Emergency Information Every Household Should Keep Ready

Why information is a supply

In an emergency, the things people cannot produce are rarely physical. It is a phone number that lived only in a locked phone, a medication name nobody can spell, an insurance policy number in a filing cabinet you no longer have access to. Gathering this once, in advance, costs an evening.

Family contact information

• Full name, date of birth and mobile number for each household member
• Work, school, childcare or care facility name, address and main phone number
• Typical daily locations and travel routes, so people know where to start looking
• A recent photo of each person, especially children

Emergency contacts

• Two local contacts who could collect a child or check the house
• One out-of-area contact everyone calls or texts to check in
• Anyone authorized to pick up children from school or childcare
• Neighbours who would notice if something were wrong

These roles belong in your written plan — see the family emergency plan guide.

Medical information

Doctors and pharmacy

• Family physician, specialists, dentist, veterinarian
• Pharmacy name, phone number and a backup location
• Health card or insurance identifiers, recorded securely

Medications

• Name, dose, frequency and prescriber for every current medication
• Which ones require refrigeration, and the plan if power is lost
• Supply on hand and refill dates
• Over-the-counter items the household depends on

Allergies and conditions

Record drug, food and environmental allergies and the reaction, along with conditions a responder would need to know about and any implanted or powered medical devices. Keep this factual and brief. Where a condition is time-critical, ask the person's clinician what should appear on a card they carry.

Insurance and identification

• Home, tenant, auto and life insurance: insurer, policy number, claims line
• Health and travel coverage details
• Identification documents each person holds, and where the originals are kept
• Photos or video of your home's contents for a future claim
• Property, mortgage or lease records

Children

• School or childcare emergency and release procedures, and their contact numbers
• Authorized pickup list
• Allergies, medications and care instructions
• A current photo plus height, weight and distinguishing features
• A small card in a backpack with the out-of-area contact on it

Pets

• Veterinarian and after-hours clinic
• Vaccination records, microchip number, medications
• A photo of you with the pet, which helps prove ownership at a shelter

Meeting locations and out-of-area contact

• A meeting point just outside the home, for a fire
• A second one outside the neighbourhood, if the area is evacuated
• The out-of-area contact's name and number, written where everyone can read it
• A rule for who calls whom first, so nobody waits

Utilities and services

• Electricity, gas and water providers, plus their outage lines
• Where your gas, water and electrical shutoffs are, and what tool each needs
• Internet and phone provider
• Landlord, building manager or condo emergency line
• Municipal non-emergency line, and your regional emergency alert service

Emergency services

Know the emergency number for your region, your civic address exactly as dispatch needs it, and the nearest hospital and urgent care. Poison control and mental health crisis lines are worth writing down before you need them.

Storing it securely

This record is sensitive by nature, so handle it accordingly:

• Do not post medical or identification details publicly, in shared cloud folders, or in group chats
• Keep digital copies password-protected or encrypted, on a device that locks
• Keep the printed version brief — contacts, allergies, critical conditions — rather than a full file in a backpack
• Store full documents in a secure place at home, with a copy held by someone you trust outside the area
• Make sure at least two adults can access it, so it is not locked behind one person's phone
• Review annually and after any change to medications, insurance, addresses or household members

Keep your preparedness organized with PanPrep

PanPrep keeps household preparedness information alongside your supplies — household member details, medical information such as blood type, allergies and prescriptions, and emergency roles — so it lives with the readiness record instead of in one person's memory. It works with your kits and inventory, and the offline survival manual is available when you have no connection. See how PanPrep works, or continue with the emergency kit checklist.

Official guidance

The categories above follow household preparedness guidance published by the Government of Canada's Get Prepared program, the Canadian Red Cross, FEMA and Ready.gov. For medical specifics, follow the advice of your own clinician or pharmacist.