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Organizations Join Together to Help Communities Prepare to “Weather” the Weather
The International Association of Fire Chiefs, Energizer and the
American Meteorological Society Team Up for National Public Education Weather Preparedness ProgramSpring showers may bring beautiful flowers, but often times, severe weather situations can bring more than we are prepared for. As the first day of spring approaches on March 20, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Energizer and the American Meteorological Society (AMS) are working together to help families prepare for whatever weather situations spring, summer and hurricane seasons might bring their way. Storms can lead to power outages and can put families at risk for potentially harmful and serious outcomes. A simple way to prepare for inconvenient and unavoidable power outages is to have an emergency power kit ready before the blackout occurs.
Recognizing a need for citizens across the nation to be prepared with back-up power supplies other than candles, as well as other necessities for use during power outages caused by severe weather, the Energizer Keep Safe. Keep Going® public safety campaign was developed. Through this preparedness initiative, Energizer, the IAFC, the AMS and more than 6,200 fire departments nationwide work together to provide tips for building a complete emergency power kit and ways for families to stay powered and connected. In addition, the organizations work to provide reminders about the importance of resisting the urge to use candles as light sources during power outages.
“We cannot stress enough the importance of using flashlights and lanterns instead of candles during power outages,” said Chief Jeffrey Johnson, EFO, CFO, MIFireE and president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. “Candles cause an average of nearly 15,000 home fires each year, resulting in significant numbers of preventable injuries and deaths. An emergency power kit can literally be a beacon of light in a storm and can help prevent needless home fires caused by candles.”
In an effort to reach even more communities with tips and tools to help them stay safe during varying weather situations, the AMS has joined this year’s effort.
“It is our goal at the AMS to educate and help spread important messages on weather preparedness,” said Keith Seitter, CCM and Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society. “Education is key in helping families be prepared for potential hazardous weather situations and programs like this public education weather safety campaign are easy reminders.”
What to Include in Your Emergency Power Kit
- Battery-powered radio or crank radio, to keep your family apprised of current weather-related news.
- Plenty of extra batteries. Energizer® Ultimate Lithium and Energizer® MAX® batteries (AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt) provide long-lasting power before, during and after the storm. Lithium batteries have a long storage life, perform well in extreme temperatures and are perfect for use in LED flashlights and other high-tech devices, while Energizer® MAX® batteries are an ideal power source for standard flashlights and lanterns.
- Flashlight for every member of the family. Use flashlights instead of candles when the power goes out. Energizer® Weatheready™ lights feature long-lasting LED technology. With versatile flashlights and area lights, the Weatheready™line is designed to keep your family out of the dark.
- Battery-powered cell phone charger, to help keep the lines of communication open. Energizer Energi To Go® power packs help keep cell phones charged.
- Extra specialty batteries. Your health is your most important asset. Specialty batteries power critical health devices like hearing aids and blood glucose and blood pressure monitors.
“An emergency power kit can offer peace of mind to families caught in spring storms,” said Jim Olsen, Vice President of Marketing for Energizer North America. “Through the Energizer Keep Safe. Keep Going® program, we are reminding families to stay prepared for blackouts by preparing their own back-up power kits so they are ready for power outages during whatever type of severe weather situations that may head their way.”
In addition to back-up power, it is important to gather additional emergency supplies such as water and nonperishable food and to be sure to have copies of important documents such as medical records and insurance papers. For a complete list of tips for preparing for storms and important home fire safety tips, visit www.energizer.com/preparedness.
Review Of Emergency Power Kit
When I lose power in my home due to the weather, I’m the type of person who lights candles in every room in the house. I have actually had a neighbor look in my windows before and wonder how I still had power without the use of a generator when everyone else on the street was sitting in darkness. That is how bright my house is from the use of candles. I never put to much thought in the danger of the possibility of burning down my house from a candle. I make sure to place them in secure areas, BUT all it would take is for me to fall asleep and forget to blow one out or have my cat upset it and we could have a serious fire. It’s not smart or safe to use so many candles during an outage.
I’m thankful for the generosity of the Energizer team who sent me a sample Energizer Weather Preparedness Tool Kit. The kit came in a nice bright red bag and included the type of items to think about having ready in case there is severe weather and a power outage.
Battery-operated Radio
Flashlight
Cell Charger
Variety Of Batteries
Wet Wipes
The Pros
Even though all the items are beneficial during an outage, the Energizer Weather Ready Flashlight has to be my favorite out of the kit. It runs on either 2 AAA or 2 AA batteries and also has an integrated alert whistle. The 2 LED lights make the flashlight extremely bright and use less energy, so the batteries last longer. Additionally, there is no filament, no glass, is virtually unbreakable, and very lightweight. The BIG bonus is the Premium Nichia lifetime LED bulb never needs replacing!
It would be good to have enough Energizer Weather Ready Flashlights available in the kit for each family member. My son is only 29 months and can operate this flashlight without a problem.
The Wet Ones and extra variety of batteries are always good items to have on hand.
The Cons
The battery powered radio is a great idea and worked, but I do wonder how it would perform in an actual emergency. I could only get the FM auto-scan receiver to tune into a single station after several attempts. During severe weather I would want to be able to listen to NOAA weather radio broadcasts which provide continuous news of the latest weather information directly from the National Weather Service offices across the country. This is crucial in case the severe weather is wide spread and would help me plan better for how long the outage might be. Unfortunately, NOAA broadcasts are made on one of seven high-band FM frequencies ranging from 162.40 to 162.55 MHz and require a special receiver to pick up. The frequency scope of the battery-operated radio I received in the kit is 87-108 MHZ and would need to be more powerful to give adequate information during a large storm.
Excellent But Not For Me
A disappointment for me was the cell phone charger. The reason being is there was no adapter included to work with my Samsung Smartphone. Other than that it would be an excellent item to have ready to be used during a power outage. It comes already pre-charged, ready to go, and looks easy to use. It can be rechargeable up to 500 times and contains a smart battery life indicator. It works to give your cell phone up to 3 hours of xtra talk, 18 hours xtra music on your MP3 player, and 20 hours xtra talk for a Bluetooth. FANTASTIC product to have packed in your kit! However, just make sure your cell phone is compatible.
GIVEAWAY!
For a chance to win an Energizer Weather Preparedness Tool Kit ($70value), please leave me a comment sharing how you prepare for severe weather OR one item you always have ready to go in case there is a power outage.
EXTRA ENTRIES
1. Mention the giveaway on your own blog linking back to this post and Energizer. Leave an additional comment with a link to where you blogged about the giveaway. This is worth 5 extra entries. Make sure you leave ten separate comments. (example blogged extra entry #1, blogged extra entry #2, blogged extra entry #3, ect…)
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5. Subscribe to my feed and leave a comment. If you already subscribe leave a comment telling me you are already a subscriber.
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7. Enter any of my other ACTIVE giveaways and leave me a comment for each one you entered.
A winner will be chosen at random via Random.org. Upon notification the winner has 72 hours to send me their contact information. Information will be forwarded to sponsor for prize fulfillment.
Open to US residents only 18+
The contest ends May 16th, 11:59 PM eastern
FTC disclosure : In adherence to the FTC it is necessary to add when ever I receive any compensation in return for posting about a company or product. I received a Energizer Weather Preparedness Tool Kit for review purposes. No further compensation was received. Even though a free product was received, the opinions were of my own.
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After living in Louisiana, We are always prepared for bad weather. WE have on hand..flashlights, batteries, candles, water, snacks, and items for our pets as well.
We also make sure we have water and snacks. We go into the basement when we hear tornado warnings
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I liked Energizer Bunny on facebook Susan Smith #1
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follow via GFC
I have battery powered “stick up lights” in every room of the house.
Since we live in Tornado Alley, we have plenty of candles, batteries, flashlights, battery radio.
We are prepared with flash lights and candles, plus bottled water!
Thanks
We have a second refrigerator for overflow storage and bulk purchases; we start freezing those big cold-pack cooler blocks in May, because we’ve found they can extend the power-outage frozen-food shelf-life time by a week or longer.
This is hurricane country, AND we’re on the Florida Power Grid, so we have a handful of flashlights, hand-crank emergency radios, spare batteries, and everything needed to “camp out” in our house if/when we lose power. My husband has his huge Marine-rated deepdraw battery with a solar charger and an inverter, too. Time to start getting this stuff dusted off. Again (sigh).
i have lots and lots of big fat candles but thats about it
following your blog as klp1965
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1 like energizer on facebook Kathy L Pease
2 like energizer on facebook Kathy L Pease
Another Louisiana poster here.. Bottled water, battaries, canned food, weather radio these are all a must.
I always have my coleman battery lantern ready in my closet and I can do that in the dark, turn it on and wallah instant light…also have back up supply of water and food and with a wood stove can cook on that in the winter..
I always keep Flashlights in the same place and candles are plenty.
I keep a flashlight handy in every room of the house. We also have a weather radio.
Follower on GFC, thanks
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Thanks for the great contest!
bahjeep@aol.com
I always have a flashlight close at hand!
tweet http://twitter.com/ThriftyJinxy/status/14114229655
I’m subscribed to your RSS feed in my Google Reader.
I always have candles (and matches) and flashlights.
daily retweet
http://twitter.com/lmurley2000/status/14116586516
All I really have right now are candles and matches. I need to get more prepared.
We always have a flashlight ready and my cellphone
We just have candles and flashlights.
I follow you on GFC!
We always have blankets and bottles of water ready for an outage.
I always have a flashlight ready
We have a little area we go to with all our supplies if it gets bad enough.
i stock up on candles
I always have a flashlight for emergency blackouts.
tweeted http://twitter.com/annedoggett/statuses/14124966884
I prepare by stocking up on candles, flashlights and portable long lasting food stored in the same spot. That way in an emergency, it’s grab and go’
immortalb4 [at] gmail[dot] com
We have a generator that I always have ready to go in case of any bad weather or disaster.
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
already have button
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FACEBOOK FAN ENERGIZER NO.1
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I prepare for extreme weather by stocking up on canned foods and bottled water, along with flashlights and extra batteries.
Added your button
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I follow on Google Friend Connect~Jessica
I follow on Twitter as Jessilyn82 and tweeted
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I prepare for bad weather by making sure that outdoor furniture is brought inside so it doesn’t get damaged or cause damage.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I follow your blog on google friends connect- Joanne Schultz .
i follow on twitter – js22222222 .
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I subscribe to your blog’s feed via google reader.
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I’m a fan of Energizer on facebook-Joanne Schultz. http://www.facebook.com/js2222
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I’m a fan of Energizer on facebook-Joanne Schultz. http://www.facebook.com/js2222
We prepare for severe weather with an emergency flashlight and battery kit
I make sure I have flashlights and a supply of batteries.
Tweet: http://twitter.com/coriwestphal/statuses/14133589729
I always have flashlights, batteries, and matches ready!
We keep plenty of Energizer batteries and flash lights!
I always have blankets ready to go if there is an emergency
I am following your blog (Charlene)
Following and Tweet:Swtlilchick
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Thanks for the giveaway…we have a NOAA weather radio with an automatic alert if there is severe weather anticipated in the area; it has a battery back-up.
I am a subscriber via email
I am a fan of Energizer on Facebook (Charlene Kuser)
Following you via Twitter: @brianpiero
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/brianpiero/status/14134774212
I always have candles ready to go and also a flashlight is stored in my son’s room, my room and the kitchen.
One item I always have ready to go in case there is a power outage is a flashlight.
I subscribed to your feed.
I became a fan of Energizer on Facebook. #1
I became a fan of Energizer on Facebook. #2
We keep batteries and flashlights ready; have supply of bottled water and non-perishable items; coleman stove and propane to cook outdoors along with the bbq; variety of coolers for the different days to deal with no power; board up the windows for hurricanes.
I always have candles on hand just in case the power goes out
the one item i always have ready to go in case there is a power outage is a flashlight.
tweeted http://twitter.com/annedoggett/statuses/14192488913