NH-

(lol) so true. Takes away from the realism a bit if you check first though.

Matt26-

I hear you, My kid will be a teenager soon and I will need to try to PREVENT her from escaping out the window at night.


Am_Fear_Liath_Mor -

I know for a FACT more people die in Canada die each year in house fires than either bears or trousers. I dont want to be one of them.

Laline-
I feel good and silly at the time, especially when I did a cartwheel over a plastic guitar left on the floor but This is why I practice as well. Welcome to the forum, hope to hear more from you on how the web page is going.

Actually, rather than hand out, try keeping one hand on the wall. Keeps you from getting disoriented, and in a straight line. Of course, make sure it's not the burning wall (sorry, I keep my Nomex in my car...)

Yes. Yes you are crazy.

Just crazy enough to blend in here.

While I don't practice walking around as if the house was full of smoke, sometimes when I get home, I pretend that I came home to a break-in (example, front door ajar). In a real situation I might call the police and let them look around, but I like to proceed as though the cops are unable to assist. I basically go commando-style through my house with whatever available weapon is on-hand, taking each room and closet/space, as I go along, "securing the building", aggresively creating a path that ensures "they" can't get behind me, and eliminating all possible hiding spots.

So, you're post makes me feel like I am not totally alone...but that doesn't mean I don't "get a little crazy".

I define crazy as being mental to the point of endangering self or others.

I don't think you are crazy, unless you think you can successfully negotiate a house fire at standing height.
No, I simply think that you love your family and want to keep them as safe as possible.

LOL.

DON'T TOUCH THOSE DOOR KNOBS!!!

Probably Yes. But that is neither here nor there.

Your Practice and preps are the sanest thing you can do.

Your friends [PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. All] are simply stupid.

Ha, wicked dude.

I can tell you another reason for pacing out all the areas in my house. I have every possible hiding/ambush spot in my house burned into the back of my mind, as well as every shooting angle and distance. I have a safe in the master bedroom and one downstairs with keypad entry containing a .45 ACP full of 230 gr hydra shock and a Mossberg 590 full of #4 buckshot respectively.(along with the rest of my collection) My surefire M3 sits in the top drawer next to my bed with NVGs and flexi cuffs. In the event I arrive home from work etc and think someone may be in the house I have a Mossberg 935 under the back seat of the Ram with shells locked in the center console(I can get the gun lock off damn quick as the keys are part of my EDC)

I also just purchased a .500 S&W revolver that the mere sight of would likely be enough to make the devil himself think twice about his next move. We have a lot in common.


But...My views on home defence are a whole new area which makes my friends question my sanity

Tonight I will practice my fire escape drill again except I will crawl this time on the excellent advice of the folks here. I may even see if the family wants to participate although I bet my wife will laugh at me harder that my friends did. She doesent share the same Enthusiasm as I do about this stuff.

That seems like it negates the whole point of the exercise, no?

Well, my experience is that if there's a fire in my house, I get out. Of course, my kids are gone now, but even when they were home, I always figured I stood the best chance of saving anyone if I am not incapacitated, and have a good plan.

That said, I make it a regular practice to walk through the house in the dark. It isn't 100% blindness, but it is a perspective change. Occasionally I will challenge myself by getting out of bed in the middle of the night and trying it while still in the fog of wakening. That is a bit more of a challenge, even though I am a very light sleeper.

I've also occasionally just sat in the dark in various parts of the house and just listened to what's going on at 2:00 am. Sometimes I will go out in the back yard and sit in the bushes for an hour and just watch the house and the road.

Heaven help the poor sod who happens to try breaking into my house at night whilst I might be sitting behind the rhodoendron or fern bush, with sword in one hand, Glock in the other, and a headlight shining in their surprised face.

Crazy, but in a good way . As a humble suggestion while trying this standing, try keeping your feet as close to the floor as possible. Say maybe an inch or so above floor level, that way you can "drag" your feet and "feel" any obstacles before hand. I too make all my bathroom runs in the dark, and with 2 dogs and 5 cats (I swear between my wife and roommate I got a damn zoo....) there is always a distinct possibility of tripping and breaking my neck unless I do a dry land "stingray shuffle"

-Bill Liptak

Perhaps it's just me Benjammin, but the thought of having a neighbor sitting in the bushes for an hour or so in the middle of the night, wearing a headlight and clutching a sword in one hand and a Glock in the other, might qualify as being slightly over the top.

Jim