bsa
HOMELOCAL COUNCILSMYSCOUTINGJOIN SCOUTINGSUPPORT SCOUTINGSITEMAP
Cub Scouts Boy Scouts Venturing Youth Protection Scouting Safely International Information Center
Print Subscribe Email
Boy Scouts of America> Boy Scouts> Advancement & Awards> Introduction to Merit Badges> Emergency Preparedness

Emergency Preparedness


Emergency Preparedness
BSA Supply No. 33368

Scouts are often called upon to help because they know first aid and they know about the discipline and planning needed to react to an emergency situation. Earning this merit badge helps a Scout to be prepared by learning the actions that can be helpful and needed before, during, and after an emergency.

Requirements

  1. Earn the First Aid merit badge.
  2. Do the following:
    1. Discuss with your counselor these three aspects of emergency preparedness:
      1. Recognition of a potential emergency situation
      2. Prevention of an emergency situation
      3. Reaction to an emergency situation
      2. Include in your discussion the kinds of questions that are important to ask yourself as you consider each of these.
    2. Make a chart that demonstrates your understanding of each of the three aspects of emergency preparedness in requirement 2a (recognition, prevention, and reaction) with regard to 10 of the situations listed below. You must use situations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5* but may choose any other five for a total of 10 situations. Discuss this chart with your counselor.
      1. Home kitchen fire*
      2. Home basement/storage room/garage fire*
      3. Explosion in the home*
      4. Automobile accident*
      5. Food-borne disease (food poisoning)*
      6. Fire or explosion in a public place
      7. Vehicle stalled in the desert
      8. Vehicle trapped in a blizzard
      9. Flash flooding in town or the country
      10. Mountain/backcountry accident
      11. Boating accident
      12. Gas leak in a building
      13. Tornado or hurricane
      14. Major flood
      15. Nuclear power plant emergency
      16. Avalanche (snowslide or rockslide)
      17. Violence in a public place
    3. Meet with and teach your family how to recognize, prevent, and react to the situations on the chart you created for requirement 2b. Then meet with your counselor and report on your family meeting, discussing their responses.
  3. Show how you could safely save a person from the following:
    1. Touching a live electric wire
    2. A room filled with carbon monoxide
    3. Clothes on fire
    4. Drowning using nonswimming rescues (including �accidents on ice)
  4. Show three ways of attracting and communicating with �rescue planes/aircraft.
  5. With another person, show a good way to transport an injured person out of a remote and/or rugged area, �conserving the energy of rescuers while ensuring the well-being and protection of the injured person.
  6. Do the following:
    1. Tell the things a group of Scouts should be prepared to do, the training they need, and the safety precautions they should take for the following emergency services:
      1. Crowd and traffic control
      2. Messenger service and communication
      3. Collection and distribution services
      4. Group feeding, shelter, and sanitation
    2. Identify the government or community agencies that normally handle and prepare for the emergency services listed under 6a, and explain to your counselor how a group of Scouts could volunteer to help in the event of these types of emergencies.
    3. Find out who is your community's disaster/emergency response coordinator and learn what this person does to recognize, prevent, and respond to emergency situations in your community. Discuss this information with your counselor and apply what you discover to the chart you created for requirement 2b.
  7. Take part in an emergency service project, either a real one or a practice drill, with a Scouting unit or a community agency.
  8. Do the following:
    1. Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do emergency service. If there is already a plan, explain it. Tell your part in making it work.
    2. Take part in at least one troop mobilization. Before the exercise, describe your part to your counselor. Afterward, conduct an "after-action" lesson, discussing what you learned during the exercise that required changes or adjustments to the plan.
    3. Prepare a personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call. Prepare a family kit (suitcase or waterproof box) for use by your family in case an emergency evacuation is needed. Explain the needs and uses of the contents.
  9. Do ONE of the following:
    1. Using a safety checklist approved by your counselor, inspect your home for potential hazards. Explain the hazards you find and how they can be corrected.
    2. Review or develop a plan of escape for your family in case of fire in your home.
    3. Develop an accident prevention program for five family activities outside the home (such as taking a picnic or seeing a movie) that includes an analysis of possible hazards, a proposed plan to correct those hazards, and the reasons for the corrections you propose.

Resources

Scouting Literature

Backpacking, Camping, Canoeing, Cooking, Cycling, Electricity, Fire Safety, First Aid, Hiking, Home Repairs, Lifesaving, Motorboating, Nature, Orienteering, Pioneering, Public Health, Radio, Rowing, Safety, Small-Boat Sailing, Snow Sports, Swimming, Traffic Safety, Weather, and Wilderness Survival merit badge pamphlets

Books

  • Forgey, William W. The Basic Essentials of First Aid for the Outdoors (Basic Essentials Series). ICS Books, 1989.
  • Handel, M.D., Kathleen. The American Red Cross First Aid and Safety Handbook. Little Brown & Company, 1992.
  • Kelly, Kate. Living Safe in an Unsafe World: The Complete Guide to Family Preparedness. New American Library Trade, 2000.
  • Mason, Rosalie. Beginners Guide to Family Preparedness. Horizon Publishers & Distributors, 1977.
  • Meyer-Crissey, Pamela, and Brian L. Crissey, Ph.D. Common Sense in Uncommon Times. Granite Publishing, 2002.
  • Roskind, Robert A. The Complete Emergency Home Preparation Guide. Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, 1999.
  • Salsbury, Barbara G. Just in Case: A Manual of Home Preparedness. Bookcraft, 1980.

Organizations, Government Agencies, and Web Sites

American Red Cross
Toll-free telephone: 877-272-7337
Web site: http://www.redcross.org

Environmental Hazards Management Institute
Toll-free telephone: 800-446-5256
Web site: http://www.ehmi.org

Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460
Telephone: 202-260-2090
Toll-free telephone for literature requests only: 800-490-9198
Web site: http://www.epa.gov

Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20472
Telephone: 202-566-1600
Toll-free telephone for literature requests only: 800-480-2520
Web site: http://www.fema.gov

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Telephone: 202-482-6090
Web site: http://www.noaa.gov

National Weather Service
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1325 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Web site: http://www.nws.noaa.gov

U.S. Geological Survey
Toll-free telephone: 888-ASK-USGS (or 888-275-8747)
Web site: http://www.usgs.gov

Sitemap | Feedback | Privacy Policy © 2008 The Boy Scouts of America