Personal Safety
Take care of yourself first
You have just been through a disaster that has turned your life upside down. A disaster can do damage beyond the obvious physical destruction. The hidden enemy could be emotional stress and anxiety. Stay calm and collected and remember that cooler heads will prevail in times of adversity. The Red Cross and FEMA suggest the following steps you can make to relieve any tensions or stress:
- Discuss and communicate your problems
- Rest often and eat well
- Set a manageable schedule
- Watch for signs of stress
- Seek help if you cannot shake feelings of anxiety or stress
Stay healthy
The damage to your business or property from a disaster can cause various potential dangers to your health. The building’s foundation could have become weakened, the electrical system may have shorted out and flooding or rain may have left behind things that can make you very sick. For these reasons, you should avoid the cleanup unless you know what you are doing or until you know it is safe to do so.
FEMA and the Red Cross suggest that infants, pregnant women and people with health problems should avoid the damaged or flooded property until cleanup is complete. In addition, confirm that the water is safe at your property before you drink it or wash anything with it.
The following are some recommended procedures from the Department of Labor to keep you safe and healthy if you attempt cleanup efforts yourself:
Health tips
- Take frequent rest breaks when lifting heavy objects. Avoid overexertion, and practice good lifting techniques. To help prevent injury, use teams of two or more to move bulky objects; avoid lifting any materials that weigh more than 50 pounds per person, and use proper automated lifting assistance devices if practical.
- When working in hot environments, have plenty of drinking water available, use sunscreen and take frequent rest breaks. Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
- Be sure a first-aid kit is available to disinfect any cuts or abrasions. Protect open cuts and abrasions with waterproof gloves or dressings.
- Wash your hands often during the day, especially before eating, drinking or applying cosmetics.
General precautions
- Use a wooden stick or pole to check flooded areas for pits, holes and protruding objects before entering.
- Ensure that all ladders and scaffolds are properly secured prior to use.
- Conduct a preliminary worksite inspection to verify stability before entering a flooded or formerly flooded building or before operating vehicles over roadways or surfaces. Don’t work in or around any flood-damaged building until it has been examined and certified as safe for work by a registered professional engineer or architect.
- Washouts, trenches, excavations and gullies must be supported or their stability verified prior to worker entry. All trenches should be supported (e.g., with a trench box). If no support is available, the trench must be sloped at no less than a 1:1 (45°) angle for cohesive soil and 1:1½ (34°) angle for granular soils including gravel, sand and loamy sand or submerged soil or soil from which water is freely seeping.
- Establish a plan for contacting medical personnel in the event of an emergency.
- Report any obvious hazards (downed power lines, frayed electric wires, gas leaks or snakes) to appropriate authorities.
- Use fuel-powered generators outdoors. Do not bring them indoors. Use life-vests when engaged in activities that could result in deep water exposure.
- Use extreme caution when handling containers holding unknown substances or known toxic substances (for example floating containers of household or industrial chemicals). Contact the Environmental Protection Agency for information on disposal at the National Response Center (1-800-424-8802).
- Do NOT use improvised surfaces (e.g., refrigerator racks) for cooking food or for boiling water to avoid exposure to heavy metals.
Clothing and personal protective equipment
- Always wear water tight boots with steel toes and insoles, gloves, long pants and safety glasses during cleanup operations; sneakers should NOT be worn because they will not prevent punctures, bites or crush injuries. Wear a hardhat if there is any danger of falling debris.
- Wear a NIOSH-approved dust respirator if working with moldy building materials or vegetable matter (hay, stored grain or compost).
- When handling bleach or other chemicals, follow the directions on the package; wear eye, hand and face protection as appropriate, and have plenty of clean water available for eye wash and other first-aid treatments.
Electrical hazards
- Do NOT touch downed power lines or any object or water that is in contact with such lines.
- Treat all power lines as energized until you are certain that the lines have been de-energized.
- Beware of overhead and underground lines when clearing debris. Extreme caution is necessary when moving ladders and other equipment near overhead power lines to avoid inadvertent contact.
- If damage to an electrical system is suspected (for example, if the wiring has been under water, you can smell burning insulation, wires are visibly frayed or you see sparks), turn off the electrical system in the building and follow lockout/tagout procedures before beginning work. Do not turn the power back on until electrical equipment has been inspected by a qualified electrician.
- When using a generator, be sure that the main circuit breaker is OFF and locked out prior to starting the generator. This will prevent inadvertent energization of power lines from backfeed electrical energy from generators and help protect utility line workers from possible electrocution.
- Be aware that de-energized power lines may become energized by a secondary power source such as a portable backup generator.
- Any electrical equipment, including extension cords, used in wet environments must be marked, as appropriate, for use in wet locations and must be undamaged. Be sure that all connections are out of water.
- All cord-connected, electrically operated tools and equipment must be grounded or double insulated.
- Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) must be used in all wet locations. Portable GFCIs can be purchased at hardware stores.
Fire protection
- Immediately evacuate any building that has a gas leak until the leak is controlled and the area ventilated.
- Be sure an adequate number of fire extinguishers are available and re-evaluate the fire evacuation plan.
- Be sure all fire exits are clear of debris and sand bags.
