I spend most of my week at work so chances are I’d be more likely to experience a disaster or emergency here than anywhere else!From severe storms to power outages, a number of things could happen while on the job. Here’s how you can get ready:

1. Review your company’s evacuation policies and emergency exit routes.

2. Find a backpack or something small to keep under your desk that you can grab in a hurry.

3. Add top survival items to the kit - flashlight, food, water, etc. (for a recommended list click here).

Want more? Top work preparedness advice from experts…

Already have a work “to-go” kit? What do you have in it? Share in the Comments section below!

Grilling is certainly up there with baseball and apple pie as one of America’s favorite pastimes. Here at WhatHappensNow, we’re (hopefully) doing our first inaugural grilling session this Friday. Can’t wait!!

Along with high gas prices, Memorial Day bbq-ers might also be met with sticker-shock as they head for supplies - news outlets are claiming that food prices are the highest they’ve been in over two decades [CNN]. Hopefully that won’t break the tradition!

So if you’re joining in the fun and breaking out the grill this weekend, first read through these safety tips from the Home Safety Council:

· Designate the grilling area a “No Play Zone” keeping kids and pets well away until grill equipment is completely cool.

· Before using, position your grill at least 3 feet away from other objects, including the house and any shrubs or bushes.

· Only use starter fluid made for barbecue grills when starting a fire in a charcoal grill.

· Before using a gas grill, check the connection between the propane tank and the fuel line to be sure it is working properly and not leaking.

· Never use a match to check for leaks. If you detect a leak, immediately turn off the gas and don’t attempt to light the grill again until the leak is fixed.

· Never bring a barbecue grill indoors, or into any unventilated space. This is both a fire and carbon monoxide poisoning hazard.

Want more? Top Ten Cooking Safety Tips from experts and firefighters…

Happy Grilling!!

April showers bring…lots more showers and storms. Spring is certainly severe weather season.

Even if you don’t experience hurricanes or tornadoes where you live on a regular basis, severe weather and emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime. In fact, homeowners are 26 times more likely to be affected by a flood than by a fire!

So do what you can to get ready today! Here are some steps to get you started:

1. The essentials: make a “to-go” kit. Even if it’s just a knapsack with important papers, food, water and extra medications, that’s a great start. How to make your to-go kit.

2. Get out now! Time is extremely important in any emergency. Learn how to get out of your home in a hurry. Don’t have a lot of time? Watch this quick two-minute video which offers quick tips and strategies on how to exit your home.

3. Dig deep. Last year, we dedicated a month-long series to help you get ready for anything and everything. Don’t worry, you don’t need to do every task all at once! Just pick and choose what works for you and your family. Get ready for emergencies…

4. Disaster ready. Is your area typically prone to certain disasters? Brush up on your preparedness skills and knowledge with these helpful guides:

• Get Ready: Tornadoes
• Get Ready: Hurricanes
• Get Ready: Floods
• Get Ready: Earthquakes
• Get Ready: Storms

That’s all for Day#3! Tomorrow we’ll suggest quick tips and tasks you can easily tackle over the weekend.

Lauren W., our College blogger, experienced a dorm “fire” at her university. Here’s what she learned:

About a month ago, 414 students were rudely awoken at two-thirty in the morning from their slumber to a chaotic scene. The students were pulled out of bed by loud alarms and ceiling sprinklers going berserk and had to trudge across the street to the other dorm. What caused this scene?

Three male students threw cigarettes in the bathroom’s trash bin without putting them out and the sprinklers immediately went off as soon as they sensed the smoke. They not only went off on the boy’s floor, but the other three floors of the dorm. It did not help when pipes burst and more water exploded into the hallways.

With all of this water coming into the hallways, it was unavoidable that innocent students would receive lots of water damage to their things in their dorms. One of my friends woke up to three inches of standing water, a destroyed laptop, and soaking wet clothing. Not only did he have to evacuate his room for four nights but he also had to bring his clothing to a dry cleaner and figure out the laptop dilemma.

My friend was not the only one who was put in this situation because of a group of boys who were not thinking about consequences. Thankfully, the university volunteered to reimburse all of the students who had property damage. However, it is still important to be aware that fires and other incidents can happen and how to protect your things if something were to happen.

So what can you do? Here are some steps you can take:

Plan Ahead: One of the top ways to guarantee your college belongings are safe is to talk to your insurance companies. Mine covers any damages to electronics and computers without any question for a low price every month. Most large electronic or computer companies will also offer insurance packages as well.

Keep Things Safe: When leaving the room, make sure to look around at what damage could possibly happen while you’re gone. Electronics being plugged in when they receive water damage can be harmful to the object as well as possibly letting of dangerous sparks to the rest of the room. If necessary, put you’re computer tucked away into a drawer. This way it will avoid damage and the possibility of it being stolen.

Organize: Keep as many things off the floor as possible. The floor is the first place where water damage would hit, so the less on the floor the better. Also, keep important items of clothing you wouldn’t want anything to happen in waterproof bins or dress bags.

College life brings along a lot more troubles than just school work - even other students cause a mini-disaster at any moment! When approaching college life, make sure your important belongings are safe from these unexpected twists and turns.

Thanks Lauren!! Have a tip or question for Lauren? Post it below! 

A reader sent us a couple of questions after his fire extinguisher exploded(!) in his closet. Read through these top tips to learn a little more about that uncommonly used but necessary device:

1. Why do fire extinguishers explode?

Fire extinguishers are vessels under pressure. When the pin or handle are tampered with, the gases inside can be released. Make sure your fire extinguisher is mounted properly (often a metal bracket will come with the fire extinguisher) and store them away from heat sources.

If you have questions about your fire extinguisher, contact the manufacturer or your local fire department.

2. Are the materials inside toxic?

No. According to the City of Minnetonka, MN, fire department, “Dry chemical extinguishers are usually filled with mono ammonium phosphate, which is a nontoxic substance. However, large amounts of this powder in the air can cause breathing difficulties.”

Leave the room after an extinguisher has been discharged to be safe. The chemicals should be safe to clean afterwards. Questions? Call your local fire department.

3. How do I dispose of old fire extinguishers?

This depends on the local laws in your area as some might require certain disposal of extinguishers. Again, contact your local fire department or sanitation department to learn about proper disposal in your area.

Learn more about how to properly use fire extinguishers here.

We’ve got our own channel on You Tube now so check us out!

Our first video demonstrates a simple escape plan you can practice with your whole family. Thanks to Fire Chief Marty Scheerer and the Crowley family for their help in the video.

• House Fire Escape Plan

We’d love to hear what you think - feel free to send us your comments, post them below or post them on the YouTube page. Remember to bookmark the page and share with others!

By Jacqueline Lloyd, our guest fire blogger and the author of The Thief of Sacred

A Story of Survival: Read this harrowing, first-person story as author Jacqueline Lloyd, her family and animals evacuated their home and ran for their lives from the Cedar Fires.

The Aftermath: Most people fled our town when the Cedar Fire raged, braving panicking drivers and gridlock on the winding mountain roads to get down to the city. But for me, leaving was not an option.

Since my family’s homes were all destroyed early on in the Cedar Fire fire, I had no idea where to go. My husband had his hands full with his elderly mother and his sister, who had both lost everything. I had my 20 month old daughter, five cats and two dogs in a car wedged full of our treasures- jewelry, pictures, home movies and a computer disk on which I had hastily saved the manuscript of my novel, The Thief Of Sacred, right before we evacuated.

I felt utterly lost. Homeless and scared. The only comfort was that my daughter was too young to really grasp the enormity of our situation: she was busy sticking her fingers into the cat carriers stacked around her car seat and chortling.

It was two-thirty in the morning. Out of sheer desperation, I called a friend who lived north of the fire. Fully expecting to wake her, I was surprised to hear her cheery voice. As it turned out, several other families had shown up on her doorstep earlier, and she threw us a lifeline as well.

My daughter and I bunked with her for two days, along with our cats and dogs and four other families and their pets. I already knew most of the other people, but because it was such a raw time we had really honest, heart to heart talks over wine while we watched the fire rage unchecked.

We all pitched in and helped each other with childcare, cooking, and animal care- keeping the house clean and stocked for each other and for our hosts. The atmosphere was part party, part commune, and part psyche ward. Way too many people and animals and stress in a small house- but lots of love and unconditional support too. Hours dragged by as we huddled around the radio and TV, and fielding phone calls from people elsewhere with tidbits of news and reports of whose house burned, where the fire had gone and where it had skipped.

None of us could really fathom the magnitude of this fire until later, since it was so massive and moved so quickly. Tensions and love ran equally hot. It was life-changing experience. We knew that at the time and it built a very deep bond between all of us.

During the last fire, the Witch Creek fire of October 2007, we hosted people at our house. We’ve learned a lot and we’re very well prepared.

One of our neighborhood bars burnt to the ground this morning, causing us all to realize how suddenly fires can happen - even on one of the coldest days of the year!

Fires don’t just happen at home. Practice these top fire safety techniques when your out to dinner, at work, at the movies or even the gym:

1. Start noticing fire safety features. Make it a mental memory game or an “I Spy” activity - look for the nearest fire extinguisher, smoke alarm, fire hose, or fire hydrant. These are usually kept near entrances and exits and in hallways.
2. Locate the nearest exit. Just like you’re in an airplane, look for the nearest way out of the building. Hint: It may not be a door! Look for windows and other ways to get out in a hurry.

3. If a fire alarm sounds, don’t ignore it. Get out as soon as possible and don’t use the elevator!

Want more? Read our Get Ready - At Work! emergency preparedness article - a lot of those tips can be applied to any building, not just your place of employment.

Bloggers Marc and Angel have a list of the top ten phone numbers you should have in your cell phone just in case. You just never know when you might need them!

• 10 Handy Numbers to Save in Your Mobile Phone [Marc and Angel via Lifehacker]

Also, this brings to mind another blog post from a while back:

• Four Professionals Everyone Should Keep on Speed Dial

Still in need of additional contact lists to have just in case? Print out these handy emergency contact lists to keep a hard copy of your contact numbers - store them near your landlines at home or at work.

By Jacqueline Lloyd, our guest fire blogger and the author of The Thief Of Sacred

You wouldn’t take a cruise without a life boat, right? Insurance is the same idea. It protects you in the event of an emergency. Just remember, when selecting your policy, coverage, and agency, know what you’re buying and understand its limitations.

If a person buys a policy via the internet or just takes the cheapest bid, the old adage holds true: you get what you pay for. Here are a few helpful tips to be sure you’re adequately covered.

1. Do your research. Take the time to do research and develop a relationship with your agent and agency.

2. Read everything through.

• Go through your policy very carefully and make sure you’re adequately covered in terms of replacement costs.
• Be sure to factor inflation into your calculations, as well as the current cost of construction and materials.
• Granted, this is just about as exciting as a visit to the dentist, but you’ll be kicking yourself eternally if the worst does happen and your coverage isn’t what you thought it was!

3. Get extra coverage for the things that matter.

• Pay special attention to items you really treasure. Many people mourn special items they didn’t bother to insure because they never thought the worst would happen. Even if it’s irreplaceable, if it’s properly insured you can at least buy yourself a condolence prize.

As a fire victim, I learned the hard way. You don’t have to!