By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A wildfire can destroy everything in its vicinity in the blink of an eye.
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Northwest Fire Battalion Chief Mike Rollman said that planning ahead before tragedy strikes can make a huge difference.
“Put some thought into this ahead of time so we’re not having to run around and do this in the last minute”, Rollman said.
Many already know about your standard “go bag” with food, water, and first aid supplies. But what about the important documents you might need?
“Important items like birth certificates, marriage certificates, insurance cards, medical information, prescription medications, and medical history,” he said. “And if applicable, citizenship documents.”
These are records that will be essential to starting over.
So, where do you keep these digital files? Rollman encourages uploading to cloud storage.
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“They’re easily retrievable,” he said. “They can log in remotely; they don’t have to be at their house. A lot of services people already have that have cloud storage for them.”
He also suggests encrypted USB drives or external hard drives as a backup.
And one final reminder: when first responders arrive, you are their priority.
“If there’s something that’s of particular importance, absolutely let us know, but we’re gonna do the best we can. Certainly, our priority is human lives and pets”, Rollman said.
A digital emergency kit today could save a lot of heartbreak tomorrow.
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