Why?

This blog is to help you in preparing for an emergency. It also contains other information that you might find spiritually up-lifting. This is not an official website of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". This site is maintained by Barry McCann (barry@mail.com)

Monday, October 7, 2013

WHAT’S IN YOUR BEDSIDE DRAWER?


We spend about one-third of our lives in bed so there is a thirty-percent chance that the life or death emergency will strike while we are in bed. In that moment everything will depend on what you can reach right now. Think about it. You wake up in the dark and the house is shaking from an earthquake, a bomb blast or a tornado. You wake up in the dark and smell smoke or noxious fumes from a chemical incident or a fire. You wake up in the dark to the sounds of an intruder or the screams of your family. No time to get out your survival kit or look in your survival manual. You may suffocate, be trapped in the rubble, or be attacked in the next few seconds. You open the bedside drawer and find —-.
Okay. First of all, only emergency items should be there. You don’t want to be wasting precious seconds rummaging around in there for what you need. First you should have two key items right on top of the bedside table. Your cell phone should be placed there every night. Don’t depend on a landline phone for emergencies. The landline phone may be dead when you need it most and you cannot take it with you if you are forced to flee to safety. Your car keys should also be on the table. If all else is lost at least have access to your vehicle and you can also use the button on the remote to set off your car alarm as another way to call for help. Imagine escaping into the night and realizing that you cannot use your vehicle and you do not have a phone!

Inside your bedside drawer

Now here are some suggestions for what should be in the bedside drawer. You should have a good N-95 dust mask in there. It will not protect you against poison gasses or carbon monoxide from a fire but it will offer some protection from soot and smoke and hot air as you escape. It will also protect you from dust in a building collapse. Of course have a good flashlight. It should be a high quality high intensity multi LED unit. Don’t be cheap on this item. The light may have to penetrate smoke and dust. It may be needed to signal rescuers to your location or to blind a would-be assailant. Make it bright and tough. You should also have one of those small, flat crowbars like the Stanley Wonder Bar ™ or the combination hatchet, hammer, pry bar survival tool to smash windows open jammed doors, chop through plaster-board walls and pry yourself out from under things. It’s not a bad weapon either.
If your family is spread out in the house a whistle and walky-talkies might be worth considering so you can activate the appropriate emergency plan. Some wireless phones work as walky-talkies even if the lines are down.
If you are 50-years of age or older you should keep a package of aspirin in that drawer. Many victims of heart attack wake up in the night with chest pain and don’t survive long enough for help to get there. If you awaken with chest pain you swallow the aspirin immediately and call 911 on that phone you have right there. Your chances are now significantly improved.
And last but not least a defensive weapon. If you have family members that come and go at odd hours, you may want to have a less-than-lethal first response weapon such as a police size, 200 gram pepper spray or a taser ™. The choice of lethal weaponry is up to you, but it must be reliable, handy and easy to use. A 38-caliber revolver is one good, simple and reliable choice. Anything in a good quality 380, 40, or 45 caliber auto pistol should do well. In this case you don’t need to put out lots of rounds of high-velocity, high penetration rounds. You need to stop one or two intruders in close quarters without shooting family members and neighbors in adjoining rooms or houses. 
If you wear glasses keep them there along with your wallet. These are items you will need to survive and continue after you escape. You may want to throw in a few light sticks and a good knife to complete the bedside drawer and you are one ready guy or gall when trouble come in the night.
Keys and cell phone placed on the table every night. Flashlight, respirator and escape tool are easy to access. Nonlethal peppergrass shown here can be replaced or accompanied by a reliable handgun based on the individuals situation and preferences.

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