Office Bug-in Kit

I'm sitting here in the office with a blistering headache thinking that if I could only have a nap I'd feel so much better. I tell you this not for sympathy but because it makes me think of my office kit. With winter fast approaching, it's time to review and repack.

My office kit is designed to get me through at least a few overnights in the office. Weather, problems at the nuclear plant, an industrial accident or chemical spill on the major railway or highway... all potential risks I'm prepping for.

My kit's sitting here under my desk and I have to admit, I haven't touched it since I put it there about 7 months ago. I had to look up an old post to remind myself of what's in there:

FAK: AMK kit, soap, bandana, personal meds, safety pins, nail clippers baby wipes, small bottle of purelle, pocket pack of kleenex, cpr mask and 2 pairs nitrile gloves, 2 dust masks, sewing kit

CLOTHES: wool socks hat and gloves, thermal shirt, emerg rain poncho and blaze orange baseball hat, light rain pants, leather work gloves, subbed in a primaloft jacket instead of fleece.

SHELTER: AMK bivy, sleeping bag liner, paracord, heatsheet

WATER: large full kleen canteen, micropur tabs, military mess cup, juice crystals, instant hot chocolate tea and cappacino, wrapped the water bottle in duct tape

FOOD: 4 cliff bars, 1 pack jerky, 2 powerbar harvest bars, MRE meal and heater

FIRE: bic, match safe (with tinder-quicks, b-day candle and strike anywhere matches), couple of tealights, sierra saw, 2 larger candles, esbit stove and tabs

RESCUE: AMK signal mirror, lanyard with whistle/led light, roll of quarters, blaze orange whistle to an external zip

MISC: SAK, multi-tool, bandana, LED flashlight and extra batteries, extra glasses and sunglasses, leatherman folder, LED lantern, LED headlight and extra batteries, 2 decks playing cards, pry bar, extra house key, 4 chem lights, 4 chem hand warmers, 2 lg garbage bags, 2 small garbage bags, eye glass repair kit, pocket radio and extra batteries, case of all the extra batteries

TOILETRIES: soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodarant, washcloth, feminine stuff

Other stuff I've got available here:

-1 box of cliff bars, personal OTC meds and vitamins, 2 mason jar candles
-coffee, tea, sugar, instant oatmeal, cereal and canned goods in kitchen (with manual opener)
-about a couple of weeks worth of TP, paper towel and kleenex
-equivalant of a couple of bags of ice in the freezer
-24 bottles water in freezer
-gortex jacket with fleece jacket
-2 fishing rods
-1 X 4 wheeler and small can of gas
-1 propane bbq with 1 full tank
-1 snowblower
-2 large flashlights
-multiple tools
-my GHB in my parked car about 50 feet from my desk

What's in your office kit? What would you add as sub-zero temps and snow looms on the horizon?

Your kit looks good. Would it make sense to add a cellphone charger, and/or a an old cellphone that doesn't have current service but might still be good for a 911 call?



My employer is moving soon, and it may be possible for me to keep a small office kit in the new location. We'll see. For now, if I take the train, all I've got with me is in my laptop bag.

What - your office has no dormatorium? (A.k.a. a quiet corner with a sofa). Every decent office should have one.

Great job on the kit!

Don't I wish!

do you have a reclining chair or couch to sleep on?... if not, a closed cell foam sleeping pad will make the cold hard floor a little more comfortable

With all due respect, I think that your kit is a tad unrealistic for "overnights in the office" - having slept in my office more than a few times in my life, I'm going to go item for item and suggest that you consider a more compact and practical arrangement. I don't mean to be a smart butt, at all, I'm saying that I've been stuck in offices, and I've had to sleep in offices, and it's really not that bad.



OK not bad, but your office should have a large FAK for all of the staff. This is kind of an FAK/Personal Hygiene kit.



Not really sure what this does for you in an office. Does it rain in your office? Are you planning to walk out?



I think a blanket would suffice. Maybe two.



I can't think of an office that does not have cups and mugs, most offices have tea and coffee already.



This is the one thing that I see as a really needed good thing to have, because waking up and having 4 packs of sugar and 3 packs of duck sauce for breakfast sucks. My food stash at work leans more to the granola bar family, but a nice stash of snacks is one of those "man I wish we had more of these here in the office" things.



Ummm....sierra saw? You making a campfire in the reception area? Get a few cans of Sterno and a sterno stove. Esbit fuel stinks like urine. Candles are a good idea if the power's out, but LED lanterns are safer and last longer.




I'm trying to think of an office scenario where you'd need a roll of quarters. Phone calls? Can you even THINK of a location with a pay phone anymore? The last pay phone I saw was in a movie. The signal mirror? Well, maybe if my office wer subject to flash flooding and I was on the roof awaiting a helicopter...maybe...



Well, most of this stuff is EDC, but some of it is just basic office gear. If your office does not have radio/batteries/flashlights on hand at all times, that's just sad.



THIS is the stuff you really need when you wake up in the office. You'd be amazed at how much of the "necessities" you don't really care about when you're stuck in a "stay put" situation and how many things you realize you want to have that you'd never have thought of.

For example, pajamas that are "public friendly" - sweat pants and a sweatshirt. Ear plugs. Because offices make all kinds of noises your house does not. A pillow. Because you want to get some rest and improvised pillows are terrible. Extra blankets. Because you're going to be sleeping on the floor, and it's darn cold down there.

Razors, shaving cream, etc. are also a must for men.

Now because of my job, I have at work a full change of clothes and an overnight bag packed at all times - I can come to work in the morning expecting to come home and end up in Los Angeles that evening due to an unexpected meeting, so I'm "hotel ready" at any given time, so my perspective might be a little different.

Thanks Martin. When I originally packed this kit, I was intending to use it as a GHB for my commute as well. I've since decided against using public transit so created a GHB that lives in the trunk of my car so I definitely need to revist the office kit that lives under my desk. Thinking about taking a nap is an eye opener - thermarest, blankets/sleeping bag, sweats/fleece instead of rain gear, etc... Thanks for the wise suggestions! Never having been a stay put situation before your experience is MUCH appreciated!

FYI - it's a very small office (only 3 full time employees) and has been a little lax about things like FAKs, flashlights, etc. in the past. They seem to have been in the "it won't happen to us" camp before I arrived but that's not good enough for me.

Just for the record - the nearest pay phone is North East of here, at a gas station about 3km away. There's another West at a convenice store about 4km away.

When I think of an Office Bug-in Kit I gotta ask, "Why?". Here, I'd be bugging in because a major earthquake just shutdown SOCAL; the power is off and probably water too. In Canada I'm thinking major winter snowstorm and an office can get cold enough to require camping gear inside. That said, good kit.

You may want to keep some of this in your car so it's always nearby. If whatever hits while at work the car kit supplements your office kit. OTOH, it's also with you on the road. Add more food and a camp stove.

LOL!! Those of us who don't have cel phones tend to keep a closer eye on them than you young 'uns with the high flauten technology.

What I want to know is, where the heck is Clark Kent supposed to change into his Superman outfit these days?

Regarding office Bug-in/Bug-out kits, I work for a large international oil co. We have a closet on each floor (sealed with a zip tie) that allegedly has emergency supplies inside. In my case, however, I only live about 3 miles (5 km) from work. If Wurst came to sausage I could hike home, no problem. I do make it a point to always wear season appropriate shoes and coat to work, even if I'm not planning on going out of the office that day.

Thanks Russ. A winter snow storm is probably the most likely scenario, followed closely by a chemical spill nearby. This office in winter will be cold. I'm thinking that planning to camp out in here is a good plan. It's mostly likely that I'd be by myself, or possibly with one, maybe two coworkers. It's a small staff but a big space. There are 4 offices with doors so I'd likely set up in one that's in the middle of the building, away the front windows/door and the wharehouse out back.

I do have a GHB in the car but in the off chance that it's a situation where going outside is a risk (i.e. nuclear accident at the plant next door) I'd like to have what I need inside.

There's nothing soft in here Les. There's a big boardroom style table in the wharehouse that would get me off the ground but I'm thinking a thermarest is a good idea.

Most office overnights are really boring:
food ( coffee) toothbrush, fresh socks, a soft place to sleep, earplugs, food,
non-internet dependent radio or news source and food.

Warehouse -- storage space should not be an issue.

A nice thick camping pad is a good start. Is your sleeping bag liner cotton, fleece or something else. Fleece bag liners are very comfy when it's cold. Since you're inside and rain is not an issue, goose down is in play; why use an AMK bivy inside? For that matter, a fleece bag liner and wool blankets (mentioned earlier in this thread) would be great -- pillow too.

BTW, a camp stove is a great way to boil water for tea when the power is out. Tea, coffee, soup -- all super easy to make with a camp stove that can only boil water -- simmering is not required. Get a stove and a good supply of stuff that mixes well with hot water. $.02

From a space consideration, would a 10.00 air mattress from Walmart be a better choice? Not as warm, but easy to pack, cheap, not much space....

If could be filled from same pump you would use for a car time.....

Great summary Teacher, thanks.

Thanks Russ. Great point on the space issue. I should be able to carve out a corner in the warehouse. A more robust mattress and pillow are great ideas. I've got an esbit stove but may switch over the a sterno. There may be more heat value there?

The sleeping back liner is fleece and my thinking re: the bivy was that it's easy to to stay warm inside it rather than just in one of the offices.

Great idea Cranston. Thanks!

Okay -- I view the bivy as something of a last resort extreme situation shelter. Inside an office space (away from the direct weather) with room to store other shelter options, I'd try to find something more comfortable.

The OR Alpine bivy I have in the truck is fairly nice for a bivy, but even that can be claustrophobic.

Thanks Russ! I think you're right. One of the extra little 2-man 3 season tents in the garage may be a better option.

Esbit tabs produce a lot of heat for around 10-14 minutes. They're great insofar as they're shelf-stable, easy to use, and can be used to boil water or start a fire. They also smell bad when they burn.

Sterno produce less heat in the same amount of time but burn for more like two hours. They don't smell bad. Much better for heating a small area to keep warm. Sterno doesn't emit carbon monoxide, so that also makes them safer. Don't try to boil water with it though.

That will be much more comfortable IMO and should allow more options for sleeping pads, sleeping bags or blankets.

Good point re CO inside. Since there is a warehouse, I wonder if a makeshift cooking area could be set up in an emergency using a larger camp stove such as a two burner Coleman propane stove. With the adapter these can use 20# propane bottles for fuel, and with a warehouse size area, CO should (might?) not be an issue.

Thanks guys! CO is an issue but if I can crack the warehouse door there should be good ventilation back there.

Staying warm is going to be an issue in the winter. There was a chill in the office today at single digit temps and the furnance on. There is an office that's warmer than mine so I plan to camp out there if need be.

Thanks guys! CO is an issue but if I can crack the warehouse door there should be good ventilation back there.

Staying warm is going to be an issue in the winter. There was a chill in the office today at single digit temps and the furnance on. There is an office that's warmer than mine so I plan to camp out there if need be.

I can't speak for DC Comics. As an amateur writer who played with the idea of a female super hero, I had my heroine visit the ladies' room.

Jeanette Isabelle

Spare socks. Always - just one of lifes essentials, and I keep a pair at work. Dry feet rock.

How about 1 or more days worth of prescription medications that you can't or shouldn't miss for a day or two?

Socks and underwear, Bigred. They're essentials!

Great thinking, bws. I don't need any right now but DS does and I've got a couple of days worth in other packs, and a week;s worth in in the family BOBs. Thankfully, his is not a life or death perscription.

Too Rely on what others have Or what Work environment should have is basically not at all being a prepared person. Things not getting refilled, batteries dying, Things being miss placed, People breaking items that never get replaced, Busted flashlights with blown bulbs, list goes on. Not to mention If you do have to leave the office or such you are still prepared and not leaving items behind. Plus knowing your gear and having high quality gear compared to what an office may contain may be the key in the end.

Thank you Frisket. I've been struggling to find the words to express those sentiments.

Martin, the team at this office is not at all preparedness minded. I'm slowly making inroads in prepping the office, but it's slow and completely on me to take the intiative and make the expense.

To sleep comfortably isn't really all that complicated, no matter if it gets cold inside. One el-cheapo but beefy sleeping bag, something that works as a sleeping pad and something that substitutes as a pillow. The last two can usually be improvised.

Instead of a sleeping bag you can of course improvise with blankets, but it is more hassle to make them work.

Forget about sleeping in bivy's inside. They're clammy beyond belief. And the next day will be miserable because you'll spend it in your office in clammy and moist clothes...

Bivy's have their place when you're sleeping OUTSIDE exposed to wind, rain, sleet and snow. Then you're all of a sudden much more motivated to tolerate a bit of dampness.

Vending machines. Most offices usually have at least one snack and drink machine somewhere on the premises. I've seen the kind of abuse vending machines can take, without money there's very little chance of being able to get anything out of them. I keep a lot of spare change at my desk because sometimes a snack or caffeine can be a lifesaver on a normal day.

Off the top of my head, some things I've got:

-Cell phone charger
-Umbrella
-Spare set of clothes (socks/underwear/shirt/pants)
-Toiletry bag (razor/toothbrush/toothpaste/floss/hair brush/deodorant/q-tips/tweezers/spare pair glasses)
-roll of toilet paper
-Snack food (Lately, I like Quaker 'Oatmeal to Go' bars....I find them to be filling.)
-water bottle
-pocket AM/FM radio with ear-buds and spare battery(s)
-Multitool
-Bic lighter
-A good bright flashlight with spare batteries (I like Surefire's G2 LED)
-An N95 dust mask, work gloves, and safety glasses (my glasses are already safety glasses)
-A little roll duct tape
-Spare cash/change (Nothing crazy, just a few 1's, 5's, and quarters for tip's, vending machine's, making change, ect)
-A little pry bar (I like the Stanley Wonder Bar II)
-plastic silverwear
-Purell/hand sanitizer
-small writing pad/pens/sharpies
-some basic first-aid stuff (regular band-aids, larger sterile pads, advil, pepto-bismol, ect)

All that stuff fits into a regular day bag. The one thing I wish I could carry around, but don't because of bulk, is a nice fleece blanket. If I was in the same place all day, I would probably just keep one at my desk.

On a side note, depending on one's office atmosphere, it can be tough to wear sensible sturdy shoes. However, I really feel this is something everyone should make an effort to do. I don't like any footwear that makes it difficult to run.

Paul 810 has the correct re shoes - I keep a pair of boots in the car (which is parked outside the office!) If I have to bug out, there will be some walking - hopefully not all 45miles home, but definitely some

ABSOLUTELY Paul and Big Red. Good shoes are EDC for me. Thankfully our office is small and information so I can get away with wearing my hiking shoes.

I would add a geiger counter.
This might be OTT for most bug in kits, but as the O/P states that a nuclear plant is nearby, it might be a wise addition.

For sleeping, I would favour a wool blanket, perhaps 2 for cold, dry, indoor conditions.

Paul810:

Good point on a cell phone charger. It's easy to get into the routine of "oh, I'll just charge it overnight when I get home." What if you don't get home? I speak from experience here. A cell phone charge as an EDC (briefcase or backpack, not on person) or at least office bug in kit is an excellent idea.

HJ

A 12 volt cigarette lighter type cell phone charger can top off a cell-phone as long as the car is nearby. In this case it's 50 ft from bacpacjac's office desk.

I carry a usb cable for my phone anda 120v and 12v usb adapter so I can charge from the wall, a car or a computer.

Agreed about the cel phone charger. Oddly, I have a few different ones in the car but I don't have a cel phone. Working on that one this month!

These Energi-to-go chargers are now well out of production but there are still a lot floating around. They've served me well.

Amazon link to illustrate the product. I got 4 of them from woot for $4 a piece.

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Energi-Instant-Phone-Charger/dp/B000JD09P4

lol

HJ

I carry a rechargeable LiPo battery for this purpose, the version I have is this one: http://www.energizerpowerpacks.com/us/products/xp2000/. It's served me very well.

Prepped to charge someone else's phone - how's that for being over-prepared? What have you people done to me? LOL!

(Actually, other than hubby's phone, I've used them to charge co-workers' cell phones when our office phone lines went down.)

I support the idea of having your own stuff in addition to what office should provide. I hate to depend on office tools which always seems to wander around and not come back without a fight with this or that careless guy

Talking about tool, I would suggest you keep a few basic tools because you never know what kind of improviozation you may need in a survival situation.

Even if you have a multitool, I make sure I have another stand alone pair of pliers. You may need them both to twist / straten a paper clip or whatever. A slip joint pair of pliers is a very useful tool. A multitool typically has a long nose pliers.

Great suggestion, Chisel. Thanks! Pliers, hammer, screw drivers, crowbar... and the like? Already have a saw, which I think I'll leave in. It light and you never know when we might need to cut up a palett to reinforce a door or window. (i.e. explosion in our industrial area.)

Aside from using tools to fix or reinforce your shelter, you might need them to escape your shelter. A lesson learned from 9/11 is that exits can be blocked by fire and debris, requiring rescuers to force/cut their way through locked doors and walls to get to survivors.

Perhaps not a problem for you, but I work in a high-rise, so water is a concern. I keep a 2.5 gallon container of water in the bottom drawer of my lateral file. I'm thinking of adding a second.

Also, consider your co-workers when stocking-up. A sad reality is that most won't have any supplies or gear. I have a couple of Costco-size boxes of granola bars and a box of Clif bars in addition to my personal supply of food so I can share without impacting my own needs. Ditto for cheap flashlights (a recent addition due to another thread here).

In addition to flashlights I have a dozen 12-hour chem sticks so I can provide a little general lighting in places like dark hallways and bathrooms without wasting batteries on flashlights.

The comment about rain gear should be reconsidered. If the building's sprinkler system is activated it will rain inside. Also, if there are any hazardous materials in the air, a rain poncho can help provide protection. A rain poncho can also be used as a wind breaker if the building structure is compromised.

As for cell-phone chargers, I have several cheap, 2xAA emergency charger with a USB port. Using lithium AA batteries, it will completely charge my iPhone 4 in about 4 hours. I keep an Otterbox full of lithium AA, AAA and CR123A batteries to power all my emergency electronics for the duration.

You would be surprised how few businesses have battery-powered radios. I keep a solar/crank radio with AM/FM/WB plus an LED flashlight in my kit.

A couple more suggestions :

1 - Make friends
You have 2 more people working with you . Make sure you are very good friends, so in a survival situation you all will be caring for each other. A SHTF situation is very bad in itself, and if someone picks that time to vent his/her frustration on something you did 5 years ago ( believe me this can happen) then you are facing a more complicated survival situation.

So, make sure your relation with the other co-workers is polished and sweetend as much as you can.
Even if the problem is between the two of them , try to fix it if possible.

2 - Mentally re-engineer the stuff in the office :

Play a game of (what if), and draw possible scenarios of how to use this or that item in the office for what purpose.

For example, If really SHTF and I really need some fire in our building, I will pull one of the file drawers ( metal ) and use it as a fire pit. Fire is not allowed, but if I wanted to be seen, nothing like black smoke in a tall building to attract attention.

Last few weeks, management decided to retire a few old instruments. They were housed in sturdy weatherproof boxes. I just couldn't resist "re-engineering' some of them. I opened up one of the boxes and removed the guts ( the instrument ) which was attached by 4 screws. The sturdy box is now my (office bug-in tool box).

I have also "re-engineered" a tray-like piece of metal (from another instrument). It is a great base for candles in any blackout.

Pick up any office item and think of whatever it can be used for in a survival situation. That will greatly expand the "kit" you are having for bug-in.

Good luck

Thanks guys! GREAT food for thought - one of the reasons I love this forum!!

Try this instead of Sterno.

Oh, this is so embarrassing! I thought I knew all the homemade stoves, and I found a new one!

I don't know how I missed it. And it's so simple... it makes a soda can stove look like brain surgery. One version is even at Zen Stoves, but this one has a handy screen that keeps the contents from spilling.

Grab the rectangular Altoids tin you aren't using for your EDC anymore.

Get some perlite (expanded white volcanic stone -- from garden centers) and a piece of aluminum window screening (not vinyl).

Set the open Altoids tin upside down on the screen as a template and mark around the edge with a marker. Cut it out, and trim the corners a bit. Form another piece of the aluminum screening into a temporary cone sieve and put a handful of perlite in it, shake a bit and discard all the perlite that falls through the holes (it's too small). Put the larger stuff into the bottom of the tin. Repeat if you need to, to fill the tin. Lay your cut screening over the perlite and tuck the edges under the rolled rim of the tin.

Add denatured alcohol to the perlite and light it.

BE AWARE that burning alcohol is practically impossible to see in daylight. Let it burn out and cool completely before you close the lid. Wave your hand over it to make sure the flame is out.

Be sure to set the stove on something that is heatproof, and you'll need something fireproof to raise your food/drink container above the flame, like some regular bricks or a circle of hardware cloth. And you'll need a windscreen if you're using it outdoors.

You can use any alcohol, but as HikinJim says in his stove blog, if you use Kleen-Strip® Green™ Denatured Alcohol, it will burn hotter than things like Sterno, rubbing alcohol and Heet, so you can actually boil water. Alcohol also produces less carbon monoxide, so it's safer to use indoors (still, use some common sense).

The Kleen-Strip website and MSDS

Sue

Thanks Sue! This sounds like a great project. I'll dedinitely give it a try!

Seems to me there are two primary winter storm stranded-at-work scenarios: 1) power on; 2) power out (any nearby emergency shelters in this scenario?)

Most of what I'd want to have at work, I already have in my car (Honda Element), including:

two closed-cell sleeping pads
fleece sleeping bag liner
Jet Boil + cooking set
Kelly Kettle (yes, I carry a lot - always, I'm a camper)
9-hour candles + collapsible UCO candle lantern
long underwear + fleece hats + fleece neck gaiter + ski gloves + ski socks
chemical hand and foot warmers (I buy by the case from Costco)

Is your vehicle well-stocked?

I'd be more worried about being stranded on the road than at the office. And everything in your car can be used at the office, unless you don't drive to work.

Here's what I'd suggest having in the office 24/7 for winter (to be augmented in a shelter-in situation by the stuff in the car):

electric hot water pot (a microwave works but these pots are cheap and easy)
bowl, plate, spoon, mug
Lipton Cup-o-Noodles and some freeze-dried meals (breakfast and dinner)
Mo-Jo energy bars
Cocoa, tea bags, sugar
a good, big book - or two or three
0-degree sleeping bag + pillow
down booties
chemical hand and foot warmers (buy a case of them - share with colleagues)


Do you have a parking garage at work?

If your vehicle is in a parking garage then if the power goes out, seems to me you may as well sleep in your car - if you can stretch out (I'm spoiled by my Honda Element). A roll of Reflectix insulation can easily be scissored into pieces slightly bigger than your car windows and they'll stay in place with light pressure applied to the edges. This is a popular strategy with people who camp in their Honda Elements. I've done it and the Reflectix in the windows makes a tremendous difference in keeping the inside car temperature comfortable overnight. About $20 a roll that would do two or three cars. This could also have applications in your office - to cut window drafts and to put under your sleeping bag.

http://www.homedepot.com/Reflectix/h_d1/...catalogId=10053

In a power outage scenario, in a parking garage you could at least run your car periodically for heat.

I have used one of those perlite/Altoids stoves and they are easy to make. They are not as hot as many others, like a Super Cat, which is insanely easy to build (punch fifteen holes in a cat food can).

Great suggestions, Dagny. Thanks!

My car is well stocked, and parked about 50 ft or so from the single floor office.

No parking garage and the lot is pretty exposed so better to plan on sheltering in the office unless the front wall of windows is damage and unrepairable. Thanks for the vehicle insulation tip. I think I'll give it a try!

Oh, very true, but if you can use a better grade of alcohol, it should still burn hotter than cheapo fuel -- maybe even hotter than something like rubbing alcohol in a Super Cat.

And if you have to make a stove on the spur of the moment, those holes might be a bit difficult.

I just think of it as another option.

Sue

Eying my son's Sweetarts tin...

A great improv stove is possible, since perlite is freequently used in office pot plants - even in fake ones ! That's what the garden centre sell it for !

Other materials, including coarse sand, glass wool insulation could be used too.

I have used sand with alcohol, as well as kerosene and even diesel once. These are not nice fuels to use inside, but they will work.

I've only used the glass wool insulation with alcohol.

Thanks for the perlite /altoids idea Sue.

Bacpac:

How far is your office from home or a relatives or friends home?

I just cannot see any likely scenario where I would want to be holed up in my workplace overnight, let alone multiple nights. I would think that after the first night and conditions (depending on what they are) have not improved and have low likelihood of improving, then I would be looking to leave...

That said, I live close enough to work that it is a leisurely < 1 hour walk home..