Explosion in massachusetts

My daughter was in the explosion in Springfield Mass. She said the place went boom. Everyone ran. She said hell no, I need my cell phone and purse. With that being said, I want to make a bug out kit designed around the Altoids kit for just such an emergency. she works on the first floor. Please list what you think she needs so I can compile a list along with what I am already thinking. Please help me.

IMO, an Altoids tin type of kit is mostly a gimmick, especially for the type of emergency your daughter encountered.

Again, IMO, at best it is something you throw in your pocket when you go out in the woods in case you get seperated from your real gear.

Your daughter may well have made a perfectly rational choice.

If you're wanting to dig yourself out from the debris after an explosion, an Altoids tin is not going to hold a crowbar, shovel, etc.

I would recommend a 1xAA or 1xAAA LED flashlight and a whistle - always kept with you, not in a purse or something you might normally be seperated from. If you are prepping specifically for another explosion, some type of dust mask would be good too.

to Haertig's recommendation of light, whistle and dust mask

you might consider...
make the mask an R95 or P95 for aerosols
lithium cell in the LED
eye protection... splash goggles or swim goggles
bottle of water to rinse eyes, rehydrate
handi wipe to decontaminate skin if necessary
alternate shoes to heels
battery pack to charge cell phone
small AM/FM radio for situational awareness
cash in small bills
multi tool
work gloves
window breaking punch
non adherent telfa pads, roll of Kerlix (to pack wound if necessary), roll of Coban stretch adhesive tape, ACE bandage, irrigation syringe

for the office a small "wonder tool" prybar with a notch that can break a chain link fence...small hacksaw...

There is a strong emphasis on personal protective equipment in the recommendations in this thread, and rightly so. i would go so far as to suggest a good hard hat, preferably better than the usual construction model. It could serve as the container for most of the suggested items. Some nitrile or latex gloves might be good in addition to the work gloves, which really ought to be stout leather.

I am inclined to think the suggestions are far better than what little can be put in an Altoids tin however, most of this stuff is things that can be readily carried with one all the time.

If one works in a specific office, it might be something you could store in a desk drawer or filing cabinet, or a locker if one worked in a shop area and had a locker.

But for most people there just is no place to store this kind of stuff that is secure and fairly easy to get to if it is needed.

I keep a few things in my lunch bag, and some more stuff in my car, along with a little bit in my desk.

Looking at the pics of Springfield, MA -- http://news.yahoo.com/gas-explosion-levels-mass-buildings-several-hurt-010509036.html

Hmmm, Hardhat, face mask/respirator including eye protection, boots, flashlight, whistle... That said, in a pocket sized Altoids kit you can fit a dust mask folded down, a whistle and a Photon type light. Then again, I never tried it disliking Altoids tin kits as I do; she will need to decide what she is willing to carry.

I'd prefer to have a kit in my vehicle compatible with its size which would have gear more adaptable to other emergencies. This is only one specific scenario.

I realize this is a family-oriented forum, but there is no getting around the fact that the explosion happened in a strip club. When you go to a strip club, either as a customer or as a worker, do you really think about taking a hardhat, a respirator, etc. with you???

I recommend she carries some type of purse/bag that allows her to keep her cell phone, flashlight, whistle, and bandana on her at all times. No, setting her bag down at her desk is not the same as carrying it on her person at all times. This new method will require a lot of thought on her part. I know how girls like to look cute.

I personally carry a small manbag around whenever I'm not in the shower. So, if I can get it done as a man, then she should be able to do so. However, I will admit it took me a few years to find a set of manbags that fit my needs for every situation. It's trial and error. If she can't, then the Altoids kit or whatever won't do much good because she'd still have to run back in and get her kit next time. That is, if she's so fortunate to be able to do so.

If she drives to work, I'd focus on outfitting her vehicle. Worst case (she left her purse and keys in the damage zone), she can bust a window to get into it.

Then she'd need to have an ignition key stashed in the car.

If she spends much time driving to and from work, odds are much higher that she'll have to deal with the car breaking down than her workplace blowing up.

Get her in the habit of keeping her fuel tank above half-full.

To protect your daughter through Massachusetts winter commutes (or a workplace evacuation), I'd have in her vehicle a fleece sleeping bag liner, down booties (and snow-worthy boots and wool socks), chemical hand and foot warmers, Smartwool or fleece neck gaiter (or balaclava), fleece hat that covers ears, WARM mittens, headlamp (+ extra batteries), cell phone charger, Bic lighter, matches, Esbitt stove (+ fuel tablets), stainless steel mug, hot cocoa or tea bags and Lipton Cup 'o Noodles soup (or whatever she prefers), and a couple bottles of water.

Also - the usual traffic safety items: reflective markers so oncoming traffic can see her if her car fails in or near the roadway. Unbeknownst to her, you might also stash some small bills in some hidden compartment in the car (I have several interior panels that easily pop off). And make sure she has roadside assistance coverage through her auto insurance or AAA or whoever.

I live in DC, and my workplace was among those hastily evacuated on 9/11. We were also affected by the anthrax attacks a few weeks later. When offices are contaminated and quarantined, anything you left behind stays there until the premises are decontaminated.

Ever since in DC, no matter where my office was, I never left my purse behind when going to meetings in or out of the building. Ever since, I've had a Petzl Zipka headlamp-wristlamp in my purse (a blessing one night when the neighborhood lost power while I was walking home from work). Nowadays, I also have a Bic lighter and a few other items in my purse.

I've long had the benefit of living within easy walking distance of the office. Having a commute of more than a few miles is a different ballgame, especially if you are reliant on mass transporation (subway or bus).

Nice that you are looking out for your daughter in this way. My dad made sure I knew how to change a tire out after I began driving, but that's it. And I lived in Oregon on Mt. Hood and drove a lot on snow-covered roads. Proving the adage: better lucky than smart.

What she said. I like car kits because they can carry enough to be useful in any scenario.

I gave up on the pocket size Altoids type kit and decided that my pockets were more suited to minimal EDC user stuff outside a kit. The Altoids kit will be left behind. A serious purse kit would work, but then the purse needs to go everywhere. At least it's useful.

A Continuum of Kits:
Car kit -- big and multiple applications. Available on the road (see Dagny's post)
Desk kit -- not so big but focused on office emergencies.
Purse kit -- smaller, designed to get you back to a serious kit or just to evacuate.
Pocket carry -- User stuff, if you don't at least occasionally see it being useful, it will be left behind.

Note: My EDC backpack functions as my "purse". Lots of good stuff for short term emergencies & egress and it's also a gym bag, but it cannot replace a larger kit such as the 96 hour kit in my truck. Since I have no office per se I skip from Truck Kit to EDC backpack then pocket carry. There's no one size fits all, your daughter needs to commit or all the kits will not help.

If it's not on your person, it is not EDC:
Streamlight Stylus in my shirt pocket,
Whistle on my keychain,
Bandanna in my pocket (not a mask, but better than nothing,
Cliphanger on my cellphone, clipped to my beltloop,
along with some other things that might not be specific to this instance: knife, etc.

Usual disclaimers for Streamlight and Cliphanger: I am only a customer.

Whether wearing jeans or a tuxedo, men are able to take for granted such EDC-friendly features as pockets and a belt.

Women cannot. Dresses and women's suits typically have no pockets, no belt and nowhere to stash anything. Shirt pocket - ha - not in women's attire. The only shirts I have with useful pockets are designed for safaris - not wearing those to work.

Nice pants might have small or tiny pockets, not appropriate for cramming things in -- especially not in summer when wearing linens or light cotton. Our coats also tend to not have as many pockets as men's coats.

Women do have the advantage of purses. Whether one can have it with them every second in the workplace obviously depends on your job.

The original poster hasn't said what exactly his daughter does so that we'd have a clue as to her attire.

If this thread were about a son then we could assume that no matter the workplace dress code, he'd have pockets and option of a belt for carrying EDC items.

First, there were other businesses in the complex occupied by the club (IIRC, it was a strip mall-type affair, right?)

Second, in a strip club, there's probably some other PPE you'd need (or want). Most of you can get the pun, without me sullying the forum with details.

Bingo. The whole EDC thing is a lot easier if you actually have functional pockets, which a lot of our clothes don't, or at least a lot of the work appropriate or dressier ones (though a pair of jeans I recently bought has pockets that are a joke, and they're not skinnies either, so even casual clothes have this problem). As far as shirt pockets in women's attire, you did forget to mention one thing...even the shirts that do have pockets, often have them in a very inopportune spot (see this example: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/gramicci-wilderosa-shirt-long-sleeve-for-women~p~3929g/, and this one is from a company that is generally pretty good about making things that are functional but they still gave us these silly pockets that we can't really use without looking and feeling ridiculous!). Women's shirt pockets should be down near the hip area like they are on a lot of scrub tops...then we could actually use them. Purses are great for being able to carry quite a bit around town without looking out of place, but it's not possible or practical to keep them on our person at all times at work etc.

maybe the strippers should start wearing such things as part of their costuming.

This group of Patrons look prepared....

the fact that the explosion took place in an "adult entertainment center" is a little beside the major point - what can you carry very inconspicuously to enable you to function in a sudden emergency in the workplace?

I would agree that the contents of an Altoid tin won't work very well in such a situation. About the best one can do is well chosen EDC items distributed about the body. Depending upon the work environment, this might be very difficult (no wise comments about strip joints, please).

I usually carry a small briefcase/backpack that will augment my EDC very nicely - a couple of Clif bars, FAK, CPR kit, small jacket, etc. We experienced an earthquake a while ago in my office and an evacuation of the building was ordered. At that time, I was about 100 feet from my briefcase; I was fortunately able to retrieve my bag before venturing off into the great unknown. The lesson for me is that it is fine to have a bag with carefully selected goodies but it can easily come down to working with simply what you are carrying on your bod.... which may not be much more than cellphone, key ring, pen and notebook, and maybe a multi-tool or knife.

Even the dancers, no matter what they may be wearing, carry a small purse with them for the cash they earn. So the non-dancing workers, the male & female customers, etc. have no excuse not to have something on them -- in the pockets, in a purse, in a separate bag, etc.

I do think that we have to consider whether an explosion or a building collapse is something that we should have a kit for on our body. In those situations, you may not be able to make it to the briefcase in your office (or the equivalent -- the makeup room in the club). But stuff like a hard hat or a respirator are too big to have with you all the time, and most civilians like me probably would do the risk vs. inconvenience calculation and decide: nah, I'd take the risk and go with the general purpose kit.

What's the obsession with the strip club? It's irrelevant.

From the AP article:
The explosion in a downtown area of Springfield, 90 miles west of Boston, blew out all windows in a three-block radius, leaving three more buildings irreparably damaged and prompting emergency workers to evacuate a six-story apartment building that was buckling.

This could apply to any professional workplace in any downtown area.

The ladies who posted nailed down the essential problem: there is no practical way for a woman in professional garb to schlep a bunch of hardware around on her person. Probably not a substantial purse either.

But footwear is a good place to start. A laptop bag offers possibilities. So does the addition of N95 masks to the first aid kits that seem to be in many places on an office floor. More stuff at the desk and in the main purse. And as suggested previously, a complete car kit.

You really have to ask that question? I think the answer is pretty obvious - it is a strip club!

In some respects it might not be relevant but you are not going to be bringing a backpack or other large container with you into a strip club. Probably not to a bar or a theater either.

So where you are has some relevance in that there are places you are highly unlikely to have much on you other than what is in your pockets.

You are not going to be bringing a useful size crowbar with you most places either, but you might be able to stash some useful tools at work if you have a secure palce to put them.

Mrs has a purse and was management so you all know the dress code,she is more equipped than any of her coworkers are/were.

A purse even for a professional can carry a lot of good things,a Lot! She has gerber knife,multi tool,2 flashlights,mask,pepper spray....who knows what else.

I think we can all agree that it is not likely that one can carry on their person all the things useful for any emergency. Even so, there are measure one can take. Even a little prep can go a long ways.

I see here excuses that tend to end the conversation without changing habits. OK, thank you for the information, but you're still walking around without gear. A woman can still carry a cell phone, flashlight, whistle, and bandana in a small side pocket of her purse. That minimal gear is 1,000 times better than zero gear. It's up to the individual. Unfortunately, it usually takes personal experience with a strong scare like this case to motivate someone.

Every piece of gear needs to modified for small carry. The traditional suggestions need to be modified for this thread. For example, instead of a face mask, I recommend a bandana. When you wet the bandana and wrap around nose and mouth, it's effective against smoke inhalation. It may not be the best, but it's 1,000 times better than zero gear. Let's be real. A woman carrying a face mask in her purse is just NOT going to happen.

Regarding a flashlight, she doesn't have to carry something that's respected on Candlepowerforums.com. She just needs to get the job done better than zero gear. Here's a tiny flashlight just to generate more ideas on effective small gear:
http://www.bepreparedtosurvive.com/FlashlightsProducts.htm

Regarding a whistle, there are many small and effective ones. I just bought a few small whistles to try out so that I can have a whistle on me at all times:
Victorinox Distress
JetScream
ACME 636 Tornado Slimline

This seems like the ideal solution. It's also something that we all should consider.



Very true. Each scenario has it's own challenges, but certainly the above BOV solution won't work if you are relying on public or bipedal transportation.



I completely agree!

I totally agree.



This ^ - Yes. It's way to easy to make it way to complicated by expecting the exact best piece of gear. It doesn't need to be that complicated.

If leaving the building, I've always taken my purse because I never have enough pockets (if any) to carry even the basics (wallet/keys/phone) -- the universal EDC items for most people in the past decade.

So, fellas wishing to help the females be more prepared: focus on the purse.

But don't make it too heavy or she won't carry it, unless she is personally committed to the cause.

Intra-office carry is the quandary for females. Because of 9/11 and anthrax and close proximity to both, I became paranoid enough to take my purse to every meeting outside of my immediate vicinity. This is a habit that has persisted.

For office workers who do meetings that may take them away from their desk, a commonly-carried accoutrement - by both sexes - is the zippered leather portfolio.

Pretty limiting but even a sleek portfolio could stash cash, a key, a credit-card-size survival tool, small matchbook (or tiny firesteel). A tiny e-Pico or flat light could fit in mine. A black e-Pico light would not be too out of place hooked to the zipper of my black leather portfolio.

I wonder if anyone is marketing a survival portfolio -- there are James Bondian possibilities to starting from scratch with the entire design. Hit a button - out pops the BK-7. Another button - the zip line unspools....

I've learned the hard way during a fire alarm in zero-degree weather that carrying one's car keys is not optional. My car keys stay with me.

for those of you that wear a clip on ID badge... a real Photon and flat TOPS 3 chamber whistle on a split ring ...attached at the back of the ID clip...

Will a "Tactical Padfolio" work? I was looking at padfolios today since my organizer was getting cluttered with scratched notes from a dozen different projects. Any one could unobtrusively handle plastic "emergency" car keys, a small pen or keychain light, credit card tool (i.e Swisscard), small whistle, and flat N95 mask.

Keep in mind this is a corporate "get out of the building NOW!" kit for when you can't get back to your desk. My experience has been that the flashlight is the most important tool followed by the key, mask, whistle, and finally the credit card tool. Ironically, the credit card tool will get the most day to day use.

I can't do camo but that has potential and is a great price.

Am going to do some searching to see what else has utility.

a little pricier but leather

http://www.jagwear.com/jgwr1-10.htm

That one could bring a meeting quickly to order simply by flashing the back cover interior. More importantly, if it is thick enough for a gun then it could carry some other items in that spot.

Something with a thin strap would be great so it could, in an emergency, be carried as a purse or man-bag.


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This one from Mead is zippered, 1/5" thick, nicely priced ($22) and well-rated on Amazon.

Minimize the thickness of the notepad inside and you free up even more room.

http://www.amazon.com/Mead-Cambridge-Zip...words=portfolio



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Found the perfect office EDC bag for women. The Coach black leather "basic bag." Sleek, zippered, cross-shoulder carrying ability, also clutch-size. Goes with any outfit - dressy or jeans.

Here's a "vintage" 90s used bag for sale:

http://store.americanapparel.net/product/?productId=csv4317

The new version is $198.

http://www.coach.com/online/handbags/-ha...=LN1&LOC=LN



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20 years back I carried a leather Coach messenger bag while at the Pentagon and it routinely had extra stuff in it. But back then no one inspected the contents of what you carried if you had the right badge. These days I wouldn't want to carry that stuff in and out daily. That said, a Coach bag would make for a very nice survival kit container, in a white collar executive environment.

Coach is some nice stuff, spendy, but Coach does stand behind their product. The stitching on the handle of mine gave way a few years ago and a local Coach retailer sent it in to be fixed. The same piece of leather came back looking like new, no charge. Looking at the current online catalog, my bag is not there.

Dagny... couple of pictures of past attempts at a leather bag... both are for handgun, but have room.. the first is a Coronado Leather Man's handbag... D ring in upper right... Farmer for size comparison



this is a JagWear... but I've replaced the leather strap with a nylon one



PS...liked your analysis of the role Kruschev played in the Cuban Missile Crisis... unfortunately our history books won't be so kind...

I'm in NYC. I always have a whistle and small photon light around my neck (and I don't care who laughs at me in the office). In my pocket inside a 3" x 4" plastic bag (because ladies pants pockets are too small and light for anything heavy or big) is a breastmilk bag for water/liquid, facemask, triple ointment and a small piece of duct tape. This is always on me -- no matter what. Good for crane and building collapses, smoke conditions, etc. I EDC other items in my tote and jacket/coat, but that won't help me if I'm in a conference room when something happens. If it's not on me...it doesn't exist.

P.S. I'm glad your daughter is all right!