MY home is set up so that critical systems have backups - when the power goes out, I don't have an automatic transfer, but I go out, start the generator, plug in the cord (I use a portable genset and rigged up an underground feed back to the house from the shed), go to the basement, flip a few switches and I have water, septic, furnace, fridge, freezer, some lighting and a microwave all up and running. It's a small generator (3,500 watts/220v) so I do have to balance loads a little, so I tend to leave the furnace OFF and run the woodstove instead, and we have electric hot water, which takes 100% of the generator to operate, so we leave that off the backup.

So it's not ME. It's the residents who don't have that kind of setup that I'm planning for. One of the other things we learned from this incident study was that people who abandoned their homes to stay with friends/family found out the hard way that their baseboard heating systems (water filled) and other pipes froze and burst while they were out of their homes. So another part of the drill is if they are going to evacuate, we need to remind them to drain their systems out - and even then, they need to check J and P traps and other low spots in their plumbing systems for cracked pipes.

Most of the training I get for this position borders on "duh" but this scenario is very close to home, we've had ice storms, and we will have ice storms again, so we're really thinking it out.

Next up for the incident command training sessions is one that I also don't like to think about, because it's also in the realm of very possible in my district - we have an annual fireman's carnival.

Here's the scenario description:

"Your small community is having a carnival. On the grounds of the carnival are rides, vendors, a mercantile exhibit, a stage with musical performances, food tents and so on.
On site you have one BLS ambulance with a crew of two, two state police troopers and one fire engine from the local volunteer fire company, but it is not fully staffed.
There are approximately 1,500 people at the carnival.
It is a cloudy evening, and the weather forecast is calling for isolated storms.
From cloudy but not stormy skies, a bolt of lightning hits the ferris wheel, and the resulting power surge knocks out the main generator for the carnival rides and starts several small fires in the food tents.

What is your plan of action?"

Yikes. That's just so incredibly possible for us...