Emergency Preparedness: Safety Point Person

Safety is everyone’s responsibility, but there also must be at least one person who has the specific responsibility of implementing the recovery home’s safety checklists to ensure it gets done. We have all been in situations where we notice a small thing, such as the batteries missing in the smoke detector, and everyone thinks someone else is going to fix it, so it does not happen. Having a person who is responsible for checking these items ensures that the house is consistently prepared.

In Level II and Level III homes, these activities need to be included in position assignment descriptions for the appropriate individual who has these responsibilities.

In Level I homes, the operator can provide a checklist and remind residents to do it. If the operator does not receive a completed monthly checklist, they should contact the residents and ask that someone complete the checklist.