Where Should Your Family Meet in an Emergency?

Most families need three meeting places. Pick one right outside the home for a fire, one in the neighborhood for when you can't get back inside or can't reach each other, and one outside your area in case you have to evacuate. Give each a time window, so everyone knows how long to wait and where to go next if nobody shows up.

Where should the near-home meeting spot be?

This is the spot everyone goes to after getting out of the house during a fire or gas leak. It should be close enough that a young child can walk there alone, far enough from the house to be out of the way of smoke and fire crews, and specific enough that nobody has to guess. "Outside" is too vague. The neighbor's mailbox, the big oak at the end of the driveway, or the corner streetlight across the road all work.

The point of the near-home spot is accounting for people. Once everyone is there, you know who's out, and you can tell firefighters if someone is still inside. Make it a firm rule that nobody goes back in for anything, including pets. Walk the kids out to it from their bedrooms so they've done it at least once in daylight, and ideally once at night.

How do you pick a neighborhood meeting place?

The second spot is for when you can't get home or can't reach each other. Maybe the street is blocked, maybe the house isn't safe, or maybe phones are down and half the family is out. Choose a public place within walking distance that most of the family already knows, such as a library, a church, a park pavilion or a school. Think about whether it would be affected by the same hazard you're worried about. A park in a low spot is a poor choice in a flood-prone neighborhood.

Write down the exact place within the location. "The library" can mean three different entrances. "The bench by the library's front door" does not. It's also worth picking a backup in case the first one is closed, damaged or crowded.

Do you need a meeting place outside your area?

Yes, if there's any chance your whole neighborhood will have to leave. Wildfires, floods, hurricanes and chemical releases can all close off an area for days. The out-of-area meeting place is usually a relative's or friend's home a reasonable drive away, in a direction that makes sense for the hazards you face. That destination should match the one in your evacuation plan, along with a primary and alternate route to get there. Our quick-start guide to EXFIL planning covers how to build those routes.

Ask the people at that destination ahead of time. They should know you might arrive unannounced, and they can also serve as your out-of-area contact, the person everyone calls or texts to report where they are.

Why do meeting places need time windows?

Without a time window, a meeting place turns into an open-ended wait. One person sits at the library for four hours while the other is waiting at home, and neither knows whether to stay or move. A time window turns the plan into a set of instructions anyone can follow without talking.

A simple pattern looks like this. If you can't reach anyone and can't get home, go to the neighborhood meeting place and wait until the top of the next hour. If nobody arrives, leave a note in an agreed spot, then come back at the top of each hour after that. If the area is being evacuated, go to the out-of-area meeting place instead. Agree on where notes go, like inside a specific newspaper box or taped under a bench, and keep a pen and paper in every go-bag.

Time windows also pair well with backup communication. If your fallback is a radio, you can agree to listen on a set channel at the top of the hour while you wait. Our guide to backup communications and PACE planning explains how to layer those methods.

How do kids and pets change the plan?

Children at school are usually the exception to your meeting places. During a lockdown or evacuation, the school keeps custody of students and releases them through its own reunification process, often at a separate location. Find out what that process is and build your plan around it instead of expecting a ten-year-old to walk to the library. Younger kids should carry a card with the meeting places, a parent's number and the out-of-area contact's number, since many children don't have those memorized.

Pets need to be part of the plan at every meeting place. Keep a leash and carrier where you can grab them on the way out, and decide in advance who is responsible for each animal. If your out-of-area destination or a shelter can't take pets, line up an alternative. Not every emergency shelter accepts animals other than service animals, so check before you need one.

Write the meeting places down with full addresses. The Notes and References sheet in the Contingency Planner Complete Kit has slots for locations with an address, coordinates and notes, and ReadyPlan keeps them in the shared plan on each family member's phone.

Common questions

How many meeting places does a family need?

Three covers most situations, one right outside the home, one in the neighborhood and one outside your area. Some families add a backup for the neighborhood spot or a fourth near a parent's workplace. More than that tends to cause confusion about which one applies.

Should our meeting place be the kids' school?

Usually not. Schools often lock down or move students to a separate reunification site during an emergency, and parents converging on the building can get in the way. Use the school's own reunification process for the kids and keep your family meeting places separate.

What if the meeting place itself isn't safe?

Skip it and go to the next one on the list. That's why each level should have a backup, and why everyone should know the order. If you have to move on, leave a note at the first spot if you can do so safely.

Should we write down coordinates as well as addresses?

It helps. Coordinates are useful if street signs are down, if you're sharing a location over a radio, or if someone unfamiliar with the area has to find it. Write both in the plan.

When you're ready to put your meeting places in writing, the Contingency Planner Complete Kit gives you a place to keep them with the rest of your plan.