Brainstorming your situation:

1. How close together are the houses? Can you improvise a safe (radiation/hidden/bullet proof) connection between them? Could one house on fire start the next house burning?

2. What are the houses made of? Bulletproof? Easy to burn?

3. How close is the nearest water source? How secure is this water source from snipers, poisoner (acidental or intentional), or MZB's?

4. What sort of views do you have from the houses? Good lines of fire? What are your blind areas (fences/shrubs/hills/other houses/etc...). How many stories are the houses?

5. Do you have escape routes? If you have to run (house on fire) where do you go? Does the escape route have any concealment or will you be spotted right away?

6. Will the number of people you have be enough to keep watch while still having enough bodies to do all the work needed?

7. Arew there any legal ramifications? What if false alarm causes you to start modifying your neighbor's house. Can you afford to pay to fix it?

8. What sort of kitchens will you have? Indoor cooking?

9. Do you have ranges marked off for easier targeting (25 yards from bedroom window to fire hydrant, 50 yards from upstairs bathroom window to intersection, etc...). Are these ranges listed next to windows? Note: Google Earth is good for making these measurements without being seen.

10. What will your neighbor's friends/families do? Have the neighbors blabbed? What if 25 of their relatives show up demanding shelter?

11. What sort of communications will you have between the houses? Walkie talkies? Symaphore with flags? WWI-II field telephones (anyone know if those are EMP resistant)?

12. What medical issues do these neighbors have? Any suprises (diabetes, addiction, medicated bipolar) lurking there?

-Blast