How Prepared Are You?

[tallmike]

I volunteer as a firefighter in my community, and this morning I went to an incident that made me wonder, how prepared am I for the risks that are out there? Carrying a gun is preparation for some things, but do we overlook other possibly more important, more dangerous, and more common risks? Sure, becoming proficient with a gun by spending some time at the range is more fun than many of these other things, but they should all be done. Being prepared for a "bad guy" incident is just one step in the process of actually being prepared.

The fire I went to this morning was at a local general store, where the owners had created a living area upstairs. Being outside city limits it did not have to conform to any rigorous building codes so some things were missed or intentionally left out. One of those things was smoke detectors. They had a camera system, around the inside and the outside of the building but they had put no planning into the risk from fire and one person was seriously burned due to that lack of planning.

So, how prepared are you to deal with the life issues that cannot be fixed by a gun? Do you have smoke detectors throughout your home? A carbon monoxide detector? Fire extinguisher? A fire escape plan, that your entire family knows? Trust me, there are far more fire emergencies that happen to folks than gunshot emergencies.

Do you have adequate life insurance in place? Medical insurance? Emergency fund? Emergency food and water for your family in an emergency? Will? Living Will?

There are so many things to plan for, the ones I thought of above are just the ones I have thought of and put in place. Hopefully you have thought of those things too and if you have more please add them here.

[speedsix]

...thanks for the reminder!!! a lot to do there...

[pcgizzmo]

Good food for thought. There is definitely a lot of planning to do.

I have not ever thought of a fire vs. having to use a gun statistically. Your a fire man so I assume you know this and I'm just taking your word for it but what I read you telling me is that if I take a sampling of 100 home owners and over say a 10 year period of time the odds of them having a fire in their house is greater than them being in some type of situation where they might need a gun?

[RPBrown]

As a retired volunteer fire fighter, my answer to all of your questions is yes. However, it did make me think about other things like a blanket or two in all vehicles in case of break down or accident in the cold weather, first aid kit in all vehicles including the motorcycle, flares, basic tools, extra fan belt (I know they are called something else now but I'm old school) and the list goes on and on.

[Lambda Force]

Five smoke detectors throughout the house, one CO detector in the MBR, and three extinguishers: kitchen, garage and MBR. Thanks for the reminder.

[CEOofEVIL]

Very good points. As a burn survivor, I guess I can say that as far as a fire vs. having to use a gun statistically... well, I haven't need my firearms yet (and hope to god never will). I've never stopped to think that if my Burn Incident has had any influence on my choice to be prepared in life or not, but I suppose thinking about it now - I now consider every possibilty I can and try to take every safe guard or precaution available within reason. I guess once you get so close to biting the big one, you learn something.

With that said, I think there is almost always room for improvement - lord knows I have a lot I'd still like to get better at. Prepping and Firearms training aren't by any means cheap! I always think it's important to not "Hasten the day" and become paranoid - enjoyment of your life will suffer if you succumb to that, and whats the point of living a life you don't find joy in?

Stay Safe folks,

[The Annoyed Man]

Do you have smoke detectors throughout your home? Yes. A carbon monoxide detector? Yes. Fire extinguisher? Yes. A fire escape plan, that your entire family knows? Yes....(Run like hell) Trust me, there are far more fire emergencies that happen to folks than gunshot emergencies.

Do you have adequate life insurance in place? Yes. (More for my wife than for me, most people don't want to sell me life insurance for less than the annual budget of a 3rd world nation.) Medical insurance? Yes, for my wife. See under "Life Insurance" for me.... Emergency fund? Yes. Emergency food and water for your family in an emergency? Yes, but still working on it. Will? Not yet. Living Will? No.

[Thomas]

But do y'all test your smoke detectors with actual smoke, or do you just press the little button till it makes a noise? I suggest getting some smoke in a can (yes, they make that for this purpose). That's how smoke detectors are tested on ships. On ships, fire prevention is one of the most important things you can do.

[G26ster]

How many who have carbon monoxide detectors in their home, have one in their vehicles? Just curious.

[chasfm11]

But do y'all test your smoke detectors with actual smoke, or do you just press the little button till it makes a noise? I suggest getting some smoke in a can (yes, they make that for this purpose). That's how smoke detectors are tested on ships. On ships, fire prevention is one of the most important things you can do.

I just replaced/added smoke detectors. While our house is very small (1,600sf) and the bedroom doors are all just about an arm's length apart, I went ahead and brought everything up to current code with a detector per room and also replaced the smoke detector tied to the alarm system. I've had carbon monoxide detectors for years because we have a natural gas furnace. And I do have the smoke detector test cans. I just wish that they made something like that for carbon monoxide. There is no real way to test those detectors. I also have fire extinguishers in kitchen, bath, garage and barn and a plan to maintain them. We have a RV and it has a carbon monoxide detector, too.

I've been working with a group that is interested in emergency planning. We've each developed our own approach to building a comprehensive plan. Mine starts out with the basic types (fire, weather emergency) and then goes into things where evacuation would be necessary. It seems to be that go/stay changes with the type of disaster and severity. I've spent some time reading the blogs associated with last year's Alabama tornado. One of the things that situation made clear was the need for neighborhood security, over and above LE and the need for alternative communications. I now have my amateur radio (Ham) license (KF5NJY) and a 2 meter band radio. As soon as I pass the next test, I'll be looking to get an HF radio and the capability of using it with our RV.

While I'm not a big fan of the government, there are some pretty good FEMA documents about financial preparations. I've used those and expanded them to handle my own data and financial situations. I was looking to answer the question "what would you save if you had only 2 minutes to do it?" When you start exploring that topic, the answers can be eye opening.

[Teamless]

I appreciate this post.
It reminded me to get off my butt and reinstall (actually I bought new 10 year) smoke detectors.
I never had them properly installed before, and whenever it came time to change the batteries, I took them off the wall and never put them back up.

Thank you for reminding us all!

[Thomas]

And I do have the smoke detector test cans. I just wish that they made something like that for carbon monoxide. There is no real way to test those detectors.

Hold it to the tail pipe of an old car or diesel?

EDIT: Apparently people sell CO in a can too. All one would have to do is put the detector in a plastic bag and fill it with CO.

[chasfm11]

And I do have the smoke detector test cans. I just wish that they made something like that for carbon monoxide. There is no real way to test those detectors.

Hold it to the tail pipe of an old car or diesel?

EDIT: Apparently people sell CO in a can too. All one would have to do is put the detector in a plastic bag and fill it with CO.

I'd seen this type of testing but would like to pose this question. Because a detector can sense CO in a saturated environment (like inside of bag filled with CO), does that it mean that it is capable of detecting a trace amount in time to warn people in a home? It does no good for the alarm to go off if the CO level in the home has already surpassed lethal levels. The spray cans used for smoke detection are a trace levels when combined with room air.

Chas

[XinTX]

House has SEVERAL smoke detectors. We regularly change the batteries. Being a single story, we have a LOT of potential escape routes (even a door out of the MBR). I have enough life insurance that if I were killed the MUCH better half could pay off the house, buy a new one, and have a good bit left over.

[74novaman]

We have an emergency fund, a fire extinguisher for each car and a big one in the kitchen, check the smoke detectors regularly, have some food and water stored (I'd like to do more), know how to fix my own cars, plumbing, minor household repairs (and have the tools to do so), can grow a garden....

Not as prepared as I'd like to be, but I'm working on it. Things I don't know how to do that I'd like to:

I'm not a hunter. I want to change that, and include the know how to skin/butcher anything I take.
I'd like to get into canning, so the stuff I grow in the garden can be stored for longer periods


I'm sure there's more I should learn...but I'm 25. I have time.