Category: Fire Prevention/Fighting

Learning From Our Fire Drill, by A.F.

On a January evening earlier this year, I walked around the corner from our kitchen towards the bathroom and smelled smoke. My wife had just returned home from a meeting and I had spent most of the afternoon juicing frozen plums saved from last fall. I ask my wife if there was a wood smoke smell outside when she came in expecting her to confirm that a neighbor either had a fire pit going or that there was a brush pile burning nearby. When she said that she had not noticed smoke while walking into the house, I stepped out …


Homestead Fuel Storage and Rotation, by NC Bluedog

Editor’s Note:  This is a re-post of a SurvivalBlog article from May, 2008.  Given the recent fuel price spikes and the many e-mails that I’ve recently received asking about fuel storage, I thought that it was apropos to dig up this practical article from the blog’s early archives. Given that liquid fuel costs are climbing dramatically, and likely to continue rising, I would like to share some of the practices for fuel storage we employ. For our homestead, liquid fuel equates to four items, namely: Propane, diesel fuel, kerosene and last but not least gasoline. For each fuel, there are …


Update: Oil and Lubricant Storage in Retreat Planning

JWR’s Introductory Note: The following is an update and expansion to a post that I made in SurvivalBlog back in November, 2005. It is part of a series of SurvivalBlog 20th Anniversary re-posts, in recognition of the fact that the majority of readers did not join us until recent years. — Many letters and e-mails I’ve received over the years have mentioned motor oil and chainsaw fuel mixing oil.  That reminded me about a subject that I’ve meant to address on the blog: the key considerations of oil and lubricant storage.  It is important to think through all of your …


Involving Children in Emergency Preparedness, by A.C.

The following is a summary of a Stakeholder Prepping Podcast. — Something that a lot of us overlook is the idea that preparedness is fundamentally a whole-family-unit endeavor. The effectiveness of any emergency plan hinges not on the dedication of a single individual, but on the cooperation and understanding of the entire family. When emergencies or disruptive events occur, a family unit operates at its most resilient when every member, including children, is an active participant rather than a passive bystander. The core challenge for parents is shifting the family’s mindset away from visualizing doomsday scenarios and toward fostering confidence, …


A 21st Century Threat: Battery Fire Cyber Attacks

I will keep this essay brief, and to the point. Readers of my novel Expatriates and Liberators will recall how I fictionally described the use of both time-delayed and remotely-controlled incendiaries and explosives. I have recently been considering the potential threat posed by the inclusion of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in consumer products that have Internet connections. As the Internet of Things (IoT) proliferates, I believe that the possibility of malicious, remotely-controlled battery fires is a growing threat. It has already been well-documented that thermal runaway battery fires are an increasingly common occurrence. These fires happen often, even in devices that …


Pressure Cooker Lessons Learned – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) I took the pressure cooker back into the house and washed and checked everything again. Pressure cooker knocked over in use – Next, I wanted to know if a pressure cooker got tipped over or knocked off the stove, what would happen? I was expecting a steam release, but how much? I set up the stove and pressure cooker on a stump in my north 40. This time I just used water. I placed an old sleeping bag next to the stump to avoid damage to the pressure cooker when I pushed it over after attaining …


Pressure Cooker Lessons Learned – Part 1, by St. Funogas

This article refers to what happens if you break all the rules while using a pressure cooker. It refers only to stove-top models, not electric models such as Instant Pot which I have no experience with. My First Pressure Cooker Many people don’t own a pressure cooker because… Who wants a bomb in the kitchen? I worried about the same thing the first time I ever used one. I warned my family ahead of time that I was taking the new pressure cooker on a trial run. I instructed them to be on alert and if they heard me yell, …


The Final Countdown: Last-Minute Readiness Checks – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Water List This is an item for the first three days. This is super important and needs to be one of the first items confirmed. Check locations and condition of water sources: Bottled Water/Stored water containers Well water (power dependent) Lake water – are there containers to carry and larger containers to store lake water? Is there a rainwater collection option available? Is the Berkey/Filtered water system ready? Can the tub be successfully filled with water from the system before the power goes out or the line pressure is gone? Can I …


The Final Countdown: Last-Minute Readiness Checks – Part 1, by Michael X.

Hypothetically, (of course), assume for a moment that the proverbial fan has been hit. Now you have three days….or two weeks….or two months…until the consequences of the event hit where you are. Good luck guessing how long it takes to hit you. Are you as ready as you can be? Are you sure? How do you know? How and when it hits you, whatever it may be, may be based on three key things: the type/cause of disaster, your proximity to the disaster or populated areas, and the stability of your systems (electricity, water, fuel, and human support systems). THE …


My Burn Adventure Ride, by Dan D.

Introduction As a former Disney Imagineer I can reveal to you that all their rides and movies follow a simple pattern: things are great, then they go awry and finally everything is resolved in bunnies and rainbows (or as the Brazilians say, “We all eat pizza together.”) Befitting that framework here is the story of my Burn Adventure Ride. The usual caveats apply since I am not a medical professional – but I can read and learn the sciences – so just remember that in the trades we teach that hot steel looks just like cold steel. Put in the …


Fire Preparedness and Firefighting – Part 2, by Always Learning

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) We did the usual pre-fire prep as soon as we heard the fire broke out, putting all the patio cushions in the house, closing drapes / blinds etc. We have lightweight patio furniture that we stacked up. For folks that cannot do that and do have a pool or stock tank, throw the patio furniture in there is our suggestion. We turned all the interior and exterior house lights on and unlocked all doors and disconnected the garage doors from the electric mechanism so every door could be opened easily. I am …


Fire Preparedness and Firefighting – Part 1, by Always Learning

Our community was hit by a major wildfire a few years ago. The fire was purportedly started by utility power lines arcing during high winds in the late afternoon, at the same time as another fire started nearby. Firefighters had initially responded to the other fire, which delayed their response to this one. Firefighting was further hampered because our community’s water comes from a huge tank above it; this tank was drained dry during the first hours of the fire, so once that tank was empty, there was no more water available to the firefighters. Once the water was gone …


Fire Prevention and Preparedness, by W.Va. Underground

One of the greatest discoveries humankind ever made is fire. Through the many years, mankind has learned a great many things about this process and its benefits. Without a doubt, fire is one of man’s greatest tools. However, like most tools, when used improperly or by the untrained, it can become one of the most destructive forces imaginable. The same tool that can provide life-saving heat in the middle of a brutal winter storm can also reduce an entire forest to smoldering ash. (At this time we’ll leave out any discussion as to the State of California’s terrible forestry management …


How To Build a WTSHTF Gas Station, by Samantha B.

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Gas is often not stored safely. A vaporized single gallon of gas cause catastrophic consequences if it ignites or explodes. People often store gas in 5-gallon cans. Cans are placed in barns, outbuildings, and garages alongside valuable equipment or stored household goods. Some people even store gas in the basement of their home in cans that are not properly sealed. Our primary reason for constructing this gas station was to have a safe place to store fuel and provide some security from short to moderate gas supply disruptions. We also wanted to avoid unnecessary trips to town just for fuel. …


Surviving the Disaster Golden Hour – Part 3, by J.M.

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(Continued from Part. 2) Another way to reduce the impact of surprise in an emergency is to be able to detect the potential signs that something may be happening you need to be concerned about before it reaches the critical stage. Outside of sudden events like explosions and earthquakes there are almost always early indicators that something may be going wrong around you. A slight whiff of smoke, the creak and groan of a roof support, wildlife acting strangely or a look of concern on the faces of facility security personnel as they hurry by may be signs that you …