Imagine tearing open that large present under the Christmas tree with your name on it and finding inside ... a fire extinguisher.
Or a foldable ladder.
Or a smoke alarm in that smaller box.
Those, plus a home disaster kit including food, water and prescription medications for 72 hours, or a first aid certification course are just some of the gifts that the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is suggesting Americans give their loved ones this holiday season.
“Giving a gift of a fire extinguisher might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but for the guy who has everything, it might be perfect,” FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told AFP.
“For tech geeks, you might get one of those emergency crank-up radios. And I’m a big fan of those little flashlights as stocking fillers. You can never have enough flashlights when there’s a power cut,” Fugate said.
“You’re giving them a gift that can save a life and keep them safe in an emergency,” he said.
FEMA also advised that, in addition to reading The Night Before Christmas to the kids, you take the occasion of having the whole family together to “develop a family disaster plan.”
“I’m not trying to be a Scrooge and saying that this Christmas should have disaster as the theme,” said Fugate.
“What we’re saying is that the holidays are the only time families really get together. So it’s the ideal time to talk about a family communication plan in the event of a disaster,” Fugate said.
The talk could always wait until Boxing Day, he added.(AFP)
想像你拆開耶誕樹下那一大包寫著自己名字的禮物，結果裡面是個…滅火器。
或是折疊梯。
或是裝在更小盒子裡的煙霧警報器。
連同足以應急七十二小時、內含食物、水和處方藥物的急難救命包，和急救檢定課程在內的這些禮物，都是美國聯邦急難管理總署（FEMA）建議美國民眾贈送給摯親好友的佳節禮物。
FEMA署長克雷格．傅格特對法新社表示：「送禮時可能不會立刻想到送滅火器，但對於什麼都不缺的人來說，這或許是個絕佳的禮物。」
傅格特說：「對科技玩家來說，你可能會得到緊急手搖式收音機。而我個人則特別偏好從耶誕襪中收到小手電筒這項禮物。停電時，手電筒怎樣都不嫌多。」
他說：「你可以為他們準備在緊急情況下，可以救命、保命的禮物。」
FEMA也建議民眾，除了讀《銀色平安夜》給孩子聽外，也可以利用全家人聚在一起的機會，「擬定家庭災難計畫」。
傅格特說：「我不是為了要當個討厭耶誕的吝嗇鬼，才說今年耶誕節應該要以『災難』作為主題。」
他說：「我們想表達的是，全家人只有年節假期時才會真正聚在一起。所以也是一起討論家庭災難計畫的最好時機。」
他補充說，不過等到耶誕節隔天再談這個也不遲。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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