Five Minute Warning

The local TV news just did a brief story, a bit over-hyped, with the teaser: "If you were given five minutes to gather everything important in an emergency and leave your home, would you be prepared? What kind of things would you bring?".

I don't know that there was anything new in it; I mention it only as more evidence that BOBs have gone mainstream.

For the curious, you can compare your own BOBs to the Red Cross kits in the links shown in the story. I thought the family disaster plan was pretty well thought out.

I'm guessing that 50% of the people would choose their ipod over water.

Darwin in action.

Actually, with five minutes, grab my boots, my keys, all the socks in the drawer, the water bottles, and my bail out bag.

Assuming I start with normal EDC, then I grab the dog, spare contact lenses, the chainsaw, extra ammo, and a large plastic tote that I keep camping and hunting odds and ends in. Oh, and spare gas if my tank is not full. Everything else I need is already in my truck.

To hell with the shelters. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

What sort of emergency?
There is different equipment that you need in different emergencies.

I just had to laugh on this one. I was reading the thread in flat mode and quickly reading down the page, and I'm paraphrasing here--

"Quick, get out of the house NOW!!!"

Ironraven says, "I'd grab A,B,C and I'm out of there."

Norad45 says, "And I would grab X,Y,Z and I'm gone."

Last message--

JIM says, "Wait...what kind of emergency? You need different stuff for different situations..."

That was a classic series of posts. Sorry, JIM, I don't mean to pick on you, but in the short time you've been posting, I know you're really excited about this stuff (that's great!) and it sounds just like you. I can just imagine JIM scratching his head by his front door trying to figure out what kind of emergency it is so he can gather the best gear to take as the mudslide/firestorm/tornado/comet/natural gas explosion/what-have-you destroys his house.

I guess that's the whole point of that TV show. When you gotta go, you gotta go NOW, JIM! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My wife could never leave in five minutes. If we were given five minutes we would leave two hours later, or longer. It takes us all day just to get ready for a weekend camping trip!

OK, so you grab the keys, then the wife caveman-style (over the shoulder)...

That's going to complicate your bail out time.

socks...LOL

Don't laugh about socks. My father told me one of the first things he learned when he was in W W I I was to always have extra socks. My remembering that advise has come in handy on many occassions.

I hope she loves you mate. When she discovers that you yanked her out of the house before she can do her hair, makeup, select her dress, handbag etc she will probably divorce you, and alimoney your ass to the max. Arguements about Tornado's, Earthquake's, Tsunami's, Civil Inssurections, TEOTWAWKI etc will I fear, not cut any ice with the lady.

I'm not a big proponant on "bugging out" anywhere. I feel nice and safe in my secluded home. Where I have everything I need close at hand. However, as someone mentioned "when you gotta go you gotta go" ..... I am assuming we would be allowed to take our own vehicle....If so I would grab my survival/camping backpack. a few of the large plastic bins I already have full of necessities I might need. Wool blankets, clothing, tarps, food/cooking items, misc survival stuff etc etc. Also, two of my pre-filled 6 gallon water jugs and a couple of cases of mre's. Lastly, my CCW and a few various firearms and ammo.

That's why I would start with the dog first. It's a lot easier to get Ranger ready to go outside in public than my wife.

Additionally, since my wife is perpetually 5 minutes late for everything (and yes, I already tried setting all the clocks in the house 5 minutes ahead), would some of us require the 10 minute warning?

Leigh,

She is not into the beauty thing, she just over packs. We would end up with so many boxes of stuff that we would not be able to get the items we actually need. She insisted on packing for me for several Cub Scout camp-outs. It is always an unhappy situation. It was difficult to get to the items we needed.

My vehicle has too many issues for me to trust it 100%. If I could replace it, I would, but that isn't in the cards for a few months, so plan B is in my buttpack around my ribs for use as a chest rig, my backpack against my spine, and my boots on my feet.

Even if my car was in topflight shape, that would be plan B. And at each break, fresh socks. Fresh socks are good. Even if they can't be fresh fresh, tie/clip them to your ruck and let them dry.

Easy, Hook up the fully loaded pop-up camper to the truck and the always loaded quad/bike trailer to my wifes AWD van and go. There is always 50 gals of stabilized gas on the bike trailer, even with todays prices we don't let our vehicles get below a 1/2 tank. We both carry two cases of 1 litre bottles of water in our vehicles. The only things that would need to be loaded are guns and ammo. We'll have food, medical supplies including perscription meds, tents and tarps tools including a chainsaw, extra clothes for the whole family (bought cheap at goodwill and easy to rotate without a lot of expense), 50 watt solar panels, communications and most comforts of home.

Your pop-up camper would be a real luxury if your didn't get stuck in traffic while trying to leave. I assume there's a plan B?

Bug-out bag and motorcycles perhaps?

Pop -up camper is lifted with 31 X10.50 15 tires which fit my truck and is fully off road capable. I've 4 wheeled that trailer places I wasn't sure I could take it until I got there. Things kinda get rattled around when you do that, but things are secured pretty well. Obviously alternate routes are part of our disaster plan. Fortunately there are plenty of old mining and back roads that converge at different points. I know a lot of folks don't have that luxury, that's one reason I left the city.

When you are trying to get several million people out of a congested area you'll have problems with traffic.

The post says:

"If you were given five minutes to gather everything important in an emergency and leave your home, would you be prepared?''

They do not specify if the emergency is a 'survival- emergency'(like floods, tornado's, etc.) Or a 'normal' emergency, like a house-fire or bomb-alert.

In a survival situation it's likely to be serious and long-term.
Therefor you should take your available survival supplies, like BOB, water, food, clothing, etc.

If you're house is on fire, for example, it's likely to be a short-term situation. The Fire Departement is on route and can put the fire out fast, and usually with minimal damage.
(At least in the Netherlands, don't know how the American fire-fighters work.
The home's in Holland are not primairly made from wood/timber, unlike the houses in the US, so if there is a fire, damage would be less.
Also we use a so called 'High-pressure' firehoses, that can put out the same amount of fire, but with less water damage.)

All in all, if you're in such a situation (short-term), the emfhasis should not be on survival equipment or stuff that can be replaced, but on things that you can't, such as photo's, insurance papers, etc.

OFF COURSE, YOU SHOULD ALLWAYS GET YOURSELF AND OTHER PEOPLE IN SAFETY, BEFORE EVEN THINKING ABOUT EQUIPMENT AND OTHER STUFF!

Good planning. The first big decision in planning for a potential survival situation is NOT to live within a city. Some folks however have no choice, and these are the people who are at a greater risk, (whether they are prepared or not) having to deal with a mass exodus scenario. If I lived in a city, I would own a motorcycle as a BOV. At least you'd have a better means to travel through traffic gridlock.

well you cans still expect heavy water and smoke damage, even after a relative small fire.

There is a orginaization that will take care of you, after a fire: Salvage.

Motorcycle gives you speed, but if you have to cross a river and there is no bridge intact, it's a bit much to carry. A dirtbike might make more sense, and they are cheaper.

I would say the bulk of the fuel for the motorcycle is less than that of the bicycle's motor, so that evens out the higher parts count.

Just thoughts from the guy who's B plan is a good pair of boots and some spare socks. :P

I've had the same problem mate. However, I have had some success with the You Packed It, You Carry It policy. And yes, I'm a braver man than you are.......

Use a vehicle? Sod that for a game of soldier's as my countrymen say. Bug out on a mountain bike. Panniers front and back plus a stout rack/mud guard. Make sure it has armadillo tyers. Basic maintenance kit etc.No worries about running out of gas and it's amazing how far you can go in one day - against how far in grildlock that is- and where you can go.

If my truck is not available/feasable, I can go 90 miles in 10 hours on no road at all on my Kodiak ATV, and the only thing I am going to tire is my thumb. And I can pack 200 lbs on the racks, including a spare gas can--which can get me another 90 miles. Bicycles are nice in Europe or the Eastern USA where there are a lot of paved roads, but it is not realistic to rely on them here in the Rocky Mountain West. If you are going to bug out here, take off in your car/truck until you run out of pavement, then strike out on your ATV or motorcycle.

i agree that a bike is a great backup or even primary transport. of course the perfect escape vehicle would be one of those small utility trucks like the one's often seen in some asian countries, like a little dihatsu truck with a little bed in the back. (they're about a quarter the size of a regular pickup)
found the website. maybe put slightly larger tires on it though.
http://www.daihatsu.com.my/hijetmaxx.html

Okay, so here's a "what would you do?" sort of question. I don't have a BOB yet. I keep building my EDC to include BOBish items, but as we all know, prep is a process. Anyhew, I have two young children, 3 and almost 5 and a pregnant wife. My thought was to have BOBs in backpacks for each family member, although with my wife making our baby, I would want to greatly limit the weight she would carry. Plus the fact that in tense situations, she tends to panic more than focus, makes me wonder if one family BOB would be useful to put together. "Honey, if you need to leave the house in a hurry, make sure you grab that red bag in the closet", instead of, "Pass out all the backpacks before getting out". Maybe a combination of the two?
I had also thought about small stackable Rubbermaid totes, all packed with different categories, food, clothing, supplies, etc. Small enough to keep weight down so she could load the car alone if needed, compartmentalized for storage and organization.

Also, I had a random thought about clothes. I was looking at a catalog the other day and saw cargos with zip off pant legs to convert the pants into shorts. At first, I thought it was a cheesy idea, but then I thought of BOB applications. Cargo pockets to carry my EDC and no need to change that piece of clothing for the seasons...one item will work in summer and winter. I may have to try a pair out to test my versatility idea.

As far as the BOB development, what would you do?

'well you cans still expect heavy water and smoke damage, even after a relative small fire.'

Yes, but not nearly as much as in a American house. That's because of the different fire-fighting techniques and equipment in The Netherlands and in America. And with less damage, you can get back into your house earlier.

BTW: not only the salvage-foundation does that, also the insurance compagnie (if you got a good insurance, that is)

Salvage is a foundation, founded by a co-operation of all dutch insurance company's. Individual insurance company's might provide more imiditate help, but that depends on your policy.

I know (my dad's a fire-fighter).
But now with all those insurance-changes in The Netherlands it isn't always so easy to get everything you are entitled to.
( therefor it's good tohave such an organisation like Salvage)

Still, if you were within a large city and had only a "five minutes warning", I'd prefer a motorcycle of some type (yes, a dirt bike with pre-packed panniers).

I like the idea of an ATV though, just not sure how it may or may-not maneuver around in gridlock traffic.

> When you gotta go, you gotta go NOW, JIM!

The root post said you didn't have to go for another 5 minutes. I'd be willing to spend, say, 30 seconds of that on thinking. If I knew what the emergency was I'd take that into account. If it was just 1 minute, then I'd grab the bug-out bag and probably not a lot else, but 5 minutes is enough to plan a little.

I live 250 yards from an oil refinery. When a cracking tower blew, roads turned into a mess. It took one hour to cover the last two miles home in my truck. I can walk faster than that. I learned that a bicycle is a great evacuation vehicle. I prefer the bicycle since it requires less maintainence than a motorcycle, and I use it more. I don't trust any device for an emergency that I do not use on a regular basis.

I recommend against having BOB backpacks for very young children to carry. Although a young child might be able to carry a backpack, and might even do so on a regular basis (e.g. to and from pre-school or daycare), would you really want to *depend* on the child carrying a backpack in an unusual, potentially dangerous situation? It is all too easy for a child to get distracted, tired, scared, etc. and take off or forget the backpack. I would put a young child in charge of only stuff that you can do without if it is lost (e.g. small comfort toys or redundant supplies), to give them something to do and to build training.

Although you can teach a young child what to do in an emergency, and even reherse it. I would not build plans that *depend* on a young child executing *any* tasks (including carrying a BOB backpack) until the child is much older.

You ask which is the better alternative: "grab one bag from the closet" or "pass out backpacks". I think that either alternative would be too easy to forget in an emergency, unless it was rehersed frequently. Here are some alternatives: 1) Store the gear in the car so that she doesn't have to remember to get it. Or, 2) if she regularly carries a diaper bag whenever she goes out, ask if you can tuck a few extra things in it for her "just in case". That way, she if she has to go, she just grabs the bag that she always grabs out of habit. (This is what I do.)

If you really want her to have more gear than you can store in the car, don't tuck it away in the closet. Put it someplace more visible, like along the wall in the garage. If it's tucked away in the closet where she doesn't see it, it *will* be forgotten in an emergency.

Re: the cargo pants with zip off legs. Yes, you might think they look funny, but it is a very pratical idea. It is also great when traveling as you can pack less clothing yet still be prepared for a variety of climates.

Oh, and these are just my opinions as a mom to a pre-schooler. I'm no expert.

-Kuovonne

The major differance in the result of a house fire is not the superior fire-fighting technique of the Dutch fire suppression methods, but the differance in structures.
In The Netherlands, privite housing is commonly brick or stone because of local building ordances and scarcity of local lumber. The most common private housing building technique in North American is wooden frame construction, because of material availability and cost.
As an aside, if the house is on fire, you seldom have the luxary of a five minute warning.
GET OUT RIGHT NOW!!!
"There is nothing so frightening as ignorance in action."

I'm a big advocate of dirt bikes and ATVs (ATVs for adults only) If you live in a large metropolitan area, they may be a better choice. When traffic is gridlocked, surface streets and sidewalks would be perfectly acceptable paths of evacuation. A quad will carry a surprising amount of gear, attach a garden trailer and double your carry capacity.

I agree whole heartedly. My 15 yr old twins can carry a pack I suppose, but my 7 and 9 yr olds wouldn't be able to do it for long. maybe a small pack with some snacks and water, but nothing substantial.

A motorcycle is a lot more maneuverable, no doubt about it. But the quad allows more cargo, or even a passenger or two in a pinch. Both sure beat walking! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

A bike -- even a slow single speed -- can go farther and carry more than a hiker. Add some bags/ racks or a trailer and you're set with a nifty back-up.

TRO

I guess I should have clarified what I was thinking. For the kids at most I was thinking about snacks, drinks comfort items and maybe a change of clothes. "okay honey, I know you're only five, but I really need you to carry the family tent and the backup generator." <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Because I know if it's anything but things she really wanted, she'd leave it behind. Maybe a few more items though. My kids are pretty smart, and I'd like to leave them with some items (poncho, heatsheet, etc.) in case they were separated. Training and lots of practice on how to use them of course.
I think part of this thinking is the fact that my parents did too much for me when I was growing up. I'd like my children to learn to be responsible for themselves and their things and I think that they are old enough to start, mind you I said start, learning that responsibility. Of course there's balancing empowering kids to be independent yet providing a safe and nurturing environment so they feel secure in exploring and testing their boundries without fear of rejection...maybe I should have gone into psychology? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Plus, being the parent of a pre-schooler DOES qualify you of at least somewhat being an expert <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the clarification. What you've said goes along with my suggestion to limit the kid's carry to "small comfort toys or redundant supplies" ... "to give them something to do and to build training".

My personal take on the issue is that the odds of having to bug out (or deal with any other emergency) are very small; however, the amount of training that DD (2 years old) would need to take care of anything in an emergency would be tremendous; plus, I wouldn't be able to depend on DD being able to recall and execute the steps anyway. Thus, I'm not burdening myself with teaching her what to do in an emergency. I'll wait a few years until DD will be more grown up and training will be easier.

Instead I'm trying to teach her responsibility with everyday tasks when (1) I've the time and energy to followup with her, and (2) the stakes are low so it's okay if she fails.

Here's an example:
When we travel with DD she always has her own bag/luggage that is "her responsibility". The bag contains small toys and other comfort items of interest to her; absolutely nothing that I don't have replacements for in my luggage. We often have to remind her about her bag, and we always carry it for her if she asks nicely. I figure that is part of training her to care for her own stuff. It's not a BOB; however, it teaches her skills that she'll need before she'll be ready for a BOB.

-Kuovonne

We do similar responsibility training with our children. Going to preschool every day is a good chance for us to reinforce those skills. We try to remind them before they leave the house in the morning to make sure they have everything they want (blanket and stuffed animal for nap).

I've been on crutches for a couple of weeks, and the first time I picked my children up from preschool, my oldest asked me very nicely to carry her backpack for her, and I explained that I couldn't because it was hard enough for me to get around on my crutches. And she was mad! She was downright honked off. But in those cases I tell her, "If you choose not to carry it, then it will get left here, and it may or may not be here when you come back to get it later."

I think my biggest fear is not that I won't have gear to take care of my children, it's that the whole, "I'm not listening to you because I'm testing my boundries" issue that happens frequently will happen when an emergency occurs and one of the kids will get hurt because they're not listening.

I'm too young to have gray hair! But I suppose I'd better get some therapy or meditate or something, because I have a feeling those concerns, and even worries will only grow as they get older. <img src="/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Winter or summer, it's trousers for me, not shorts... Protect from sun, from poison ivy and other identical plants, etc....

I'd grab my little fire box with copies of my important documents and out the door I go. My truck is already packed with a BOB. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

thanks for the clarification, i think you're right on the mark.

Been a while since I have been in the site so forgive the late response.

I have a BOB for my 6 year old. It has a water bottle, a 2.5 lbs child sleeping bag, pre-packed "outfits" some granola bars / energy bars, a coat, a whistle, a flashlight and a stuffed animal. The bag is a school backpack that has rollerblade wheels build into it so he can drag it if he gets tired. The whole thing weighs about 8 lbs. We live in Wyoming and go to the mountains frequently and he has not only carried it and enjoys the trips, but has learned (practiced) with it... ie "camping".

The one thing that I have to remember to do is update EVERYTHING! At his age he is growing like a weed and everything does not fit for very long.

Personally, it is the most fun I have had with my son. We are guarenteed to go "camping" at least 2 or 3 times a year. I get to teach him "stuff" like fishing, santiation ("Don't go to the bathroom in the creek son or too close to camp!"). He also learns the importance of being prepared just by the nature of having the experience. If we don't bring it - we can't use it.

My wife and I both have BOBs and update (and test) them by USING them. I also am a Nurse / EMT so I have a VERY extensive medical BOB that I have attached to a collapsable hand truck. It would be one of the things that I grab in my 3 minutes to get out (I want to beat the traffic). The hand truck can also be used for carring one or two of the BOBs should one of us get tired or injured (God forbid) and we have to continue to move.

We all have our mountain bike that I would try to load in that time just for back up transportation. I have a Jeep that makes Lora Crofts look like an amature. It is the vehicle of choice to bug out. If possible wife takes her SUV and I take my Jeep. She tailgates everyone so I am confident that she will stay close to me and not get separated enroute. If we do we have our vehicles set up with CB's (with sidebands), cell phones and GMFR radios.

Hopefully - we are prepared as possible, however, plans fail and situations change.

GMFR.. that's a good abbreviation, sure beats GMRS/FRS... I'll have to start using GMFRS. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I guess the abreviations are almost correct depending on what acronym you are going for. Given that this is a rated "G" forum, I guess I will go ahead and use the GMRS/FRS version. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for pointing out the fact that I am not a genious to the WWW. If you can laugh at yourself, no one will invite you to laugh with them.