I live in Northeast Wisconsin. It's not Tornado Alley, but we do have several tornadoes each year. This is the first year with the babies and I'm freaking myself out. There was a tornado warning here tonight and I felt completely unprepared. On top of that, my DH is going to be gone the next two days, including overnight, and I'm worried about something like this coming up when I'm on my own. I also have no plan if a fire would start somehow.

Of course I know the basics: get out of the house if there's a fire and get down into the basement if there's a tornado, but I could use some advice on the logistics. I'm just beside myself imagining having to choose which baby to save first and what would happen if I couldn't get to them all.

This evening DH set up one of the pack & plays in the basement so I'd at least have a safe place to put the babies while I was bringing them all downstairs. I also moved some diaper change supplies down there and put some clothes for everyone, snacks for me, a radio, and a flashlight in a backpack that I can just grab if I need to. All in the interest of being prepared but hoping not to need to use any of it.

What else? How do I get all three to the basement or out of the house as quickly as possible? I can carry two, but how do I pick which two go first? We have a two story house and the bedrooms are on the second floor.

Mom to GBG born in July 2009 at 30w6d: 3#10oz, 3#12oz, 3#2oz

One mom on here once mentioned using a laundry basket. I thought that was a great idea!

Crystal
http://familycernanec.blogspot.com/

That is a good idea, but they weigh nearly 60 pounds total. I'm not sure my laundry baskets could handle that much. Though it would be something to try once I get some kind of backpack carrier.

Mom to GBG born in July 2009 at 30w6d: 3#10oz, 3#12oz, 3#2oz

You would be surprised what you can do when you get scared and its an emergency. I think a laundry basket would be a great idea. I live in Oklahoma, tornado central, and I have thought about this several times and still had not came up with a solution. But I think I will keep a laundry basket near by.

Shely~ Mom to 1+bbg

When mine were little I had a laundry basket in their room so I would be able to just pile all 4 of them in it and get them out. Then I had a duffle bag under one of the cribs. As they got bigger, I got 2 duffle bags. I figured I could have one on each shoulder.

Dawn

Mom to Samantha, Jeremy, Paige and Christian

Born 12/12/03 @ 31w 2d



http://lovinglifewithquads.blogspot.com

My soon to be ex husband is a firefighter and these are a list of tips he gave out.

Fire Safety Tips for Families with Multiples

Because of the unique issues faced by families with multiple young children, we have compiled this list of top safety tips for you and your children. The first set of tips are prevention and basic fire safety, followed by tips for house fire where you can reach your children, and finally fully involved house fire in which you can't reach your children.



BASIC TIPS



For all ages:



•· A smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector on every level of the home including basements and garages. (check batteries monthly and change batteries with yearly time changes)



•· Fire extinguishers on every level of home including your own bedroom. Please take the time to understand how to use them. A fire is not the time to be reading directions.



•· If you have a special needs child, Contact your local fire department and let them know that you have a child/children with disabilities living in your household. (Window Decals should be used with caution.)



•· All two story houses should have fire ladders for each bedroom. (available at Target for $40).



•· Have a fire escape plan and practice it with your children. The most common fire plan is the EDITH (Exit Drills In The Home). Here's a link for creating your own.



•· http://www.ci.encinitas.ca.us/NR/rdonlyres/EF459A12-D0E8-422A-AB11-25EDEA77A12A/0/edith.pdf



House Fire Where You Can Reach Your Child



For babies, non-walkers, and toddlers who can't escape the house on their own:



•· Keep and emergency quilt or basket that will hold all of the children. This should be placed under the crib or directly in the room, not in a closet, in case the fire is too close. Place children into basket or quilt and remove them from the house as quickly as possible.

•· If walking, teach them to close their bedroom door, place cloths or blankets at bottom of door, and go to window and wave to the fire fighters.

•· PLEASE take your kids to the firehouse for a firehouse tour. Fire fighters are scary in their gear. Kids need to be used to them in gear and taught to go to them in a fire. Firefigthers will put gear on and talk to the children with their Oxygen mask on, so that kids will understand what they sound like.





For children who can leave the house without help.



They should approach any doors with caution and using the BACK of their hand touch the door first and then the door knob.
If not hot, they should open the door and crawl to the closest house exit away from the smoke. Crawling is a must, since even if they can't see the smoke, they can still be inhaling the fumes from it and smoke rises.
HAVE A DESIGNATED MEETING POINT near the street or across the street if children are old enough to understand street safety.
If the door is hot to the touch, they should proceed to the window and either wave to the firefighters or if house is equipped with escape ladder, they should use the escape ladder to exit the house as quickly as possible. Once they are safely from the house, they should report to the DESIGNATED MEETING POINT


House Fire Where You Cannot Reach Your Child



As a parent this is the most difficult event to ever face and although this advice goes against every instinct you have as a parent, the very best thing you can do for your child is to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and call 911.



There are many reasons for this:



First, if you are outside, you can direct the firefighters to your children's rooms. So instead of having to conduct a full house search, they can place a ladder directly into your child's window and rescue them, which saves valuable time and could possibly save your child's life.



Second, if you go in and get hurt, the firefighters will most likely find you first in their search, because you are closer to the entrance than your children. They must remove you from the fire first and then come back for your children, thus preventing them from rescuing your children in the quickest manner possible.



Third, firemen are trained to remove your children from the house with minimal smoke inhalation, while your instinct will be to run them through the smoke possibly causing more damage to their lungs than if they were left in their room until the firemen arrived and did a quick rescue (because you were waiting to provide them with the information needed.)





Finally, fire needs three things to burn: fuel, heat (ignition source), and most importantly, oxygen. By opening a door to a fully engulfed house fire, you are providing the fire with a large source of oxygen. If you have ever heard the term backdraft, this is what happens when fire gets that big jolt of oxygen and basically can explode the house. (basicdraft signs are: blacked out windows and brown puffing smoke. NEVER BREAK A WINDOW IF THESE TWO CONDTIONS ARE PRESENT!) Firefighters are trained to recognize and vent the house to prevent an explosion before entering.



Based on these things, the safest thing to do if you can't reach your children is to STAY OUTSIDE.



Teach your child to stay calm, place clothes in front of the door, go to the window and tear down the blinds, and wave to the firefighters.



Things to teach your children NOT to do:



•1. HIDE: A child's reaction will be to hide. More children have been killed this way. They are so scared they go into closets, under beds, and leave their bedrooms. Teach them that the firefighters wear the masks and coats to help them breath and get through the fire. They need to be taught to go to fireman no matter what.

•2. OPEN THE BEDROOM WINDOW: Again, an open window will provide oxygen to the fire which in the worse case scenario will cause a backdraft and in the best case scenario will just cause the fire to get to the room that the children are in more quickly.

•3. STAND OR SIT IN FRONT OF A DOOR. Fires are very noisy events and with the gear a fireman wears hearing is minimal. If your child is standing in front of a locked door, the fireman will hurt the child when they burst through the door. The window is the best place. The fireman can see them and get to them in the quickest manner.







Please program Poison Control into your cell phone and post it by all phones in your house.

Kimberly,
Mom to Isabelle, Alyssa, and Makenna
www.guinntrips.com

We have a 2 story home, and I always fingured that I would take a bedsheet from the nearest bed, place all kids in it and run (assuming my adrenaline rush would kick in and make me super-human).
We have extra supplies in the garage (for us, it's earthquakes that can be an issue)... water, batteries, sleeping bags, etc.

Sheila
GGB 10/29/06

Love the laundry basket idea. You could even drag 2 baskets. Or a sheet or one of those colorful parachutes to drag them on. Last summer we had a small earth quake and I ended up saving NOBODY because I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off not knowing who to go to first. Luckily it wa a small one and by the time I had everyone in the same spot it was over. :/

Crazy mom to:
DS 10
DS 7
& BBB 5!
9/29/06 born @ 32w2d

bumping up just in case someone is worrying about how to get 3 infants downstairs in a hurry - great ideas!

BGG born 4/25/05 at 31w1d




New baby girl born 9/19/06

Great idea to bump, Megan! Thinking of these situations still freaks me out, even two years later.

One thing I wanted to add that came up some time after this thread in a different conversation somewhere else was that you can just slide/bump the laundry basket down the stairs. After reading these responses I tried carrying all three of mine in a basket just to see if I was strong enough, which I wasn't, and now at 2.5 they weigh ~90# total.

Mom to GBG born in July 2009 at 30w6d: 3#10oz, 3#12oz, 3#2oz

Great topic...I think I will do a safety post on my blog and share some of these ideas! Always good stuff to know

Oh and this was my hubby and trio having fun in a basket this time last year, so they were 2 1/2 and a combined weight of about 105 lbs LOL. We also found looping a belt through the basket handle makes it easy to pull if you aren't strong enough to carry it.

Our Blog http://tripmomma.blogspot.com/

I worried about this too when my kids were not walking. I talked to the firefighters. They suggested that I have a blanket or basket that I could put all three in and carry them to where ever I needed it. They also have stickers that you can put on your windows to indicate that you have children in that room. The stickers will reflec their flash lights. They told me that if I have 3 kids in one room to put 3 stickers on the window. They will enter that room first.

We have a ladder in each bedroom ready to go. Our oldest knows how to use it and where to go.
We plan to use a blanket to carry the triplets out. Put them in the middle and gather up the ends and carry. Yes, their heads will probably hit one another, get bruised and they will be pissed but given the circumstances, I'll deal with angry and bruised babies.
Oh, and one more thing...in a local fire, the grandfather tried to save a child by going out on the roof of a first floor room. (They were on the second floor.) He jumped out first and was going to get her out. Little did he know that the fire destroyed the first floor roof and it collapsed when he landed on it. Leaving the girl behind and she did not survive. So don't count on being able to use a roof as an escape.

~C~
Boy, 7
Boy, 4
GBG born at 36w2d on 5/25/10
I *think* we're done.

Thanks for your post. We live in TN and all of the information is helpful to us too. I hate tornados, very scary! Stay Safe!


http://tripletmomplusone.blogspot.com/
http://www.mythirtyone.com/HollieB/
(I work from home as an Independent Consultant for Thirty One Gifts)

Mom to BBG 4 year old Triplets and 2 year old Singleton boy.