# The Disaster Preparedness Module

The FIRM Guide (thefirmguide.com) — companion to The Recoverable Family.
Fill this in privately (any text editor or by hand), then store it in your Vault.


## Secure Guide Starter Template — Disaster Preparedness

> This template belongs in The Secure Guide, stored within The Vault. Update whenever document locations, supplies, or backups change.

A disaster does not give you time to organize. It gives you time to execute. In the FIRM context, preparedness is not primarily about supplies — it is about ensuring the family's information infrastructure survives the same disruption the family does, and the question is broader than the house flooding: what happens if the person who knows where everything is cannot be reached? The minimum threshold is three things: a Vault that survives or travels, critical documents with a path out of the house, and at least one other person who knows. A perfectly organized Vault that only one person can find or open is a single point of failure.

Off-site does not mean somewhere else in the house. A backup drive in a different room does not survive a fire; a second copy in a different drawer does not survive a flood. Off-site means physically and digitally independent of the residence — a trusted relative's home, a safe-deposit box, the attorney's office, an encrypted cloud copy reachable from anywhere. And because cloud copies are reached through accounts, and accounts through recovery flows: note how each location verifies the family before granting access, give those accounts the strongest authentication you use anywhere, and treat unexpected offers of help during a crisis — “we can restore your access” — as verified through the contacts already written down, never the number the message provides.

### Vault and Record Storage
| Item | Location | Format | Last Verified |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Primary Vault location |   | Physical / Digital / Both |   |
| Off-site or cloud backup |   |   |   |
| Portable document bag location |   |   |   |
| Encrypted backup drive location |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |

### Critical Documents — Status and Location
| Document | Original Location | Digital Backup | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Passports |   |   |   |
| Birth certificates |   |   |   |
| Social security cards |   |   |   |
| Insurance policies (home, auto, life) |   |   |   |
| Property deed / mortgage documents |   |   |   |
| Vehicle titles |   |   |   |
| Will and trust documents |   |   |   |
| Power of attorney documents |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |

> The File Storage Module is the system of record for where originals live — if a location changes, update File Storage first, and this table at the next rotation check. This view adds what a disaster needs: per-document status and digital-backup verification, on one grabbable page.

> Account credentials are referenced by location, never written here — they live in the Vault.

### Household Preparedness
| Item | Location | Last Checked |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Go-bag (primary) |   |   |
| Go-bag (per additional family member) |   |   |
| Household supply kit |   |   |
| Fire extinguishers |   |   |
| Smoke / CO detectors |   |   |
| First-aid kit |   |   |
| Backup power (batteries, generator, solar) |   |   |
| Emergency cash reserve |   |   |
| Emergency alert subscriptions active |   |   |
|   |   |   |

### Supply Rotation Schedule
| Item | Replace By | Rotation Frequency |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Food and water supplies |   | Annually |
| Medications |   | Per expiration |
| Batteries |   | Annually |
| Fire extinguisher inspection |   | Annually |
| Smoke detector test |   | Quarterly |
|   |   |   |

> A kit assembled in good faith and never revisited is not a preparedness resource — it is an illusion of one. Tie this schedule to a review the household already keeps: the annual FIRM review, the insurance renewal, a date you will remember.

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## Family Guide Starter Template — Disaster Preparedness

> This template belongs in The Family Guide. It tells a trusted person what to grab and who to call in an emergency.

> In the matching Secure Guide section: critical-documents inventory, preparedness checklist, and supply rotation.
>
> That detail is what makes recovery possible — and it is protected in the Vault, which opens with The Vault Key. The key is never written here, by design. The people listed on this page know how it is kept, and the steward's job is to keep that path current, so this page never leads to a locked door.

### In an Emergency — What to Grab



### Go-Bags and Household Supplies



### Who to Contact



> For the full emergency contact list and evacuation plan, see the Communications Module.

> If records are lost or damaged, contact the insurance agent first. Policy numbers are in The Secure Guide and on the Insurance Summary page of this guide.

### Key Document Replacement Contacts
| Document | Replacement Contact |
| --- | --- |
| Passports | U.S. Department of State |
| Birth certificates | State vital records office |
| Social security cards | Social Security Administration |
| Property deed | County recorder's office |

### Additional Guidance