Posts Tagged Burt Gummer
Self-Reliance Series #5C: Prepping Your Home for an Emergency: Communications, Lighting, and Tools
Posted by enrique s in Self-Reliance on August 14th, 2009
Photo by Kecko
This is Part 5C of my self-reliance series. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the other parts. If you haven’t read them, you can do so by clicking on the following links:
Self-Reliance Series #1: A Personal Survival Kit (PSK)
Self-Reliance Series #2: An Office Survival Kit
Self-Reliance Series #3: An Automobile Survival Kit
Self-Reliance Series #4: My Every Day Carry (EDC)
Self-Reliance Series #5A: Prepping Your Home for an Emergency: Shelter, Water, and Fire
Self-Reliance Series #5B: Prepping Your Home for an Emergency: Food, Hygiene, Health, and Protection
All of the kits that I’ve described in the previous posts are great for when you’re away from your house. But what if you’re home when disaster strikes? I’ll let you in on some of the preparations that I’ve made in the event of an emergency.
I’m no Burt Gummer, but I have taken some steps to insure that my family will make it through an emergency. This covers a shelter-in-place scenario, and does not cover bugging out. I’ve broken Part 5 down into three sections because of the length. Part 5C covers Communications, Lighting, and Tools.
Communications - so the lights have gone off. Do you have a battery-powered radio? Good. When was the last time you checked the batteries? How about extra cellphone batteries? I haven’t tried Ham radio yet, but it’s a viable option for keeping in touch with the world. If your family is separated during the emergency, do you have a predetermined rendezvous location? I would practice beforehand to make sure everyone knows the drill. If all lines of communication are down in your area, perhaps a relative in a distant region could be a central point of contact for separated family members. Here’s a radio that has AM/FM and shortwave:
Lighting - there are some basic items that you should have at your disposal. Make sure you have a flashlight (I have many. Too many. Candlepower Forums is addictive), and plenty of fresh batteries. While kerosene lanterns work well, a battery-powered lantern is safer when small kids are underfoot:
We also use candles, but again, we’re careful about the flame. If you’re not used to being around fire, you may have a mishap. I’ve even known people who have hooked up Christmas lights to a car battery. Just make sure that you have a plan, and know where your lanterns are before the lights go out. You don’t want to be stumbling around in the dark.
Tools - one of the first tools that I bought when I moved into my house was a chainsaw. Unfortunately, it was an electric chainsaw. It wasn’t much use when the power was out. I’ve replaced it with a gas-powered model, so now I can tackle any fallen trees if a hurricane hits and the power goes out:
I also have axes and hatchets, along with hand saws. Shovels are good to have, as are hammers and screwguns. Again, make sure the batteries are charged before the lights go out. The one item that makes power loss a moot point is a generator. I haven’t invested in one of these yet, but I’m warming on the idea. Also, if you have natural gas heating, know where the shutoff is, and have a wrench that fits the shutoff valve. If you live in a cold climate, make sure that you have snow shovels and ice melt. If you shelter in the basement, you might consider having a jack, in case the upper floor caves in, and you can’t get out. And don’t forget the fire extinguishers!
So what have I missed? What things do you do differently?
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Self-Reliance Series #5B: Prepping Your Home for an Emergency: Food, Hygiene, Health, and Protection
Posted by enrique s in Self-Reliance on August 13th, 2009
Photo by Editor B
This is Part 5B of my self-reliance series. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the other parts. If you haven’t read them, you can do so by clicking on the following links:
Self-Reliance Series #1: A Personal Survival Kit (PSK)
Self-Reliance Series #2: An Office Survival Kit
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Self-Reliance Series #5A: Prepping Your Home for an Emergency: Shelter, Water, and Fire
All of the kits that I’ve described in the previous posts are great for when you’re away from your house. But what if you’re home when disaster strikes? I’ll let you in on some of the preparations that I’ve made in the event of an emergency.
I’m no Burt Gummer, but I have taken some steps to insure that my family will make it through an emergency. This covers a shelter-in-place scenario, and does not cover bugging out. I’ve broken Part 5 down into three sections because of the length. Part 5B covers Food, Hygiene, Health, and Protection.
Food - because you wouldn’t want to eat your dog, I recommend storing enough food to sustain you through an emergency. Skip the perishable items and frozen foods; we want the stuff with a long shelf life. Canned goods are easy to keep, just be sure to rotate them. Honey never goes bad. Other items that make the list are packages of tuna, which keep for a few years; nuts, which are calorie-dense and a source of good fat; jerky, which is probably loaded with sodium. Canning is another option to preserve perishable foods. If you can stomach it, pemmican lasts a long time. If you still have one lying around from Christmas, a fruitcake is an option, although as a last resort. We also have boxes of pasta, which is not a good option when water is being rationed. Try to stick with foods that don’t require water for cooking, or cooking at all for that matter. If you have frozen meat that’s going to rot, perhaps throw a barbecue for the neighbors. Better yet, keep that freezer packed tight; freeze water in empty soda bottles, which will keep the temperature down in the freezer. Only open the door when absolutely necessary.
I live in the suburbs, so hunting and trapping are out for me. If I really had to, I could shoot a couple of squirrels or rabbits. Whatever floats your boat. It would be a last resort for us.
Another option with a good shelf life are MREs. This stands for Meals Ready to Eat, and there are many varieties available:
You could also try the Mountain House brand that’s made for camping.
Hygiene - when calculating your water requirement, don’t forget to factor in hygiene. Keeping clean helps prevent the spread of disease. Stock up on cleaning supplies, bleach, toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags, soap, toothpaste, etc. If the septic system is inoperable, make sure you have enough garbage bags to get rid of human waste. Or be sure your “latrine” is far away from any food preparation. In other words, don’t crap where you eat. Make sure that you have a shovel, and cover up any “deposits” that you make in the ground. Or, you could try the Luggable Loo:
Health - this is where I’m lacking. I can stop a nosebleed, and do know CPR. But that’s about it. I have no medical training, like most people. But I do keep enough band-aids, gauze, iodine, rubbing alcohol, aspirin, ibuprofen, Tylenol, Neosporin, and duct tape to give it a good shot. Don’t neglect this area in your preparations. Maybe pick up a book like this one:
Protection - this is probably the most controversial subject. While I wouldn’t worry about a zombie attack, I would be concerned about your neighbors. Do you let your neighbors know that you’re prepped, knowing that your supplies will be raided during an emergency? I’ve kept my mouth shut. Call it a sin of omission. There have been enough warnings in the past, be it 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina, that people have had ample time to get their act together. A starving person is a desperate person. Take precautions so that your loved ones have enough food and water to make it through the emergency. A baseball bat by the door is a good deterrent. So is a shotgun. Your choice. Cold Steel makes a bat called the Brooklyn Crusher. I think that says it all.
Next: Part 5C, which covers Communications, Lighting, and Tools.
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Self-Reliance Series #5A: Prepping Your Home for an Emergency: Shelter, Water, and Fire
Posted by enrique s in Self-Reliance on August 12th, 2009
Photo by howieluvzus
This is Part 5A of my self-reliance series. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the first 4 parts. If you haven’t read them, you can do so by clicking on the following links:
Self-Reliance Series #1: A Personal Survival Kit (PSK)
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All of the kits that I’ve described in the previous posts are great for when you’re away from your house. But what if you’re home when disaster strikes? I’ll let you in on some of the preparations that I’ve made in the event of an emergency.
I’m no Burt Gummer, but I have taken some steps to insure that my family will make it through an emergency. This covers a shelter-in-place scenario, and does not cover bugging out. I’ve broken Part 5 down into three parts because of the length. Part A covers Shelter, Water, and Fire.
Shelter - obviously, this includes your house or apartment. Even though I’m not in a big hurricane area, I’m prepared for one. Tree branches or other debris can smash your windows to pieces. The flying shards of glass can become deadly projectiles. I’ve got pre-cut pieces of plywood that fit my windows, so I’m not running out to Home Depot with the rest of the crazies when the alert is issued. Make sure you label them! You don’t want to be screwing around in a gale trying to fit them to the correct window. These can be secured with screws into the siding. I’ve seen examples on the web where more permanent anchors are installed into the walls. I may explore this option. Other options are polycarbonate panels or aluminum shutters. The plywood was the more frugal choice. I also have plastic tarps that can be used to temporarily patch a hole in the roof. The largest tarp is an old 40′ x 20′ in-ground pool cover. My rope collection offers many options for securing the tarps. I have various sizes of nylon rope, manila rope, polypropylene rope, and lots of paracord. If you can improvise an interior room as a safe room, so much the better. If you can put it in your basement, better yet.
What if it gets cold? Make sure that you have plenty of blankets. A sleeping bag would help, too. You might even consider setting up a tent, so that you would only need to heat a small area. This one would fit in a living room:
Water - what will you do if the municipal water supply gets contaminated? I have several options. First, know where the shutoff valve is. You may be able to drain the last drops of clean water out of your pipes if it’s separated from the contaminated water. I keep enough bottled water to serve four people for a week. This is kept in old ice tea bottles that get rotated every six months. I tie this to the changing of the clocks for Daylight Savings Time. Water takes up lots of room, so this could be a challenge for an apartment dweller. You could store water under your bed in 2-liter soda bottles. Just no jumping on the bed!
I put several drops of bleach into the bottles to keep any nasties from growing in the water. After a few months, the water may taste “flat”. You can work around this by pouring the water back and forth in two cups. Keeping it out of sunlight will also inhibit the growth of nasty things.
If all else fails, and my bottled water is used up, I can filter and boil the water in my swimming pool. To really filter it well, you can use one of these:
Fire - how will you cook and boil water if the power is cut off? I’ve got a propane grill, and two extra bottles of propane in my shed. I can do a lot of cooking with the supplies I have. But what if I can’t get outside? A Coleman camp stove is a nice option:
Just be sure to keep it away from anything flammable. I also have a fire pit that I can cook over if need be. I keep a small quantity of firewood, just in case. Don’t neglect matches and lighters. If you’re limited to wood fires, make yourself some firestarters. Vaseline-soaked cotton balls are my favorite.
Next: Part B, which covers Food, Hygiene, Health, and Protection.
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