How To Create A Household Emergency Plan (Free Printable Template)

When something goes wrong – a power cut, a flood, a fire or a family member taken ill – there’s no time to work out who to call or where to meet. A household emergency plan means everyone already knows what to do. It takes about half an hour to put together, and the UK government’s Prepare campaign recommends every household has one.

This guide walks you through creating your plan step by step, and you can download our free printable template to fill in.

Get the free printable household emergency plan

Our four-page template has space for:

everyone’s details, medical needs and pets
key phone numbers, including 105 and 0800 111 999
meeting points and an out-of-area contact
where to find the stopcock, fuse box and gas meter
quick action plans for power cuts, fires, floods and gas leaks
an emergency kit and grab bag checklist

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How to create your household emergency plan

Step 1: Sit down together

Involve everyone who lives with you, including older children. Plans work best when everyone has helped make them – and children feel less frightened in an emergency if they know what’s going to happen.

Step 2: Record who lives in your home

Note each person’s name, mobile number and any medical needs, medication or allergies. Include pets, their vet and microchip numbers.

Step 3: Write down the numbers you’ll need – on paper

999 (or 112) for emergencies, 101 for non-emergency police, 111 for the NHS
105 to report or check on a power cut
0800 111 999 for gas emergencies
Your water company, GP, home insurer (with policy number), landlord or building manager
Family, friends and neighbours who can help

Your phone may be flat or the network down in an emergency, so keep a printed copy.

Step 4: Choose an out-of-area contact

Pick a friend or relative who lives somewhere else. If your household gets separated, everyone contacts that person to say where they are and that they’re safe.

Step 5: Agree where to meet

Near home: somewhere you can all get to quickly if you have to leave the house – a neighbour’s door or the end of the road.
Away from home: somewhere to meet if you can’t get back – a relative’s house, a library or community centre.
Somewhere to stay if you had to leave home for a few days.

Step 6: Know your home

Make sure every adult knows where the fuse box, water stopcock and gas meter are and how to turn them off, and where the emergency kit, torches, spare keys and important documents are kept.

Step 7: Plan for children and vulnerable people

Who collects the children from school or nursery if you can’t?
Who checks on older relatives or neighbours?
Is anyone eligible for the Priority Services Register with your electricity, gas and water companies? Sign up now.
If someone relies on medical equipment that needs power, what’s the back-up plan? (See our guide to portable power stations.)

Step 8: Agree what you’ll do in common emergencies

Power cut: call 105, use torches not candles, keep the fridge and freezer closed – see how to prepare for a power cut.
Fire: get everyone out, close doors behind you, call 999 once outside and never go back in.
Flood: sign up for flood warnings, move valuables and medicines upstairs, never walk or drive through flood water – see how to prepare for a flood.
Gas leak: no switches or flames, open windows, turn off the gas, leave and call 0800 111 999.
Water supply failure: use your stored water and follow your water company’s advice.

Step 9: Put your kit together

A plan works best alongside a simple household emergency kit – water, food, torches, a radio, a power bank, a first aid kit and copies of important documents. Living in a flat? See our guide to emergency preparedness for people living in flats.

Step 10: Keep it up to date

Store a printed copy with your emergency kit, give a copy to your out-of-area contact, and review it every six months – when the clocks change is an easy reminder. Practise the important bits, such as getting out of the house in a fire.

Don’t forget your documents

Keep copies of passports, insurance policies, bank details and prescriptions in a waterproof bag in your kit, or as encrypted digital copies. Read more in how to recover vital documents after an emergency.