Sir,
Thanks for SurvivalBlog and the efforts you put into it. I have read your online information over the years, going back to just before Y2K.
Your insights, common sense and information diversity are great indicators of what it means to prep, get prepped and maintain. I have a few of your books, and have used your information and insights to help get my brother and his family started on preps.
Recently, I experienced a situation that required evacuation and relocation on a personal/ family level. In our utility area, where the washer and dryer are, we had a fire. I was at work, my wife at home, with our pets (two cats), The smoke detector went off, My wife got out of the house with the pets and the strong box, and the Fire Department showed up quickly, getting the fire out and reducing damage on a very large scale. The smoke smell is not bad, but anything that burns can have other chemical issues that are negative to your health, especially if you already have allergies, or illnesses. Due to the smoke, however and a request from our insurance company to not use any appliances until inspections could be completed, we had to relocate to another place. Our policy covered a hotel, and we had an alternate location for the pets. We are now all co located in the alternate location, and the day to day living goes on, with minimal (fortunately) changes. (The clean up cost around $6,000 in USD.)
This brings up the subject of rapid evacuation and not necessarily having any load out time for kits, supplies or BOB/G.O.O.D. bags. For my wife, she got out in about three minutes, including the 911 call.
Fortunately we were able to get back into the house and secure things like additional clothing and the bulk of our kit. This was after the fact and not able to do so during the event. Again I was at work, my wife at home, my step daughter at school for the day.
However, this brings to mind a few learning points.
A. It is not enough to have Smoke and CO detectors only in the main living quarters of your home. Get them in your utility rooms and garage as well.
B. Take the time to add adequate fire extinguishers in those same locations (ABC chemical and larger than the car trunk style about the size of a quart bottle)
C. Review your coverage before you need it. Car/Home/ Renters insurance. Like other preps, this is something that needs review, just like inventories.
D. Maintain a solid contact list. Update the list and the contacts on your situation asap.
E. Some add on suggestions to the strongbox, for your important papers, Stamps and envelopes, both calling cards and a few rolls of quarters for immediate laundry when possible.72 hours worth of clothing is quickly run through. (We had to mail in our house payment, but I had to get stamps, “Doh” to me for that one.)
Thanks, – T. in the Pacific Northwest