UK Home Emergency Checklist: A Practical Household Plan

This UK home emergency checklist helps you organise the information, supplies and household decisions that are easy to overlook until normal services are disrupted. Work through it once, mark each item as done, needs action or not applicable, and keep a printed copy somewhere you can find in the dark.

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999 or 112. During an incident, follow instructions from the emergency services, official alerts and your utility provider even if they differ from this general planning resource.

UK home emergency checklist: complete these first

• ☐ Write the emergency and utility numbers for your part of the UK on paper.
• ☐ Agree two ways out of the home, a nearby meeting point and a second meeting point outside the immediate area.
• ☐ Identify the water stop tap, electricity main switch and gas isolation valve, if your home has one.
• ☐ Test smoke alarms and set a monthly reminder to test them again.
• ☐ Put a torch where it can be found safely in the dark.
• ☐ Keep drinking water, no-cook food and necessary medicines for disruption lasting several days.
• ☐ Charge a power bank and check that you have the correct charging cables.
• ☐ Check whether phones, telecare, door-entry systems, stairlifts and medical equipment work without mains electricity or broadband.
• ☐ Check your local flood risk, severe-weather warnings and local emergency-planning information.
• ☐ Find out whether anyone in the household should join a Priority Services Register or Northern Ireland Customer Care Register.
• ☐ Agree who will help children, pets, disabled household members or anyone receiving care.
• ☐ Tell everyone where the printed plan and emergency supplies are kept.

Emergency contacts and household information card

Complete this card and keep it with your household plan. Store account passwords and full financial details separately. If you include medical information, consider who could see it.

Contact or detail	Information to keep on paper
Immediate danger	999 or 112
Power cut in England, Scotland or Wales	105
Power cut in Northern Ireland	03457 643643
Gas or suspected carbon monoxide emergency in Great Britain	0800 111 999
Gas emergency in Northern Ireland	0800 002 001
Home address and postcode	________________________________
Electricity, gas and water providers	________________________________
Water supplier emergency number	________________________________
Landlord, housing association or managing agent	________________________________
Home insurer, policy number and claims line	________________________________
Trusted neighbour and out-of-area contact	________________________________
GP, pharmacy, care team or equipment provider	________________________________
School, childcare, vet or pet-carer contact	________________________________
Local radio stations and frequencies	________________________________

Household emergency plan

• ☐ Draw or describe the safest normal exit and an alternative route.
• ☐ If you live in a flat, record the building’s fire and evacuation procedure. Do not assume that another building’s procedure applies to yours.
• ☐ Choose a nearby meeting point and another location outside the affected neighbourhood.
• ☐ Nominate an out-of-area contact who household members can contact separately if local communications are congested.
• ☐ Decide who takes responsibility for children, dependants, medicines, mobility aids and pets.
• ☐ Record where spare keys are held and who is authorised to enter the home in an emergency.
• ☐ Identify somewhere the household could stay if the home is temporarily unsafe.
• ☐ Plan how you would leave without a car or if public transport were disrupted.
• ☐ Teach children their home address, how and when to call 999, and where to meet. Do not give them a task that could place them in danger.
• ☐ Exchange contact details with a trusted neighbour and agree when to check on one another.

Utilities and home safety

• ☐ Record the location of the internal water stop tap: ________________________________
• ☐ Record the location of the electricity main switch: ________________________________
• ☐ Record the location of the gas isolation valve, if applicable: ________________________________
• ☐ Make sure adult household members know where these controls are and when official guidance may require supplies to be turned off.
• ☐ Do not operate communal equipment, break supplier seals or open electrical enclosures. Renters and flat residents should ask the landlord or managing agent which controls they are permitted to use.
• ☐ Keep exits, stairs and communal routes clear. Store emergency supplies where they will not obstruct escape.
• ☐ Test smoke alarms at least once a month. Check heat and carbon monoxide alarms in accordance with their instructions and replace batteries or alarm units when required.
• ☐ Check the manual release or backup arrangement for electric gates, garage doors, lifts and door-entry systems. Follow the manufacturer or building manager’s instructions.
• ☐ Keep an up-to-date home inventory and check that buildings, contents and any relevant flood cover meet your needs.

Emergency supplies checklist

Build the kit gradually and use ordinary household items where possible. Keep it dry, accessible and easy to find without mains lighting. Check dates, batteries and household needs regularly.

Light, power and information

• ☐ Battery or wind-up torch, plus suitable spare batteries.
• ☐ Battery or wind-up radio, with local and national radio frequencies written on paper.
• ☐ Charged power bank, charging leads and any necessary adapters.
• ☐ Backup batteries for equipment that is safe and designed to use them.
• ☐ Printed household plan, contact card and local map.

Water and food

• ☐ Store drinking water for each person. The Cabinet Office Prepare guidance says there is no single standard amount because needs and emergency duration vary. It cites 2.5 to 3 litres per person per day as a survival drinking-water minimum and 10 litres per person per day as a more comfortable allowance that includes basic cooking and hygiene.
• ☐ Add extra water for pets, infant formula and any medical use. Follow clinical or equipment instructions where water quality or quantity matters.
• ☐ Record your household water target and where it is stored: __________ litres at ________________________________
• ☐ Keep food that does not require refrigeration or cooking, chosen around allergies, medical diets and cultural needs.
• ☐ Include a manual tin opener if any stored food needs one.
• ☐ Include ready-to-feed infant formula and baby supplies where needed, because boiling water or sterilising equipment may not be possible.
• ☐ Include suitable food and water for pets or assistance animals.
• ☐ Keep a fridge thermometer so you can make safer decisions during a prolonged power cut.

Health, warmth and hygiene

• ☐ First aid kit suited to the household, with contents in date and instructions included.
• ☐ Necessary prescription medicines kept up to date through the normal repeat-prescription process. Do not change doses or storage conditions to create an emergency supply.
• ☐ Paper list of regular medicines, doses, allergies and relevant medical contacts.
• ☐ Paper instructions and charged backup batteries for medical, mobility or communication equipment.
• ☐ Warm layers, blankets, waterproof clothing and sturdy footwear.
• ☐ Hand sanitiser, wet wipes, toilet paper and basic personal-hygiene supplies.
• ☐ Nappies, period products, incontinence products or other household-specific supplies.
• ☐ Spare glasses, hearing-aid batteries and other everyday aids where applicable.

Safe use of backup cooking and power

Never use a camping stove or barbecue indoors. Carbon monoxide can kill, and opening a window does not make indoor use safe. Never run a petrol or diesel generator indoors or in another enclosed space. Use any backup cooker, heater or generator only where its manufacturer permits, and never connect a generator to household wiring unless a competent professional has installed an approved connection arrangement.

Alerts, services and local risks

• ☐ Check that compatible phones have current software and emergency alerts enabled. The UK Emergency Alerts service is free and does not require an app or sign-up.
• ☐ Check your location-specific risks using the official links for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• ☐ Register for flood warnings if your home, route, workplace or school is at risk.
• ☐ Bookmark the Met Office forecast and warnings, your local authority and the relevant local or regional resilience body.
• ☐ Find out whether your community, parish, building or neighbourhood has an emergency plan or support hub.
• ☐ Record your electricity load block letter if you live in Great Britain. It can be found through Powercut 105 or may appear on your electricity bill.
• ☐ Review risks after moving home, changing work or school routes, or when someone joins the household.

Priority Services Register and communications backup

• ☐ Check the Ofgem Priority Services Register criteria. Eligibility can include having reached State Pension age, pregnancy, young children, disability, long-term medical conditions, communication needs and temporary changes in circumstances.
• ☐ Contact both the energy supplier and network operator where required. Re-register after switching supplier. Ask water and telecoms providers about their equivalent support services.
• ☐ In Northern Ireland, ask the relevant utility about its Customer Care Register.
• ☐ Treat registration as extra support, not as a guarantee of uninterrupted supply or immediate restoration.
• ☐ Ask the landline or telecare provider what will work during a power cut and what backup it provides.
• ☐ If mobile, internet and landline services fail, use the agreed meeting points, out-of-area contact and neighbour plan.

Medical, disability, caring and pet planning

• ☐ Make a power-loss plan with the clinical team, care provider or equipment supplier for any equipment needed to sustain health or independence.
• ☐ Record safe backup duration, warning indicators, required action and the contact to use when equipment cannot operate.
• ☐ Plan how alerts and instructions will be received if someone has a hearing, sight, cognitive, sensory or communication impairment.
• ☐ If someone cannot make a voice call, set up an appropriate emergency-contact method in advance. The London Fire Brigade’s 999 accessibility guidance explains that EmergencySMS requires registration before use and that 999 BSL is available through an app or website for BSL users.
• ☐ Keep necessary mobility, communication and medical aids in familiar, accessible places.
• ☐ Arrange for a trusted person to check in and, where appropriate, to hold a spare key.
• ☐ Record who depends on a carer and who should be contacted if that carer cannot reach them.
• ☐ Include assistance-animal or pet identification, medication, food, water, lead or carrier and veterinary details.
• ☐ Tell the support network where the plan is kept, while limiting sensitive information to what is genuinely needed.

If you have to leave home

If you are escaping a fire, get out immediately, stay out and call 999. Do not delay to collect a bag or possessions. For a planned or instructed evacuation, follow the emergency services and take only what you can collect without delaying your departure.

• ☐ Keep a small grab bag accessible but never in an escape route.
• ☐ Include the printed plan, contact card, necessary medicines, essential medical information and copies of important documents.
• ☐ Add keys, phone, power bank, charging lead, torch, water, compact food, warm or waterproof clothing and basic hygiene items.
• ☐ Add baby, disability, caring, pet or assistance-animal items needed for the journey and first few hours.
• ☐ Store original documents securely and protect any emergency copies from water.
• ☐ Know which nearby accommodation accepts pets and what transport could carry the household and required equipment.
• ☐ Secure the property and turn off utilities only if instructed and safe to do so. Never delay evacuation to complete these tasks.

First-hour action card

Use this only as a memory aid. Official instructions for the incident take priority.

Event	First actions
Immediate danger	Move away from danger if you can do so safely. Call 999 or 112.
Fire	Get out, stay out and call 999. Do not return for people, pets or possessions. Tell the fire service if anyone may still be inside.
Gas smell or suspected carbon monoxide	Do not smoke, use flames or operate electrical switches. Open doors and windows if this can be done without delaying escape. Leave and call the gas emergency service: 0800 111 999 in Great Britain or 0800 002 001 in Northern Ireland. Call 999 if anyone is seriously unwell or in immediate danger.
Power cut	Report or check the outage through the network operator: 105 in Great Britain or 03457 643643 in Northern Ireland. Keep clear of damaged lines, switch off high-risk cooking or heating appliances, and keep fridge and freezer doors closed.
Flooding	Follow warnings and evacuation instructions. Turn off utilities only if advised and safe. Never touch an electrical switch while standing in water, and do not walk or drive through flood water.
Water outage or safety notice	Contact the water supplier and follow its exact instructions. A boil-water notice and a do-not-use notice are not interchangeable.
Instruction to evacuate	Leave by the advised route and go to the stated place. Take the grab bag only if it is ready and safe to collect. Help others only without putting yourself at risk.

Review schedule

UK Prepared recommends a six-monthly household review, plus an immediate review after a move, supplier change or material change in health, caring or household circumstances.

• ☐ Monthly: test smoke alarms and check that escape routes remain clear.
• ☐ Every six months: recharge power banks, test torches and radios, inspect batteries and check food, water, first aid and medicine dates.
• ☐ Every six months: verify phone numbers, insurance details, contacts, meeting points and the location of supplies.
• ☐ Every six months: rehearse the plan as a short household conversation, including what children should do.
• ☐ After changing energy supplier: check or renew Priority Services Register registration where applicable.
• ☐ After moving: identify the new utility controls, building procedure, local risks, warnings and support contacts before relying on the old plan.

Emergency planning resources and official guidance

• GOV.UK Prepare household guidance covers planning, home safety, supplies, contacts and support needs.
• GOV.UK Prepare power-cut guidance explains preparation, reporting numbers, equipment issues and actions during an outage.
• GOV.UK Prepare local-risk directory links to flood-risk services and resilience arrangements across all four UK nations.
• UK Emergency Alerts explains genuine alerts, compatible devices and what to do when an alert arrives.
• Ofgem’s Priority Services Register guidance explains eligibility, available help and how to join in Great Britain.
• Food Standards Agency power-cut advice explains fridge and freezer temperatures, time limits and safer food handling in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Food Standards Scotland power-cut advice provides the corresponding food-safety guidance for Scotland.
• Drinking Water Inspectorate boil-water guidance explains what a boil-water notice means and why users must follow any instruction to stop using the supply.
• nidirect household emergency kit guidance provides Northern Ireland-specific supplies, contacts and planning information.
• National Gas emergency contacts gives the Great Britain gas emergency number, accessibility options and immediate safety actions.