Well, it's been quite some time since I've been able to add anything here. The first reason is that I moved. It wasn't a long move, just across the street or so, but with no money to spare, I was the grunt labor. And for a week I was occupied moving, then a week without Internet waiting for it to be installed. Then the next challenge came along.
A fire broke out in a garage not directly next to our apartment, but directly next to our garage. it was net to apt A and we were just moved into apt C. I will get into lessons learned in a moment. Some how we all got lucky and no one was hurt, but the folks in apt A were almost completely burned out, some how my mothers car (which was in our garage at the time) went unscathed as well as my kids Christmas presents, although the flames were beginning to enter our side before the firemen got it under control. Let me take this moment to give props to the Modesto FD.
Now I didn't know originally until my mother called me at about 7:45 pm, as I was visiting friends in Merced at the time (which for those that don't know, is about an hour a way) so I jumped in my car an zipped home as fast as I could. I told my mother to grab my external hard drive, as that was the only thing from my bug out list (other than food) that had been moved into the new place that couldn't be replaced. Actually, looking at the grand scheme of things, of property, it was the ONLY thing that can't be replaced. Anyway, she told me that the firemen wouldn't let her back in to get anything. (see lessons below)
45 minutes later I arrived on scene to find the fire basically out, with firemen searching out hot spots, and tearing out chunks of ceiling in apt A where the fire had tried to spread. My mother was standing outside in her bathrobe and bare feet.
My brother and his wife showed up shortly after wards with a pair of slippers for my mother. The Red Cross also arrived and while I have misgivings about them, they did get us a motel room for three nights that we didn't have to pay for.
Anyway, by about 11 pm the firemen said everything was safe and that we could go back in to get anything we needed. I had been smart enough to bring my daily carry bag from my car, which turned out to be a smart move as we needed flashlights (I used my head lamp for the first time and highly recommend you get one for your kit as well if you don't already have one) Also one of the families was as bad off as my mother and the mom was carrying around her daughter trying to keep her warm. I reached in and gave her one of my girls undie/sock sets that I carry, unfortunately I didn't have any shoes for the little girl on me.
We learned that the power and gas lines had to be CUT so that the entire row of four apartments were no longer livable. And the roumer was that it could not be repaired for weeks if not months.
Some of what I grabbed was food. The Red Cross said we had food in the house, so were not going to provide us with any help there. Unfortunately my mother can't keep her mouth shut, and was talking nice and loud to everyone about all of the Canned food we had. Sadly we lost most everything in the fridge, and we had just gone grocery shopping a couple of days earlier.
Funny thing, motels frown on you cooking in the rooms. They did provide a microwave, so I could make top ramen and soup...
... Except for one small problem, we couldn't find a can opener. Fortunately in my daily carry kit I had a P38, which is a military can opener you can get at any surplus store.
For my my mother and I, we were given the opportunity to move to a new apt not too far away, and had began moving our things in last Thursday.
One last thing to note. My mothers other truck, a little beater, got broken into the next morning. Nothing was in it, so nothing was stolen, but her dash was ripped up when they tried to take the radio. Before we had left that night the property management company had a team on site to board up the garages and apt A, and everyone (neighbors and family included) said that her truck would be fine overnight on the street.
Lessons learned
1- having a Go Bag ready is all great and fine, but if EVERYONE in your home doesn't have one, or, if there is no evac plan in place, someone in your family is going to get screwed.
My mother panicked and left the apt in nothing but a bathrobe. No clothes or shoes and no documents, nothing.
2- now ordinarily I would say you should have a change of clothes in your vehicle at all times, but in this case that wouldn't do any good as her vehicle was in the garage next to the one on fire and by the time we could get to that vehicle we could also get into the apt. So, on top of everything else you should set up an off site cache of duplicate documents (paper, digital, photo, etc) and I guess you need a change of clothes for each family member in each vehicle.
3- being a refugee is not fun. The motel was a nice God send as we are broke from the initial move. But it is important to have a fallback plan in case of displacement. And everyone involve in the plan had better know about it. If we didn't get the motel room, my mother would have had to stay with my brother, I would have been SOL
4- vultures. After (or even during) a crisis the vultures start circling. While the firemen were there a guy showed up offering "free" help with sealing up our garage and routing power and gas back into the apartment in a day or two. Free meant that he would bill the renters insurance that we hadn't had time to get. His company, and presumably others listen to the emergency bands to swoop in like an ambulance chaser.
5- Insurance. Get it. That's why we are prepers/ survivalists, as insurance against bad things happening. If we had time to get some it would have covered a lot; motel cost, damage replacement, moving cost (Boy I wish I had that one) and damage repair costs.
6- food
We all understand the need for food storage, but if the fire had gotten to my apartment, I would have lost everything. Caching is something I discussed in another post, but situations like this make me appreciate the necessity with crystal clarity.
And even while we had food, we were limited in how we could prepare it while following the rules.
7- blabber mouths. As I said my mother couldn't stop talking, and was beginning to cause us problems with our getting help. If you have someone like that in your family (or if it's you) have someone responsible stay with them to keep them under control if necessary.
8- charity. After we got to the motel, I went back to our apartment and grabbed a couple of toys, coloring books crayons and reading books from my kids room to give to the little girl so that she would have some stuff to play with and keep her occupied. I discussed it with my girls to let them know what I had done, and they, with out any prompting from me want to giver some things from there moms house as well. They also made the ex go out of her way to deliver them, because they wanted to give them to the little girl in person.
Charity is important in times of need, even if you have little, if someone has nothing, you have more and if you can share, you should.
Dec 26, 2010
Dec 1, 2010
ICE
ICE- In Case of Emergency
I was listening to a podcast and something they recommended was to list a ICE- In Case of Emergency contact in your phone.
Emergency responders are apparently trained to look for this kind of number on your phone if you get into an accident and are unable to respond to questions.
It only took me about 3 minutes because I'm slow at txt-ing. Just pick the person you want contacted in case you are injured and list that number as "ICE" or "Emergency Contact" or something like that.
If anyone knows different or has additional information, please let me know.
I was listening to a podcast and something they recommended was to list a ICE- In Case of Emergency contact in your phone.
Emergency responders are apparently trained to look for this kind of number on your phone if you get into an accident and are unable to respond to questions.
It only took me about 3 minutes because I'm slow at txt-ing. Just pick the person you want contacted in case you are injured and list that number as "ICE" or "Emergency Contact" or something like that.
If anyone knows different or has additional information, please let me know.
Nov 25, 2010
Happy Thankgiving Everyone
I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving this morning. And a simple reminder, follow the instructions on your turkey is you've never cooked one, otherwise only the hard core survivalists will be enjoying their turkey jerky this year. :-)
This may or may not be a good time to check your preps, as you can use your stored food for some of the items on the table, also if you turn out the lights you can use your candles and lanterns for a more ambient lighting.
Another thing you can try (If you are feeling adventurous) is to try an alternative method of cooking. Use your fireplace, outdoor fire pit or BBQ, or try your Colman propane camping stove (Good luck with that one)
As the turkey will take quite a while to cook, whatever the method used (except deep frying) you can try out your freeze dried or dehydrated foods to go with it as you will have ample time to soak them completely through.
Whatever you thoughts, enjoy you holiday!
This may or may not be a good time to check your preps, as you can use your stored food for some of the items on the table, also if you turn out the lights you can use your candles and lanterns for a more ambient lighting.
Another thing you can try (If you are feeling adventurous) is to try an alternative method of cooking. Use your fireplace, outdoor fire pit or BBQ, or try your Colman propane camping stove (Good luck with that one)
As the turkey will take quite a while to cook, whatever the method used (except deep frying) you can try out your freeze dried or dehydrated foods to go with it as you will have ample time to soak them completely through.
Whatever you thoughts, enjoy you holiday!
Nov 20, 2010
Cold Weather is Coming
I've had a job for the last couple of weeks painting a building outside. (That's why I haven't posted anything in a while) Well the building is situated kinda funny. The West side gets absolutely no sunlight on the wall all day, where the East side is permanently in sunlight.
While working on the West side I had to wear thermals, street clothes, and a jacket. The wind chill on that side made it so bad that I lost all gross motor function in my hands after only about two hours of work. (I generally work 6 to 8 hours a day painting) And the rest of my body stopped working so well a couple of hours after that. My brain was also trying to shut down higher reasoning as well. And of course the worst part was, that combination makes for more accidents and every time I got a boo-boo it felt like I severed a limb.
Gloves don't help me much, as I suffered mild frost bite when I was a child, so am always susceptible to cold.
The other side of the building, in contrast, is so hot that by 10am I want to be in shorts and a tank top while working. I start the morning dressed like on the West side, but as the day grows hotter I begin to strip off layer after layer. By 11:30 or so I finish my coffee and switch to water to stay hydrated. The project should be done by the end of next week, so I can be done with these extremes, but I swear, it should be raining in the middle of the building at all times where the heat and cold meet.
Lessons learned:
Dress in layers
Don't over work, no mater how much you want to
Stay hydrated, especially in cold weather. You need it just as much, and don't realize it as well as in the heat.
Take breaks in a comfortable climate.
Watch you health. I think I'm coming down with a cold now because of working in these conditions improperly.
While working on the West side I had to wear thermals, street clothes, and a jacket. The wind chill on that side made it so bad that I lost all gross motor function in my hands after only about two hours of work. (I generally work 6 to 8 hours a day painting) And the rest of my body stopped working so well a couple of hours after that. My brain was also trying to shut down higher reasoning as well. And of course the worst part was, that combination makes for more accidents and every time I got a boo-boo it felt like I severed a limb.
Gloves don't help me much, as I suffered mild frost bite when I was a child, so am always susceptible to cold.
The other side of the building, in contrast, is so hot that by 10am I want to be in shorts and a tank top while working. I start the morning dressed like on the West side, but as the day grows hotter I begin to strip off layer after layer. By 11:30 or so I finish my coffee and switch to water to stay hydrated. The project should be done by the end of next week, so I can be done with these extremes, but I swear, it should be raining in the middle of the building at all times where the heat and cold meet.
Lessons learned:
Dress in layers
Don't over work, no mater how much you want to
Stay hydrated, especially in cold weather. You need it just as much, and don't realize it as well as in the heat.
Take breaks in a comfortable climate.
Watch you health. I think I'm coming down with a cold now because of working in these conditions improperly.
Nov 4, 2010
Halloween, Elections, TV show the Wlaking Dead
Sorry It's been a while, but this has been a busy couple of weeks for me.
Halloween was a big one for me as I get to take my kids trick or treating. I guess you already know the basics of this; Wear safety equipment, lights, glow sticks, safety vests, reflective tape, etc. Don't let your kids out of your sight. Check your kids haul, for anything tapered with, or homemade (unless you know and trust the source)
Elections; What can I say...Kalifornia is NUTS!
Warning- Spoilers Follow
The TV show Walking Dead is a new program on AMC about the Zombie Apocalypse. It takes place shortly after the worst has occurred, and the main character, a deputy sheriff, pre-apocalypse was shot and hospitalized. When he wakes up the Apocalypse has occurred and he makes his way home to find his wife and son are gone. Evidence shows that they packed and left so he decides to make his way to Atlanta where roomer has it that a safety zone exists.
It's only on the first episode, so I'll give them a chance to work things out, but, if it had been me waking up in a deserted hospital, the first thing I would have done is to find some clothes. Second, would be to gather water and food (In that order) Then, as he left the hospital, he found an abandoned army camp out front. Maybe him being Law Enforcement didn't think of it, but I would have ransacked the camp for everything useful. Admitably I may have run into my first zombie right then, but I would not have tried to walk home in hospital shorts and gown, and nothing else.
Halloween was a big one for me as I get to take my kids trick or treating. I guess you already know the basics of this; Wear safety equipment, lights, glow sticks, safety vests, reflective tape, etc. Don't let your kids out of your sight. Check your kids haul, for anything tapered with, or homemade (unless you know and trust the source)
Elections; What can I say...Kalifornia is NUTS!
Warning- Spoilers Follow
The TV show Walking Dead is a new program on AMC about the Zombie Apocalypse. It takes place shortly after the worst has occurred, and the main character, a deputy sheriff, pre-apocalypse was shot and hospitalized. When he wakes up the Apocalypse has occurred and he makes his way home to find his wife and son are gone. Evidence shows that they packed and left so he decides to make his way to Atlanta where roomer has it that a safety zone exists.
It's only on the first episode, so I'll give them a chance to work things out, but, if it had been me waking up in a deserted hospital, the first thing I would have done is to find some clothes. Second, would be to gather water and food (In that order) Then, as he left the hospital, he found an abandoned army camp out front. Maybe him being Law Enforcement didn't think of it, but I would have ransacked the camp for everything useful. Admitably I may have run into my first zombie right then, but I would not have tried to walk home in hospital shorts and gown, and nothing else.
Oct 23, 2010
New Website Under Construction
I'm building my own website, so I haven't had a lot of time to write anything. My apologies to everyone for that. The new site will be:
www.cvsprep.com
It's still under construction as I want a good home page, this blog and a forum so that we can have more and better discussions about topics that perhaps I'm not thinking of but that you are.
If anyone knows anything about this feel free to give me a holler. I think I'm over my head right now, and may need to seek professional help.
www.cvsprep.com
It's still under construction as I want a good home page, this blog and a forum so that we can have more and better discussions about topics that perhaps I'm not thinking of but that you are.
If anyone knows anything about this feel free to give me a holler. I think I'm over my head right now, and may need to seek professional help.
Oct 12, 2010
My Daily Kit
Here are some pictures of the kit that I carry with me everyday. You can see what it looks like fully packed. The bag is a Maxpedition Versipack and it can carry far more than it should! I've also added a 5.11 First Aid Kit that I've custom stocked, and a dual mag pouch also 5.11.
I think I've over loaded mine a bit, as it is a bit heavy to carry around all day. I'm not sure how much it weighs but it feels like about 15-20lbs. The problem is all of the individual items are very light so I can't figure out what to eliminate.
Here is me carrying it, with my children. You will notice that they are not dressed as woodland commandos. We were just taking a day trip to a local zoo.
And here is what all fits in this beast.
I'm not sure if you can see all of the details, but I carry gear for myself and my two girls in this bag, as I must support them as well in an emergency.
I don't want to say that everyone should carry the same load that I do, in fact I need to lighten it up a bit. But you can see that in a fairly small bag, you can carry a huge amount of gear. I'm not sure what you would call this type of kit. It's definitely not going to get me through 72hrs all by it's self, but I can easily go 24hrs with a bit of work, supporting me and my kids, which is sufficient to get us home from any distance where I didn't include our BOB bags. I also carries everything that I need on a daily basis. Actually one thing that I forgot to include in this pic is my wallet. I used to carry around a butt pack with keys, wallet, pens, phone etc., but now with kids, I have a lot more that I need to have on hand, so I went for a bigger bag. I think women invented it and called it a purse, but Maxpedition managed to make it look manly-ish
If a few of you ask, I'll add closeup pics of some of this gear, and describe what you looking at.
I think I've over loaded mine a bit, as it is a bit heavy to carry around all day. I'm not sure how much it weighs but it feels like about 15-20lbs. The problem is all of the individual items are very light so I can't figure out what to eliminate.
Here is me carrying it, with my children. You will notice that they are not dressed as woodland commandos. We were just taking a day trip to a local zoo.
And here is what all fits in this beast.
I'm not sure if you can see all of the details, but I carry gear for myself and my two girls in this bag, as I must support them as well in an emergency.
I don't want to say that everyone should carry the same load that I do, in fact I need to lighten it up a bit. But you can see that in a fairly small bag, you can carry a huge amount of gear. I'm not sure what you would call this type of kit. It's definitely not going to get me through 72hrs all by it's self, but I can easily go 24hrs with a bit of work, supporting me and my kids, which is sufficient to get us home from any distance where I didn't include our BOB bags. I also carries everything that I need on a daily basis. Actually one thing that I forgot to include in this pic is my wallet. I used to carry around a butt pack with keys, wallet, pens, phone etc., but now with kids, I have a lot more that I need to have on hand, so I went for a bigger bag. I think women invented it and called it a purse, but Maxpedition managed to make it look manly-ish
If a few of you ask, I'll add closeup pics of some of this gear, and describe what you looking at.
Oct 11, 2010
Teaching Children
I have to fix my mothers sink. It's not a big fix, just cleaning out the spigot filter. But, I'm going to get my kids to help. I'll have them get the tools by naming and describing them, and have them watch what I do so they can learn to problem solve and hopefully learn how something in there world works. After they leave tonight i will add to this post to let you know how it goes.
'K, the sink went well, but something else happened. I got my kids some cheap $2 Chinese junk flashlights a while back from Harbor Freight and they stopped working after 3 days or so. My oldest daughter found one of them and wanted to play with it. So, I got some new AAA Batteries for it, but still couldn't get it to work. My daughter asked to see it and after a couple of minutes pointed out so corrosion on one of the connector pads for one of the batteries. A few minutes of cleaning got rid of most of that, then I instructed her on how to put the batteries in properly. (Always look for the teachable moments) When I had her put it back together it actually worked!!! For about 30 seconds.
It really was more than I expected for Chinese junk, but the best use was getting to teach my daughter the wy and how things work.
'K, the sink went well, but something else happened. I got my kids some cheap $2 Chinese junk flashlights a while back from Harbor Freight and they stopped working after 3 days or so. My oldest daughter found one of them and wanted to play with it. So, I got some new AAA Batteries for it, but still couldn't get it to work. My daughter asked to see it and after a couple of minutes pointed out so corrosion on one of the connector pads for one of the batteries. A few minutes of cleaning got rid of most of that, then I instructed her on how to put the batteries in properly. (Always look for the teachable moments) When I had her put it back together it actually worked!!! For about 30 seconds.
It really was more than I expected for Chinese junk, but the best use was getting to teach my daughter the wy and how things work.
Oct 10, 2010
Taking Children ANYWHERE
Pack a complete change of clothes for each child. Shirt, pants, underwear, socks, shoes if you can afford them.
Saturday I took my kids out, and my youngest decided to pee her pants. Unfortunately their go bags were in my car and I was driving my mothers vehicle instead. We weren't going too far (20-30miniutes away) so I decided to forgo swapping the bags around. My mistake. We were forced to leave immediately because I had to strip everything off from the waist down of my little one as it was soaked. So endith the day.
I occurs to me that kids of any age could end up in a situation where clothes have to be changed. Falling in mud, getting in a fight, spill food at a party, potty accident, stepping in something nasty, whatever. And most of the entire outfit may need to be changed...You know, thinking about this while I write suggests that the same may be true for you and I as well.
Saturday I took my kids out, and my youngest decided to pee her pants. Unfortunately their go bags were in my car and I was driving my mothers vehicle instead. We weren't going too far (20-30miniutes away) so I decided to forgo swapping the bags around. My mistake. We were forced to leave immediately because I had to strip everything off from the waist down of my little one as it was soaked. So endith the day.
I occurs to me that kids of any age could end up in a situation where clothes have to be changed. Falling in mud, getting in a fight, spill food at a party, potty accident, stepping in something nasty, whatever. And most of the entire outfit may need to be changed...You know, thinking about this while I write suggests that the same may be true for you and I as well.
Oct 5, 2010
Emergency Binder
I haven't discussed this yet but you should have an Emergency Binder in your home or car readily accessible. I have written one that I am going to give to you. The links are below for a RTF, PDF And DOC versions so get whichever one you can use best.
Look it over before you print anything, as not everything is suitable to you and some of it you may need two or three copies of. Please remember to keep a digital copy if you can on a flash drive or USB on your key ring,and DO NOT let this fall into anyone's hands who doesn't need to see it.
RTF Here
PDF Here
DOC Here
Look it over before you print anything, as not everything is suitable to you and some of it you may need two or three copies of. Please remember to keep a digital copy if you can on a flash drive or USB on your key ring,and DO NOT let this fall into anyone's hands who doesn't need to see it.
RTF Here
PDF Here
DOC Here
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