8 Tips to Keep in Mind in Case of Emergencies

Parents, teachers and students have great cause for concern in the wake of the bomb scare that happened at the Ateneo de Manila Campus last week. The event justifies a need to learn more about how to properly respond to an emergency situation. 

Some years ago, we also interviewed the Traffic Safety and Security Coordinator for the Ateneo Grade School for safety pointers both on campus and off for parents and their children.  Here are eight more pointers we should take note of in the event of a situation.

Related stories: 

• 17 School Safety Tips for Your Big Kid 

• 4 Tips to Keeping Kids Safe in School 

• Ensuring your child’s safety in school 

1. Do not panic. 

Fear can be contagious. When someone is panicking, other people may have a tendency to lose their cool as well. Keeping a level head will prevent the situation from escalating.  

A case in point – during the bomb scare in Ateneo, worried parents began to park their cars on Katipunan, the main road in front of the campus. They abandoned their vehicles and entered the school in a frantic search for their children. While this was a normal and understandable reaction, it caused a major bottleneck that prevented rescuers and other emergency services from arriving in a timely fashion. 

Take control of your own faculties first and you will be more ready to deal with the emergency.  If you can’t calm down, don’t attempt anything except dialing an emergency number as you can easily make mistakes (more on that later).