Slow down.

Slow down.

If weather or another emergency has left you stuck at home, injuring yourself can turn a manageable situation into a serious emergency. An axe striking a foot while splitting wood, a deep hand laceration or finger amputation while making kindling, or an electrical burn from an improvised repair can change the entire day. These injuries become harder to manage when roads are blocked, communications are unreliable, and medical care is difficult to reach.

If you cannot get out, help may have trouble getting in. Emergency services may still find a way, but you should not assume normal response times or easy transport. Your decisions need to account for that.

The objective is to get everyone through the disruption safely. Every job does not have to be finished today.

Does this job need doing right now?

Before picking up a tool, ask what happens if you wait. Is the task protecting people from an immediate danger, or is it something you would simply like to get out of the way?

A branch lying harmlessly in the yard can usually stay there. A damaged tree hanging over a building calls for keeping people out of the danger area and getting qualified help. Urgency does not make unfamiliar work safer.

Consider the conditions as well as the task. A job you routinely do in daylight on dry ground may become a different proposition in darkness, ice, wind, or driving rain. Waiting for better conditions can be the most useful decision you make.

Before starting, identify a clear stopping point. If the work begins to exceed your ability, equipment, or safe conditions, stop and reassess.

Know the tool before you need it

An outage is a poor time to learn a chainsaw, generator, ladder, or unfamiliar power tool by trial and error. Read the manual, get instruction, and practice ordinary tasks in good conditions beforehand.

• Use the right tool and accessory for the job.
• Check for damage, loose parts, and working guards before use.
• Keep blades and other working parts maintained as directed.
• Secure the work and establish stable footing.
• Disconnect the power source as the manual directs before clearing a jam, changing a blade, or servicing the tool.
• Keep children, pets, and bystanders out of the work area.

A battery-powered tool can injure you just as readily as a corded one. A hand tool also deserves respect: a slipping knife or loose axe head can create a serious problem. Familiarity is useful; complacency is not.

Put on the protection before starting

An injury does not have to be dramatic to make a difficult day worse. Even a speck of sawdust or debris in your eye can be painful and distracting, interrupting the work you were counting on doing. Now you have an eye problem to deal with on top of the outage. Put on appropriate eye protection before the job—even for “just one quick cut.”

Appropriate protective equipment belongs with the tool. Depending on the job, that can include rated eye protection, hearing protection, suitable footwear, task-appropriate gloves, and head or leg protection. Ordinary eyeglasses are not a substitute for safety eyewear.

Choose protection that fits and matches the hazard. Follow the equipment instructions: gloves or loose clothing can create an entanglement hazard around some machinery. A dust mask does not make an unknown chemical atmosphere safe.

Keep the gear where you will use it. Safety glasses in a drawer across the house are easy to skip for “just one cut.” Store the necessary protection with the tool and make putting it on part of the routine.

Protective equipment reduces some risks. It does not turn an unsafe job into a safe one or supply missing training.

Make the work area easier to use safely

Provide enough light to see the work and your footing. A headlamp can be useful, but a complicated job may need proper area lighting—or daylight. Keep cords, tools, split wood, and other trip hazards out of walkways.

Do not use electrical tools while standing in water. Stay out of floodwater and away from downed power lines and damaged structures. Contact the utility or emergency services from a safe location when appropriate; do not assume a line is dead because the neighborhood has no power.

A roof, icy ladder, damaged electrical system, or storm-damaged tree may require skills and equipment you do not have. Keeping clear and obtaining qualified help is a valid part of preparedness.

With storm-damaged trees, bent branches and shifted trunks can move unexpectedly as stored tension is released. Chainsaw ownership is not the same as training for that work.

Fatigue is a reason to stop

Cold, heat, poor sleep, stress, and hunger can make ordinary decisions harder. Take breaks, drink water, eat, and pace the work. If you are making mistakes, losing concentration, or becoming unsteady, stop.

Use help for heavy or bulky loads instead of trying to prove you can still lift them. Make smaller trips when practical. The last armload of firewood is not worth a back injury or a fall.

For work that can safely be done together, use a capable helper and agree on signals and roles. For hazardous work, a second untrained person does not replace professional assistance. At a minimum, let someone know where you are and when you expect to check back in.

Alcohol, impairment, and hazardous tools do not belong in the same plan. Allow enough time to finish safely rather than rushing to beat darkness.

Keep safety in the ordinary outage chores

Small routines are where shortcuts creep in: carrying wood, preparing food, moving batteries, stretching an extension cord, or topping off a generator.

Set equipment where you can reach it without lifting awkwardly or blocking an exit. Keep heat sources and their required clearances in mind when placing bedding, drying clothes, or stacking wood. Follow the operating and refueling instructions for your equipment.

Plan these chores before the storm. Have the right cords, suitable containers, lighting, and protective gear ready. Read our guides to portable power and wood heat for the details specific to those systems.

Build a first aid kit for more than small cuts

Keep a well-stocked, clearly marked first aid kit where everyone can reach it. Choose its contents for your household and the work you actually do. A large advertised piece count can mean lots of tiny adhesive bandages and very little for a serious injury.

Start with the Red Cross household kit list, then discuss additional needs with a qualified first aid instructor. Useful contents include:

• Several pairs of nonlatex medical gloves.
• Large absorbent dressings, sterile gauze pads, and rolled gauze.
• Medical tape, adhesive bandages, and elastic and triangular bandages.
• Trauma shears, a CPR breathing barrier, and an emergency blanket.
• Clean wound-rinsing supplies, a thermometer, and printed first aid instructions.

Add a dedicated bleeding-control kit. A quality commercial tourniquet intended for severe limb bleeding, packing gauze, and a pressure dressing can be important additions when axes, saws, and other cutting tools are in use. Consider hemostatic gauze as part of a kit matched to your training. Buy through a reputable medical supplier or established training program, and learn when and how each item is used.

Take first aid and CPR training, plus a hands-on STOP THE BLEED course. Have more than one household member trained: the person who normally provides help may be the one who gets hurt. Keep practice supplies separate from the emergency kit.

Check expiration dates, packaging, and storage instructions. Replace used supplies promptly. Keep the kit near enough to be useful but protected from moisture and temperature extremes. A smaller task kit can travel to the woodpile or work area while the main household kit stays accessible.

Serious bleeding, an amputation, or an electrical injury calls for prompt emergency help. Supplies and training support immediate first aid while help is arranged; they do not remove the need for professional care.

Have a way to call for help, your exact address or location information, and a backup communications plan. Keep a phone or radio accessible instead of leaving it somewhere you cannot reach if you fall.

For a serious injury or immediate danger, contact 911 as soon as possible and follow dispatcher instructions. Explain any blocked roads, access hazards, and your precise location. Do not assume help is impossible and delay calling. If normal communications fail, use the backup method you have practiced.

When conditions allow, make entrances and the route to your home easy to identify and tell responders about gates or other obstacles. Do not send someone into a hazard merely to meet an arriving vehicle.

Take a minute before picking up the tool

• Does this need doing now?
• Do I know how to do it safely?
• Do I have the right tool and protective equipment?
• Are the ground, lighting, weather, and surroundings suitable?
• Am I rested, steady, and able to concentrate?
• Does someone know where I am, and can I call for help?

If an answer is no, change the plan before starting.

Preparedness includes food, water, heat, power, and communications. It also includes protecting the people who depend on them. Slow down, think the job through, and leave yourself the option to do it another day.