We are considering emergency evacuations in pax jet where smoke may be present which will create severe breathing & visibility problems.
Regulations permit 90 seconds for exit.
As far as I know there is no provision for obese pax (who may compose 30% of the population) to be included in the tests.
Are the evacuation tests realistic?
Fitting more exits will cost more. Wider aisles near exits may improve pax flow.

Aircraft evacuations will never run smoothly. The FAA puts down as reasonable a restrictions as the aircraft manufacturers can accommodate.

Are there plenty of resources for residents? If anyone who lives in Pensacola could speak about what they went through after a hurricane as far as employment, home and etc. and what would a newcomer want to know that would be of great help in these events?

I’m from Destin, which is about 50 miles east of Pensacola, and lived there through several hurricanes. When Hurricane Ivan hit, it was almost directly over Navarre, which is halfway between Destin and P’cola. The only real evacuation route out of Pensacola is I-10 (which everyone in NWFL uses), then to I-65 in Mobile, and that route does get backed up, especially since residents of Navarre almost always have to evacuate their island. The good news is, P’cola is right on I-10, so you don’t have to sit in traffic trying to get on the interstate.

As far as I know, there weren’t many employment problems after any hurricanes I lived through, but I also don’t know that there has ever been any catastrophic damage like New Orleans had after katrina. I worked in condo management, so we were always busy after a hurricane doing damage control. There is always clean-up to be done after the fact.

As far as home damage, a few of my friends who lived on the beach had to rebuild at least partially, and I’ve known people who lived further inland that needed new roofs due to hurricane damage, but the further inland you are, the better your chances to escape damage.

I’ve had the bldg fire alarm go off 4 times accidentally this weekend. Tried to get the animals all ready to go as quickly as possible just in case. Found it very difficult to catch them when they are scared. Any tips would be great. Also any tips for their rescue if they are alone and a fire breaks out. Thanks.

Have the cats go to a cage that you can carry. The dog should go to a cage too, but close the door so the dog can’t go in, because he or she might not come out willingly if they see the cage as the safe place. He or she should stand by the cage, then you leash him or her. The turtle depends on if it’s aquatic or land. If it’s land, have a critter keeper (plastic container with slots for water bottle and holes for air) handy, put turtle in, throw it in cage with cats. If it’s aquatic, have a plastic tub just big enough for the turtle that you can cover tightly, put turtle in it, and use a pitcher to add water from aquarium to tub. Carry the cat cage in one arm and hook dog leash around other elbow. You then have a hand free to open doors, etc.

If you haven’t already gotten the dog and cats used to going to the cage when you order it, that is the place to start. Use treats and do it at least four times a day until they get the idea. Believe it or not, even our cat will go in the cage on command. My husband and I are volunteer firefighters, so our four dogs and the cat have to be put in their cages quickly too. We always cage them when we’re out of the house. Hubby did a great job teaching them to go in their cages, and since he has been deployed, I’ve been teaching them the importance of "Cage!" when the fire siren sounds or our tones go off on the radio. They are used to the sound now, and "Cage!" while the siren sounds, paired with jumping up (using body language) makes them scoot with more energy and speed than a normal "Cage!" command.

The next step is to have your own "fire drill". I put a link below to the sound of a fire alarm. You could play it loud on your computer to get the animals used to the noise, so they won’t be scared. Once they will go to the cage reliably, use the sound of the alarm, then your command to go to the cage.

This is the hardest part. You have to stay calm yourself. Try to not communicate anxiety through your body language or the sound of your voice. Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, stresses the importance of communicating with energy. I posted a link also to where you should start on his website. Be really calm while teaching them to go to the cage, then once they get used to that, stay calm while using the alarm sound with cage, then once that is mastered, communicate excitement without fear to encourage a quicker response.

You can get stickers that notify firefighters that there are pets in the apartment. This link is also below.

Do you have a neighbor who could help you carry or lead the animals? It’s so great that you’re thinking this out in advance. It may save your life in addition to your pets’ lives.

We moved out 4 months ago and we’ve been wondering why he didn’t send us our deposit. We were getting ready to file charges and today we get a $4000 bill most of which was renovations to help his house sell. Does anyone have any suggestions? My 1st question is: is 4 months too long to wait and my 2nd question is: how do we fight stuff like renovations that we don’t agree with? Thanks.
State of Oklahoma

Landlords only get 14-45 days depending on state to refund a deposit or send a final accounting. 4 months is completely uncalled for in any state!

They have lost any right to collect that money even if you did legitimately cause any damages. They have waited far too long to collect. Landlords lose all rights to the deposit when they do not follow this law. You need to sue them for full refund of your deposit.

EDIT: For some people’s education: Even with no lease on a verbal month to month agreement the landlord is bound by general law. Every state has a law on how long a landlord has to refund the deposit after the tenants vacate. A lease is NOT needed in order to dispute a landlord not returning the deposit.

If you’re not required to leave for any of these, what’s the difference?
Doesn’t mandatory mean you don’t have a choice? I heard you can’t be forced to leave? Anyways, how would they be able to track down everyone who stayed to film the storm?

the definitions of the words speak for themselves but voluntary
means you don’t have to leave it is a choice.
Mandatory means that you must leave as you are told to do so by someone in charge.There is not a choice

Where can I find an evacuation pamphlet or handout for children in elementary school? Is there a website I can go to in order to find one? I need it to be for children, not their parents.

Some information is below./

It is a matter of opinion whether it suffered - in many cities children would have received little or no education, especially if they were working in factories or other businesses, their propsects may well have improved, as did their health, when sent to a rural community with good schools.

I have to answer a question for my History coursework comparing two different sources on how useful they are about the start of the evacuation, but I have absolutely no information about it. Help would be much appreciated please!
Sorry, I paid hardly any information to details - I meant evacuation of children in London

You are NOT giving us enough information for an accurate answer. The Germans evacuated their children also…see?
The Jews shipped their kids to Britian when they could. (Anne and Margo Frank could have been evaculated to Britain because they had relatives there-but their parents could not get them out by the time they needed to go into hiding)

Am assuming you mean evaculations in response to the London bombings. It was voluntary. Chaotic,

In highschool it was a evacuation code blue or red forgot..and the teachers were aware and yelled at us to run out…RUN out not WALK out so thats weird….could it be that one of us decided to wear a mask and blend in with all the other costumes and go crazy?we werent told yet..i did see cops come in with guns in their palms..this is esactly what i think it is right?

Well cops have never come in to my school with guns in their palms- it’s not necessary for training.
Police are always busy anyways.

There could have been some sort of threat, but not a massacre because you would have heard something from you friends.

Check around and check the news.

I live in an area that is extremely unlikely to be hit by floods, hurricanes or wildfires. What are some other reasons that would require emergency preparedness or evacuation. Asking because it may influence how I prepare for the "just in case". Looking for the obvious I may have missed as well as more far-fetched-never-thought-of-that before type stuff. Possible events and stuff to stash away is helpful. Also what are some good survivalist/preparedness websites?

OK, possibly chemical spills from a train, tractor trailer, or manufacturing plant? Bad snow storm, tornado or other weather phenomena? Any nuclear plants near you? (Think Chernobyl.) Terrorist attack? Medical epidemic like influenza? Drinking water contamination?

The Red Cross’ website is a good place to start for info. on preparedness.