What do you keep at the office?

I saw this topic in another forum and seem to remember it being done here too once or twice. However, it may be a good reminder to all to think about what is 'on hand' or what you personally keep for yourself at work for those unplanned events.

I used to work at a place with two cafeterias that kept a lot of supplies on hand and we had bottled water in the .5 liter bottles available. They also supplied the big coolers with the huge jugs for drinking water all over the place too with a stack of refills by them. They had refrigerators all over the place and lots of folks kept 12 packs (or more) of soda on hand too. We had a nurse/medical center too with everything you would ever want for first aid and medical emergency support. One year the safety office gave all the employees a 'survival kit' a lot like this one:http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/ultimate-survival-kit-in-a-water-bottle-4

While I had something better than that on hand and the vehicle outside with it's supplies it was nice to know that at least some of the bare basics were covered. I kept my freebie kit in my desk just in case someone would need it... Mom always said it was nice to share! I'm not there anymore but it is one of the warm fuzzy feelings the place gave me.

Our office can get predictably nutso at times, so I keep the basics handy, a couple of emergency meals, comfort food (popcorn!)tea bags, and the like. We do have refrigerators, microwaves, and plentiful potable water. Since we are on a windowless part of the ground floor I always have a flashlight or two handy. Late evenings and even all nighters are predictably part of the routine.

I have found it useful to keep a decent small FAK at hand, and to be sure I have nitrile gloves within (The office FAK is a joke). When I am commuting by auto, which is typical during the intense periods, I like to keep items reasonably self contained within a briefcase or a small back pack (when I am on a bike).

My EDC Leatherman Wave has proven to be really useful on a number of occasions, both to me and my fellow workers. There is a "no weapons" policy in the building and I have talked to management about the distinctions between tools and weapons. So far, my Wave is a tool.

I work in earthquake country and SOP for the office is to vacate immediately, assemble outside at a rendezvous point, and plan from there, so I like to have some basics at hand and ready to grab and go. So far, I have experienced only one actual earthquake evacuation. Fortunately I live only five miles from work, so walking home is perfectly feasible.

Supplied by company:
0.5L bottles of water (thousands of these)
coffee (and coffee filters)
large first aid kits
ice
candy machine
pop machine
soap (dish and hand)
office supplies
safety goggles, lab coats, chem-resistant gloves, etc
hand tools, power tools

Kept in my office:
2 plates
2 bowls
assorted cups and mugs
2 sets of lexan silverware
assorted flashlights
two lighters
two candles
coins for vending machine
several MREs
instant oatmeal
bag of candy
3-4 cans of V8 juice
petroleum jelly
change of clothes
cardigan sweater
canteen
spare shoes (steel toed)
spare glasses
binoculars
assorted survival books
radio (am/fm/weather/tv bands)
batteries
digital copies of certain paperwork from home
hand lotion
list of alibis
toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss
antiperspirant
lint brush
spare shoelaces
paracord
fingernail clippers
baseball cap
disposable poncho

I think I might also have a poncho liner there but i need to double check that.

-Blast

I always have what I carry. Leatherman wave, lighter, small hank of line, bandanna, etc. And of course the clothing I'm wearing can be pressed into use in all sorts of ways.

But because it is rare that I'm ever far from my vehicle my kit remains in the truck. This also eliminates most issues with what is, and what is not, allowed and seen as appropriate in the building. This also makes sorting, maintenance and inventory a lot easier because it can all be done at home.

The stuff I have on me gets me to my vehicle and the vehicle, and/or the stuff inside, gets me to the larger gear.

Nice...I caught this one on first glance!

I would just say "The dog ate my list of excuses!"

One of the college kids I sponsor is graduating and moving to San Francisco to work. A lady there advised her she should keep a pair of running shoes at the office in case of an earthquake.

That seems like a very strange suggestion to me: I'd assume one is more likely to crossing glass-strewn streets and sidewalks and that something tougher than "running shoes" is indicated.

Beyond the obvious snacks, bottled water, FAK and prescriptions, the other small earthquake-specific things I can think of are a whisk broom, (Kevlar?) gloves for handling sharp objects, hard-soled shoes for walking in debris-strewn areas, and a bag to carry it all in if she has to walk a long distance to a passable road for evac. Anything else?

I think decent shoes you can walk a long way in are a must - only time I had a problem recently was of course the time I'd rotated my hikers for a pair of gym shoes :-(

For me at 35 miles from home, walking back is the extreme solution, though walking part of it isn't a bad idea.

One suggestion (preaching to the converted here I suspect) is to think about what you have on you - if the building gets evacuated and you are in the cafeteria / meeting room / someone elses office then you won't be able to go to your desk - leaving car keys and phones in a desk draw (as some of my colleagues did during a recent fire drill) creates a drama out of a crisis

I pack what I depend upon, but only work 3 days a week at the office. Among my everyday items:
1L nalgene bottle (fill it when I get in in the AM)
FAK with various small supplies (nothing for trauma, but I do keep that in my jeep)
SAK (Hiker model)
small flashlight

I also carry on me me Leatherman, a folder pocketknife, a DR picolight, a p38, and some 550 cord (about 10').

I also take a week's worth of lunch in & keep it in my drawer-granola bars, dried fruit, crackers, tuna fish, soup, etc-varies week to week. There is enough to get by on for a couple days, should, for some odd reason, I get stuck here.

MY clothing is ALWAYS utilitarian. I wear cargo pants, or dress pants that have hidden cargo pockets, comfortable shirts, always have a jacket & hat, and comfortable shoes to walk in.

Not much since I keep a good set of stuff in my laptop bag.

I did keep a flashlight there for a while, but the company finally bought some after a fire scare in a dark server room during a power outage. I wasn't there for that, but nobody else thought to check my desk for a flashlight. Heck, nobody could even find the fire extinguishers for a while. (Hint: they are next to the stairwells.)

I do keep some extra food and water in my desk. I should keep more water, especially since we stopped supplying bottled water to employees. But I usually have case of bottles in the car.

Other than that, it's mostly junk. A screwdriver assortment, a junk knife, some expired cold meds, etc.

My office window overlooks ground zero, so I get a daily reminder to be prepared. I'm within walking distance of home, as long as the bridges over the Hudson aren't the target.

In the office:

Crank radio
A dozen N-95 masks
Liter of water (we also have the five gallon water dispensers)
Three or four heater meals
Assorted snacks and comfort food
Pair of old hiking boots
Flashlight

On my person (and in my bag):

Small FAK
Flashlight and extra batteries
Nitrile gloves
Emergency blanket
99 cent rain poncho
Map of the city
SAK
Tea bags and instant coffee
2-3 protein bars
Hand sanitizer
NATO matches
Two bandanas
Two N-95 masks

Although its not at the office, I alwaya have on me, My PSP Kit A small FAK (thanks ParamedicPete for the medic bag!!) I am time constrainted so i will add a list of FAK items later, but,
1. p-38
2. Cabelas mini multitool
3. Laser & L.E.D. combo from WM
4. SAK tinker (not in school though!)
5. NATO SOLAS whistle -orange.


Got to go for now, will continue later. Tell me if I need to add anything, or remove anything, or replace it with something else. SOG multitool On sale at LOWES for $50 too, I want it, take a look!

I keep my preparedness stuff (except for some powerbars) in the trunk of my car. I don't get here without a vehicle.

Company supplies tap water, toilet paper, highly variable heat and somewhat more reliable light (though I still carry a microlite on my badge lanyard since the place is windowless and when the power goes out the emergency lighting can take quite awhile to show up).

I have an assortment of stuff in my car, my lunch bag, and my office.

I never really thought much about the water issue. We are on a well here, so the pressure tank provides some backup water in case of power loss. There is also the small hot water heater. I bring 2 liters of iced tea and a liter of water with me in my lunch bag every day.

AFAIK, the only emergency food and drink supplies would be the candy and pop machines. We also have a pop cooler with an assortment of various drinks and juices in it. I rarely buy anything from either the cooler or the pop machine. At $1.25 a bottle, I would just as soon bring iced tea which I prefer anyway.

The company has an assortment of OTC meds and first aid items in the office area, and a home made but pretty well stocked FAK out in the shop. Supposedly several employees were going to be trained in first aid and CPR but I don't know if it ever happened or not.

The most likely events here would be tornado, blizzard, or ice storm. I am only about 8 miles from home here so chances are if the weather was going to turn really bad, I would just go home before it hit, of course I would not get that option with a tornado.

I had not given a whole lot of thought to having to walk home. I wear walking shoes most of the time, but its possible the weather might make them inappropriate (rain, snow or cold). I do have a pair of steel toed boots in the car I wear now and then. They are reasonably decent winter boots, but pretty heavy to do much walking in.

2 .7L bottles of water
Flashlight
Bandaids
Hand Sanitizer
Aspirin
Maalox chewables

My EDC bag includes a pocket FAK, multitool, lights, etc.

I have a GHB in the trunk of my car with water, emergency food, etc. There's also a more complete FAK in the car.

But I recently moved to about a mile from work (I was 13 miles away before) and plan to walk in good weather, so I need to rethink the work supplies for when my car's at home.

Running shoes would be a big step up from the standard dress shoe and would provide good traction and footing. The ideal apres quake footgear would be a pair of well broken in, hightop leather boots with lugged soles and leather laces - basically what is sold for wildland fire fighting. Most folks are more likely to have running shoes.

I notice that nowadays a lot of folks take walking and exercise breaks and are likely to have running shoes handy. The real problem is that if you evacuate your building because of an earthquake, you are not likely to have time to change shoes, or even necessarily to grab them on your way out.

I have tried, unsuccessfully, to find a very fine series of posts by Schwert on this very topic some years ago (I am a search Neanderthal). He had very thoughtfully considered the specifics of getting home in his situation and had assembled a very decent, compact kit. His work is well worth reading.

"I have tried, unsuccessfully, to find a very fine series of posts by Schwert on this very topic some years ago (I am a search Neanderthal). He had very thoughtfully considered the specifics of getting home in his situation and had assembled a very decent, compact kit. His work is well worth reading."

Hikermor, are you perhaps thinking of Schwert's articles entitled "Urban Preparation Kits," that were originally published in Outdoors Magazine?

A Google search turned up archived versions here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17338131/Urban-Preparation-Kit-Part-I-On

http://www.canadianwildernesssurvival.com/Pdf%20Articles/Urban-Preparation-Kit-Part-II.pdf

Bingo!

I'm ignorant of these things, but I've always assumed the worst place to be is outside next to a multi-story office building as the glass windows and facade fall off and shatter on the pavement. In other words, move toward the exit and be ready to go, but don't exit until things quit falling outside or something inside (like a fire) becomes even more threatening than outside.

Part of my advice will be to keep it all in a small/mini backpack since she might need to hike a few miles to get to an open road, to keep the kit together, and for a quick grab & go.

It's not my office so anything of mine there is in my EDC backpack. For those of us who park in the open, we really just need to get to the kits in our vehicles. That's where I keep the change of clothes, shoes, 96 hr kit, FAK and water.

Once back at the truck I listen to local radio and make a determination about driving home, driving to a friends home, staying in place or walking (~25 miles).

My office has a "hoteling" policy for desks, so I have no permanent presence there. I've got my on-person EDC, my laptop bag EDC, and the BOB and spare clothes I keep in the car. While that's not my very favorite policy, I'm not in the office all that often anyway.

Right now I'm at a customer site almost 50 miles from home and it's cold. Assuming I could get to my car I'm entirely confident that I'd be equipped to hoof it home...but it sure would take a while.

Since our company was too cheap to provide water or coffee service for the employees, I started a collection and now we have a large bottled water dispenser and a coffee maker that I keep regularly stocked with supplies. I never have less than 5 gallons of bottled water available at one time, and it is in my direct custody, so I control the access.

I also have a locker supplied with snacks (mixed nuts, candy bars, fruit, gum, fiber one bars). I also keep a large supply of ibuprofren, tylenol and aspirin. We have a community refrigerator that I keep at least a one week supply of frozen food in at any given time.

I also have a sewing kit, a flashlight, a multi-tool, a couple of bic lighters, some mini-para cord, a roll of duct tape, and heaps of plastic grocery bags. I also have a stash of TP, hand sanitizer, lotion, carmex lip balm, an umbrella, toothpaste and a toothbrush, allergy medicine, eye drops, and vitamins hidden away in my desk. I add to the stockpile from time to time. The longer I am here, the more I am going to rat-hole off.

Agreed. I certainly wouldn't stick my neck outside until things had stopped falling, but, even given that, time will often be of the essence. In my work situation, I am often away from my desk, either in our warehouse, or elsewhere within the structure.

We have regular evacuation drills which are quite interesting. Nearly everyone elects to follow the obvious exit, typically the ones in regular use. There are alternate, signed exits which are much less frequented. From what I have seen, I am going to try and use the less obvious exits. The large number of people heading for the doors looks like a breeding ground for panic and trampling if anything goes awry. I dislike being in a crowd.

We have....

400 gallons of drinking water for 64 people (in constant rotation, always fresh)
A fully stocked pantry with a variety of items
Several buckets and plenty of plastic bags
Crank-Up radios (4 of them located in various locations
Flashlights in several locations
Several analog phones
A set of Talkabout waklie talkies
First Aid Kits in the Kitchens on both floors and in the Coat Closet at the reception desk
A general set of tools
12 Booster Battery (Jump-start box) on constant maintenance charge.

And...best of all...this was how the office was set up when I first came to work here!

Our office manager routinely discusses emergency planning with me, and we have an employee training program about what to do in case something goes "boom" around the office.

Given that I work in the city with the record for most completed and attempted terrorist attacks in the USA, that's good.

Well, remember the saints at NY Waterway...those people are the unrecognized superheros of NYC emergency services - as long as there's no ice in the Hudson, those folks are going to be there to move NY - remember that airplane that went down in the hudson? NY Waterway was there first. In the Blackout, who was able to move zillions of people out - NY Waterway. On Sept 11th, who moved people out and away from the chaos? NY Waterway. I think about those guys a lot. I could - eventually - find a way home from Weehawken, but that river is fast and wide without a boat of my own!

A firetruck and 4 big strong guys. The smaller weak ones all work on engines...

I have two lockers. Extra uniforms,sweatshirts,hats,socks, fleece,shaving kit.Extra hardware,lights,knives etc.

These lockers are big enough to hold a coulpe stacked Rubbermade totes. I'm not telling you whats in there.

A bunch of old Playboys some cigars in a humidor and a flask.

I work out of my car, so I always have my GHB with me. I cover five counties so I have water, snacks, an MRE, an Esbit Stove and cook pots, some soups a couple of bottles of water, a poncho, liner, spare socks and a gore tex rainsuit. I also have a couple of different methods of firemaking as well as several dozen bottles of oxygen, regulators, conserving devices and cannulas. I think if my car went off a bridge and underwater I could still be alive a week later, LOL. I deliver Oxygen for a living.

Good job. It is vitally important to maintain morale.

My car is my office:

Complete set of cold weather clothes including
a military duffel bag
pac boots
balaclava
boonie hat
poncho
orange polar fleece vest
choppers,
lined leather gloves
gauntlet gloves
wool socks
long scarf
snowmobile jacket
watch cap
1 MRE
3 Cliff bars
1 lb granola
plastic utensils
1/2 roll TP
2 bunjies
Two compasses
Two lighters
Binoculars
FAK
large SAK in belt sheath
large serrated folder
stainless steel 1 qt bowl with bail
pliers
Channelocks
screwdrivers
mini screwdriver set
adjustable wrenches
other misc tools
shovel
military wool blanket
two AA flashlights
20 ft bailing wire
duct tape
medium hatchet
small cooler with bail handle
jumper cables
coins of the realm
cell phone and charger
atlas
1 Eagles 'Hell Freezes Over' CD

you need their 'Hotel California' album - "mirrors on the ceiling, pink chanpagne on ice"

No stove?

Whats the matter? You can't handle rolling 5" hose or dragging a charged handline up 4 flights?

Truckies. Breaking and entering. Thugs with scott packs!

(Said with a smile)

The real men and women are the Technical Rescue folks . Brains and brawn rolled into one . We do it all and with style .

Pete

I don't keep much special at my office. I'll have my EDC, and probably a jacket, and my car is outside, and I can walk home if I have to. The company provides a fridge and a small canteen.

For me the office is an awkward spot because there are 100+ other people and an existing chain of command. Any food or water I might have won't go far if shared.

Well we don't use 5 inch hose,and we bring the line in dry till were at the turn. Its much lighter and faster that way . ; )

In my office I keep a flashlight and a few light sticks to navigate the building interior if we lose power (drop the light sticks on the floor to lead folks towards the outer exits). I'm a floor fire warden so I need to clear my part of the building before exiting in a drill or fire. There's also a little bandolier kit they give us with mostly useless things - there's yet another reflective vest I'm supposed to wear, I think its mostly to mark my corpse after smoke overcomes me. I keep a whistle in my desk drawer, a small FAK in the corner of my office, laerdahl mask (might need that), a stocked get home bag next to it. I also have a blender - I recently had my 20 years at the company, I tell the younger fellas its for mixing up margaritas at 11 and 3 (actually its for mixing some shakes for my diet/exercise program).

One thing I seldom do it park under our building in the garage, always in a surface parking lot - I'd really like to reach my car in an emergency, our circa 1990s building should survive the shake, but no way would I go underneath it afterwards.

My car trunk is stocked for my work, volunteer work, and peace of mind. A bag of extra cold and wet clothing, some reflective garb, a hardhat, a ball cap, reflective road markers, glovesx2, protective eyewearx2, N95 mask (the 3M kind that seals tight aroung mouth and nose); a Red Cross reflective vest, a DAT turnout bag with forms, debit cards etc, a shelter turnout bag with 24 hour stuff (edibles, water, stuff to open a shelter), a bag of Red Cross and Disney stuffed animals, some comfort kits for folks burned out of their homes; a full disaster FAK with enough kerlix, tape, 4x4s etc etc to treat 60 people, a smaller trauma bag tailored to treat accident victims (stop alot of bleeding until pros arrive, one chest seal, one tourniquet); a wool blanket, a z-rest pad, a nylon tarp to protect from the rain, a foot air pump, some tools and tire chains (in season) and a can or two of that stuff you spray in a tire to stop up a leak; and a daypack with enough things in it to help me get home, typically 7 miles from work to my doorstep. Flashlights up the yin yang. A crowbar of course. It all fits in the rear compartment of a Prius. I really don't feel like detailing all the stuff in my car, things like leather gloves in the center console, nitrile gloves and eye protection in the door pockets, those nice seat belt cutters to help get me or someone out of their car, etc; suffice to say I build my kits based on the good advice of Mr. Ritter and alot of the wiser folks in this forum.

Edit 2/28: I forgot the crowbar in my office - if the door is closed, I want to get out. Locally doors got stuck even after the Nisqually quake.

Interesting senarios.........

Picture this.......I work at a level 1 trauma center 400+ beds..........so equipment to some degree is overstocked.

But considering the amount of people here at one time....would there actually be enough of anything past a few days -think gridlock type senario ?

The warehouse for bulk is actually off campus several miles away, so that got me thinking........

I keep your standard issue BOB, minus clothing.....scrubs are readily accessible,a when push comes to shove I could get several pairs of scrubs in the blink of an eye and secure them.

I am though stuck up on the top floor-which is another set of challenges in itself

My BOB is compact........yet workable...........it resides in my locker.......which is normally only about 20-30 yards away.......now if I were say off the floor......well I'm just screwed unless I could make it back........lets face it, there is simply no way to tote your gear around all day in my line of work (anesthesia)

I do keep in my locker 3-4 bottles of water, some high protein snacks and usually some fruit I tote in each week.

Quick overview of a few components I have usually beside me during cases

-small stanley fubar- i have thought of adding one of these-maybe one day?-picturing the dig your self out senario-Its a tough call because Im on the move about as much as I am sitting in one spot.....so its a 50/50 I guess

-what about the vehicle kit you say?-picture parking garage.....one of the worst poential-to-collapse places you can imagine-its there but I dont even count on it-so its sorta become a backup backup-and oh yeah, its the only place to park around here

Day to day...
-i have N95's by the box
-clear safety glasses
-no need for FAK-ha ha!!
-small INOVA microlight on my badge-seen the power out more than once-will that generator always kick back on??
-trauma shears clipped on my waistband
-SOG flash II tucked in waistband

I'm a high school teacher, so I usually leave my sharps and firestarters locked in the car trunk. I do carry a Leatherman Squirt S4.

Other things:

• EDC (Squirt S4, Cell Phone, Car Keys)
• Extra Medications (locked in desk drawer)
• Small FAK (School nurse has larger supply)
• 2-3 liter bottles of water
• few granola bars
• a few shelf stable meals with plastic utensils

On days when the students aren't there, I usually carry my Leatherman charge. The other teachers know that I'm the resident Eagle Scout so that I often have other tools stuffed in the bottom of the file cabinet.

Any other teachers want to share?

Standard office supplies and 2 computers.
1-2 gallons water, 1 gallon minimum.
Keurig mini coffee maker
Engineers scale english, metric units, and Architects scale (Amazimg, this is ancient tech)
Shelf stable food for snacks and meals (1 day)
Knife + Extreme Scissors
Flashlight + (I have a mini flashlight on my keychain)
Simple First Aid Kit (Bandaids, Aspirin, Tylenol )
Pencil sharpener - And yes I still use colored pencils sometimes. I'm an old fart at 50 who hasn't found a great replacement for markup.

Pretty light, but main kit is in auto which is in open parking lot with no possible obstructions to access. Also, home location is only about 3 miles from work location. I have a decent kit in auto since I may need to negotiate 50 to 400 miles to get to a safe location.

-Tommy

One of the scariest things that ever happened to me when I was a firefighter (and in a rural company you're all of the engine, the truck, the technical rescue, the EMT, the fire police, the dishwasher, the engineer at once) and I was dragging an uncharged 2 1/2" line into an old paper mill that was having a fire in a sub-terranian vault that used to have paper pulp in it. I had to lay down to see into the vault. I radioed to charge the line - and as I saw the water coming, I realized that the hose was wrapped around my leg. Got out of that 5 seconds before the water hit. I dragged charged lines after that.

I have more stuff than you want to read. Full change of dress clothes, packable rain jacket and pants. Extra socks and ties. Dress shoes. Enough food and water to survive for a week. Enough flashlights to illuminate a baseball game, eating/cooking utensils, Esbit stove and tablets, lighters, matches, and one of those solar/crank emergency radio/flashlight deals that can also charge my iPhone.

My stash at the office is fairly basic: rotating stock of food, both fresh and shelf-stable. Case of water that is slowly rotated (but the communal bulk water is daily use). Headlamp, flashlight, Leatherman S4.

As for what I have available when at the office, these additional items are either on me, 3 feet away in my office, or 30 feet away in my car:

EDC gear is keys, wallet, DR photon, mini-Bic, bandana and Leatherman Charge.

EDC bag has a PSK, esbit stove, steel cup, Eton FR150 light/radio/etc, Gerber EZ-Out Jr. and Multi-plier, another headlamp, another flashlight, water bottle.

GHB has about what you'd expect, and there's one in my car and truck since I switch off based on weather and need. I also keep practical waterproof boots and good socks, and spare outerwear in both vehicles in case I need to hoof it someplace. I have a 13-mile commute so it's do-able in a pinch on foot.

i sort of breeze over "office stuff" posts because i'm not in one anymore,but something i have not seen just looking at a post or three is ice grippers.the Yak Tracks, rubber with steel coils are easy to slip on and work great.i use them for winter dog walks.a set of those in your kit would make the walk home or to a safe place fast and easy if you have to bail out in winter.which i'm very happy is over for the most part here.

Oooh. Good call on the Yak Trax. I usually keep mine in the truck when it's icy, since if I think I need them I'll take them into the office with me.

...Which reminds me; gotta retrieve them from the neighbors. I lent them out so they could get home safely after a visit on an icy night, and I think they are hoping I forgot where they went.

- Full change of clothes [need to add boots or shoes]
- A couple of dollars in change. [should add more]
- Some snacks and some juice drinks.
- Advil, generic allergy tabs

looks through drawer .............

- Jar of instant coffee. Some teabags.
- Lysol wipes.
- One bootlace [hmmm]
- Regular & travel mug
- Several screwdrivers of differing types
- Spare batteries for my flashlights

There are gallons and gallons of water for the cooler nearby.