What to do during an aerial threat: 3 life-saving steps

In the face of recent events in Poland, experts emphasize that knowing how to react instantly to air raid sirens and preparing home supplies can save lives.

Immediate Response to Sirens

In a crisis situation, a few simple reflexes can determine our lives. It is worth considering in advance what we should do after hearing the alarm siren, how to recognize them, and what under no circumstances should we do when we hear the alarm. In the face of recent events in Poland, it is particularly important to be prepared and stop postponing this issue.

In times of growing uncertainty and increasingly frequent crisis situations, security ceases to be a distant and abstract topic. Calm and reason in a difficult moment do not come by chance, but from prior preparation and simple habits that are worth developing in advance. The article discusses what is most important when the alarm siren sounds and how to prepare for a crisis.

Three Crucial Rules

Reaction must be fast and automatic. When you hear a modulated siren sound, your reaction should be automatic: hide. Hide in a place in your home or apartment that you have ideally thought about or discussed with your loved ones beforehand. Do not approach windows or mirrors, do not check the radio or the internet at home, and do not call 112.

As Szymon Hołownia emphasizes in a Facebook post, the first reaction after hearing the sirens should be to hide. Our lives depend on whether we develop this automatism: siren equals basement or bathroom, Hołownia appeals.

Waiting Out the Alert

Wait in hiding until the all-clear siren sounds, which is a steady 3-minute sound, not modulated like the alarm one. Only when you are in a safe hiding place can you turn on the radio and wait for announcements. It is worth placing the radio there right now so that you do not have to search for it when you hear the alarm siren.

Szymon Hołownia also recalls media reports regarding a Russian missile that fell near the town of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin region. The military operated ready for airborne intervention from 2:15, and the sirens in eastern Poland wailed at 3:50, 10 minutes after the missile was detected over Poland, and 6 minutes after it fell. This is all truly happening at lightning speed, and seconds can decide life and death, Hołownia emphasizes.

Discipline and Preparation

Prof. Marek Wrzosek, a lecturer at the War Studies Academy, also points out that public discipline is very important. We must know the warning and alarm signals and acquire the ability to comply with various types of guidelines that may not necessarily appeal to us, he says.

In a recently issued RCB alert, the government once again reminded Poles about the Security Guide. What is worth doing right now and stopping postponing? The Security Guide recommends preparing home supplies for a minimum of 3 days across several categories, and adding practical items mentioned in the guide.