What To Do In Case of Fire

A friend recently sent this but did not give the source. Excellent advise


SOUND THE ALARM: Do not underestimate any fire. Sound the fire alarm and call the local fire department immediately if a fire breaks out. Choose a safe location to make the call. It will be helpful for emergency responders to know the size and location of the fire and the general hazards in the area (such as chemicals, compressed gases etc). Follow your own company’s procedures in responding to fires.



USE YOUR JUDGEMENT: When you see smoke or fire, you should use your own good judgment before you decide to extinguish the blaze. Attempt to fight the fire only if

1. You know the type of combustible material burning.

2. You have been trained to use the fire extinguisher correctly

3. The fire is still in the incipient (beginning) stage

4. The fire cannot bock your exit if you fail to put it out.



COMMUNICATE: Once you have decided to extinguish the blaze, make every reasonable attempt to tell at least one other person what you are doing. This person should report your activity to emergency responders when they arrive on the scene.



USE THE CORRECT EXTINGUISHER: Different fire extinguishers are recommended for each type of fire. NEVER use a water-type extinguisher on live electrical equipment. The electrical current following the water stream to your body can electrocute you instantly. NEVER throw a stream of water on a CLASS B fire. You can splatter flaming liquids over a wide area, spreading the fire out of control. Also be sure that the fire extinguisher is large enough to put out the entire fire. If the fire threatens your escape path, your extinguisher runs out of agent or is ineffective, or if the fire gets too large or out of control, evacuate immediately.



EVACUATION: Follow your company’s emergency action plan. This plan should include procedures to warn other building occupants, and designated locations to gather outside of the building so that ahead count can be taken. Make sure that the designated area is a safe distance from the fire. The last person out of the room with the fire should close, but not lock the door. Proceed to the exit using stairways instead of elevators. Remain available to give vital information to professional firefighters about location, size, occupants, and shut off valves.



PREVENTION: is the key when it comes to firefighting. Know where the general use fire extinguishers are throughout your facility or work area. Don’t hang your coat over them, or stack material in front of them. Extinguishers are never needed until they are needed NOW. Keeping them easily visible and easily accessible at all times helps ensure that when a fire emergency occurs, a fire extinguisher can be easily and quickly reached.



Keeping storage and working areas free of trash and placing oily rages in covered containers help prevent many fires from occurring. Help prevent flammable liquid fires by storing flammable liquids away from spark producing sources in tightly closed spill-proof containers. Use only what you need in a well ventilated area. Don’t refuel gasoline-powered equipment while it is hot and don’t refuel gasoline-powered equipment in a restricted area in the presence of an open flame such as a furnace, water heater, or lighted cigarette.



Help prevent electrical fires by looking for old wiring, worn insulation and broken electrical fittings and getting them repaired immediately. Investigate any appliance or electrical equipment that smells strange. Unusual odors can be the first sign of fire. Don’t overload wall outlets. Utility lights should always have some type of wire guard over them. Heat from an uncovered light bulb can easily ignite ordinary combustibles.

Water and Emergency Preparedness

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During emergency situations, life can be challenging. People will typically forget to eat and drink. Our bodies are set up to shut down non-necessary organs to help preserve our lives. Unfortunately, when we forget to drink water (especially during emergencies)issues arise that could endanger our lives.

One of the symptoms of dehydration is confusion or lack of clear thought.

Now think about this: By the time our brains say "hey, your thirsty" you are in a water deficit and quite probably dehydrated!

So what should you be doing?

1. Drink Early, Drink Often! When I was mountain climbing and backpacking, we always started the morning by drinking a quart of water and then took drink breaks frequently.

2. Realize that you (and most of the general population) are in a dehydrated state as we speak. Keep a log of how much water you drink during the day and you will be shocked. Remember, if you drink a cup of coffee or soda, it takes twice the amount of water to rehydrate (for example: if you drink 1-12oz can of soda, you will need 24 oz of water to get you back to where you should be water wise!) I was reading an interview about a marathon runner several years back. He did the water log and determined he was not drinking enough. He made it a habit to drink water every time he passed a water fountain at work. After a few weeks of this, he realized that his performance increased (faster times)!

3. Avoid strait sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) These things have too much sugar/sucrose/sweeteners to start with. If you are using these drinks for electrolyte replacement, be sure to dilute them to 50% water 50% sports drink. They may not taste as good, but it is way better for you. Remember, the Manufacturers are pushing the flavor.

and

4. Make sure you have plenty of water to drink in storage. When you are planning for drinking water, plan for 1 gallon per person per day. Seems like a lot, but you also need to make sure to have water for hand washing, etc. The water needs to be clean and stored properly (a later blog). Also, you should have a water treatment plan so that you are ready in case your stored water gets a little funky!

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A Game for the Kids

This morning my Daughter woke me up early. Daddy, I want to play. Being early on a Sunday Morning I asked if we could go to her room and have Talk Time. I really want to do something else. That is when I came up with the idea of a new game.

What would you do if...?

I asked her what she would do if the roof of the house blew off in a storm at night. Her response, Go to her tow brothers rooms then to our room.

Then she asked me:

Daddy, what would you do if a knife fell off the counter and cut my foot off - a heady question for an 8 year old competitive dancer. I explained basic first aide and that we live close to the hospital (about 1 mile away.) She smiled and was relieved.

The cool thing about this game this morning was as her brothers woke up, they too participated in the game. We discussed stranger danger, nasty weather, fluke accidents and even what would happen if mom and dad died in an car crash - who would we live with, backup plans......

Take some time and discuss items like this with your kids. It will put them at ease that you are thinking of different things to keep them safe.

Chris
www.urbansurvivalsecrets.com - sign up for our newsletter and host of goodies today!

Review of the Eton FR150 Flashlight/Radio

Well, here is a review on the Eton FR150 Hand Crank radio. I received this unit about 3 weeks ago right before scout camp - what a great time to test under somewhat difficult situations. At camp, we were in the white mountains of Arizona close to the New Mexico Border. First things first, the techncial specifications:

Solar-Powered, Self-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Radio with Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger

The Microlink brings together some of the most popular features of our Voicelink, in a more compact design. This ultra-portable device is ideal to have on hand when you’re roughing it. It also makes a great addition to any emergency-preparedness kit. No plugs or wires are required. Instead, turn the hand crank to power the Microlink, or capture the sun’s energy and run it on solar power. You’ll always know what’s going on, thanks to the AM, FM and weather bands. You can also tune in to the FCC and EAS public alert systems. Add the flashlight, the cell phone charger and you’ve got one versatile little device.

• AM (520-1710 KHz)
• FM (87-108MHz)
• NOAA weather – all 7 channels
• Built-in hand crank power generator recharges the internal rechargeable Ni-MH battery and cell phone batteries
• Built-in 3 white LED light source
• Can be powered from three different sources:
  • From solar power
  • From the built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery that takes charge from the dynamo crank
  • From the USB port (USB cord not included)
• Built-in cell-phone charger
• Earphone jack – 3.5 mm socket

Chris’ Discussion

As with every small radio, the sound qulaity is not of that in my truck with Bose Speakers! Getting that out of the way, the speaker was not too tinny and sounds pretty good. The radio can be powered by hand crank, solar or with an optional charger (not includes. I wish that they would include it so as that I do not have to purchase another charger for the unit!!) When cranking it up, a 45 second winding kept the radio and light going for a while - 30 plus minutes, but I was not using a stop watch.

Charging using the solar cells all day did a great job as well. I had several hours of usage from the radio as well as about 30 minutes of the light that night with little power loss. One night, after cranking the unit for 30 seconds, I left the LED light on because my son requested it - we were telling scarry stories around the campfire and he was a little spooked! Well we fell asleep around 10:30. I awoke at 3 due to some noisy coyotes and my blackberry buzzing like mad and found the light still on and working well enough that I could go outside and water a tree!

The radio tuning wheel is somewhat stiff, but will ensure that you will not lose a set radio station. As for the weather channels, there is a slide selector. I tested the slide in both the camp and 4 hours away in the Phoenix Metro area. The White mountains was channel 6 while Phoenix is Channel 7. In both locations, the recorded NOAA voice was clear and recognizable. The small antenna was really not needed for these stations, though when switching over to FM, it is recommended.

I only had one glitch during my testing - that was with the hand crank. I was turning it one night when the thing came off the attachment point. I was able to place it back on, but turning it became very troublesome. After inspection, it looks like there is some little spring like clip that holds the handle to the radio and it popped off. If this was an emergency, this could be troubling. However, my plan is to use some JB weld and permanently affix the handle. Nice thing abouth the handle is that it is plastic and does not have a shapr edge which can remove skin from your knuckles during cranking, thus causing the user to donate blood.

If I was to give a rating to this radio, I would give it an 8.5 out of 10. It is durable, reliable and multiple ways to power it up (right now I am using my USP port on my computer!) It is comfortable to use and cranks easily. It is light but rugged with the rubberized light bezel. Below is a link to purchase this light. Cool thing is that Eton makes a donation for every light purchased. Do yourself a favor, click on the link and buy one for your house - It is a great investment and you wont go wrong!. I am buying another for my office! Also, it comes in Black, Red and White.

Welcome

Hey you all!

This blog is dedicated to all of you out there that are wanting to get yourself ready for disasters and other emergencies. You can go to my work in progress web site at www.urbansurvivalsecrets.com.


A funny thing happens during and after a major disater happens: there is a run on emergency supplies through all of the internet sales places and local stores. When this happens, you as the buyer end up paying much more than you should and you may not get everything that is needed!

A couple of years ago, a report came out from a government agency about the potential for a terrorist incident using a biological weapon. They agency recommended that you purchase tape and plastic film for your house so you could shelter in place. I was down a a local big box home center and could not find any film or tape as I was getting ready to paint my house. When I discussed this with the sales associate, he just shrugged his shoulders and could not understand why this was happening - the recommendation was not well publicized. None the less, a run on plastic and tape happened and folks were buying any tape they could get their hands on. Many of the people did not know that buying blue or green painters tape was not recommended.

That is why I am here! I have been responsible for safety of my employees at several companies since 9/11. I am not some stay at home person who reads and pukes the info back up while giving links to someone else's work. My goal for you is to be ready for emergencies. If you head on over to www.urbansurvivalsecrets.com and sign up for my newsletter, I will be sending out a multi part get prepared plan for you and your family. The plan will include items such as emergency planning, food storage, survival tips, what to do when.....

Be sure to check back frequently for updates!