• List of pet-friendly hotels  
• A spare crate, as needed

“With all that stuff and Angel, there is hardly any room left in the car for my stuff!”                      

Sue’s kit almost includes more items for her dog, Angel, than her.

Angel is in good hands should Sue be faced with an emergency.

“We keep a kit in our garage, ready to go. It includes essentials for our children and has been picked by them to include items that are not used everyday, but are sentimental and comforting,” says Jeff Tochkin, manager, Health Emergency Management, IH.

In Jeff’s kit:

• Entertainment and snacks with a long shelf life
• Important documents, including passports
• First aid kit with replacement toiletries
• Large bottle of distilled water
• Radio with batteries

“We have a plan to connect with family outside of the Okanagan, and our kids have a neighbourhood friend they can check in with if we’re not home,” adds Jeff.

“I don’t have a kit per se, but I do have items that are always with me, either in my car, in my purse, or on my key chain or phone,” explains Anne Benn, specialist, Health Emergency Management, South/Central Okanagan.

In Anne’s kit:

• Car: First aid kit, personal hygiene supplies, flashlight, some tools, clothes, flip-flops, blankets, towels, bathing suit
• Handbag: Water, snacks, medications, glasses, hand sanitizer, phone battery
• Key chain: Multi-tool, whistle, carabiner
• Cell phone with emergency alerting notification apps, and completed emergency contact information

“Have an in-town and out-of-town point of contact,” advises Anne. “In my case, if the phones don’t work, the family plan is to come home. And if that doesn’t work, we go to a central location within our community. We also have pictures of anything important in our home and stored in the cloud.”

“Honestly, my trailer is my grab-and-go bag,” says Colin Swan, specialist, Health Emergency Management, Thompson/Cariboo – Chilcotin. “It offers comfortable accommodation for four and is ready for deployment in 20 minutes. It’s fully adaptable to city life or living off the grid. The trailer has water, food, sleeping quarters and a generator, and I can pull it everywhere.”

In Colin’s kit:

• “Fun Finder” trailer stocked with potable and non-potable water
• A food supply
• Extra clothes
• A dual-fuel generator and batteries

“Throw the Rubbermaid container in with the important documents, and I'm good to go to the hills. I'll dig a firebreak around it and light up the unburned fuel when the wind is right.”

Colin’s emergency kit is on wheels and ready to go in 20 minutes.

The ‘Fun Finder’ is ready for adventures… and emergencies.

“As Mike Tyson said, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth,’” says Andre Bloemink, specialist, Health Emergency Management, East/Kootenay-Boundary. “I would not enjoy being punched in the mouth, but you cannot have a plan without information. Any good plan allows for self-sufficiency and does not burden the system further when everyone else is scrambling.”

In Andre’s kit:

• Small solar-equipped RV stocked with fuel, water and non-perishable food
• Second vehicle topped up with fuel to carry other necessities such as small family heirlooms, photos, hard drive and pet essentials
• Fire-proof box with essential documents, ID and cash
• LuminAID solar lights

“Our family lives in three locations at any time of the year. We still maintain a family plan which includes local hazards, egress routes and 48-hour check-in time if communication systems are affected,” he explains.

“Everyone is equipped with various phone apps that will provide their area’s source of truth information and alerting, such as Voyent Alert or Alertable, the BC Wildfire app, or the WeatherCan app.”