The problem in getting out of my house at night would not be finding a flashlight ... it would be trying not to trip over one! I have way too many flashlights.

Is the house on fire before or after you dig your way out of it, and how big is the boom? I'd think that might be a fairly cirtical factor. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Those flashlights that you leave plugged in are okay, but they don't last forever. Sooner or later, they're just sitting there in an electrical outlet, dead. But if you pick up your other flashlights and set them down somewhere else, these would be okay as long as you kept an eye on them.

If you want to use a large safety pin to attach things to a mattress (etc), check out your local feed store and ask where they keep the horse blanket pins. Stainless, 3" long, very sturdy. About $1.25 each.

And if you're rappelling down the outside of your apartment building while naked, mind you watch for rope burns. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Sue

Speaking of being prepared, one may find it handy to already be in their pajamas when needing to leave the house in a matter of seconds.

Jeanette Isabelle

'...one may find it handy to already be in their pajamas when needing to leave the house in a matter of seconds.'

That's what I've always thought!

I just have this awful feeling that if my area were hit with a major earthquake, it would happen at night, in winter, while I was in the shower with shampoo in my hair and eyes, and it will be raining or snowing outside!

I was still living in SoCal when the Sylmar quake hit about 6 a.m. I was sound asleep when it started, but before it was over, I was out of bed, had opened the door, and was standing in the doorway when I woke up. I guess that's what you might call 'conditioning'.

<img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />Sue

Carry a Photon as earring...

I remember the Loma Prieta quake in 1989 along with plenty other smaller ones. First thought was, "What the HELL is THAT?!" Second thought was, "Earthquakkke!"

The suggestion of anchoring or attaching a light to something is a great idea. Just in case a pet or earthquake decides to move it... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In addition to flashlights out the whazoo (in each bedside table and by each toilet, etc), I also use a chem light as a keychain for each of the "fire keys" which are kept on a hook near each door of the house so they could be found feeling along the wall while crawling under smoke, etc.

I don't have a specific BOB for middle of the night bailouts...yet.

When we lived in San Jose, CA, we had two AA Maglites, one on each side of the bed, clipped to the underside of the top of the bedside tables (aka nightstand). Now we are in New Zealand we have the same two Maglites, with LED upgrade, but not clipped in place. Having seen the comment about torches falling or moving due to an earthquake I must remedy that situation.

Anyway, we (my wife and I) are Civil Defence volunteers, and when we went for training we found we were probably the only people who kept a torch by the bed. The main reason for this (we are told) is to light up the floor to look for broken glass *before* getting up.

A

I wasn't listening very carefully, but there was a segment on NPR radio this morning about a team of scientists who built a full size two-story wooden house on a "shake table" to study what happens when a simulated 6.5(?) quake occurs just a few miles away. The structure itself fared very well, but apparently the contents were strewn all over the place, including heavy appliances and furniture.

Anyway, just more confirmation that some form of light will likely be critical immediately after a large earthquake strikes in the middle of the night. All that stuff on the floor and rearranging of objects that will likely occur inside our homes will make it difficult to find things or even get around without some light.