Disaster strikes, what would you do?

[wdfifteen]

Les's post on the LA fire thread got me thinking, what would I do if the house caught fire? I don't have a plan.
Off the top of my head:

1. Call the FD

2. make sure Vicki and the dog were out of the house.

3. grab the little safe that we have some cash and the backup drive for my computer. That drive has all our financial and contact information on it.

4. Pull the Speedster out of the garage. I know, it sounds silly. But in addition to having personal value (I've owned it for over 50 years) in terms of saving dollars per minute, it would take 5 minutes to get it out and you know how much a Speedster is worth

5, 6, 7 ?? After that, turn off the gas at the meter? Shut down the generator? What?

What is your plan?

[Rick Lee]

I have fire extinguishers under the kitchen sink, next to my bed and in the garage. After that I have a 10k gallon pool in the backyard and a good nozzle on my hose with bibs in the front and back. Nearest fire station about a mile as the crow flies. I'm staying and fighting until the cavalry arrives.

[jyl]

I don’t have a plan either. Get everyone out, call FD, warn neighbors. FD will be here in 5-10 minutes.

[cabmandone]

I'd make sure my wife and pets were out of the house. Everything else is just stuff. From there, call the FD and wait.

[GH85Carrera]

Just to many variables. If it was a small fire in a room, first have my wife call 911. My security system smoke detector will also call the fire department. I would grab my medications, my brief case where I keep insurance papers. Get the dogs on a leash, and book it outside. If it is a small fire, use my fire extinguisher to try to knock it back.

If it was an attic fire from a lightning strike, grab what I can before the smoke get thick, after calling 911. Move all three cars outside from the garage.

The good news is the fire department is just 2.5 miles from me, on a road with 50 MPH speed limit, and little traffic. The fire hydrant is just across the street.

We have a similar drill for tornado warnings. We have a tornado shelter and in 15 years we have only gone down there two times, and both were from a abundance of caution. And yes the dog were down there with us. It is stocked with water, a 5 gallon bucket for um, boldly fluids and such. The fire department knows where it is, and to look for us in case of a tornado. My grandparents lived in Oklahoma for 75+ years and my grandmother neven saw a tornado. They are not a major factor to worry about. Several months back at 3:00 AM my phone, my wife's phone all started blasting a Tornado Warning for our area. We had a good test of how fast can we get down there. The warning lets me watch the TV weather on my cell phone. They have storm chasers showing just where the front is, and where it is going. We got out of the shelter after just a few minutes. The dogs were happy to be down there with us.

[id10t]

All depends on what is burning and where it is in the house.

[fintstone]

Disaster prep is good. Most folks do not have piles of cash laying around...so safety is largely putting distance between you and the threat. If a fire in my home, I would first try to put it out. If I could not mitigate the issue, I would toss my wife's jewelry and my laptop into a pillowcase and go (if there was time). I would take one of my old 911s. The insurance would probably only pay what one of the wheels is worth, while my newer cars can be replaced and would be covered by insurance.

I would pull them all vehicles out of the house if it were the only thing on fire (onto the field behind my home) if there was time/if I did not need to flee (and protect them with a hose/them down), If the fire was approaching, but my house was not on fire, I would leave them in the garage where they are somewhat protected by the brick walls (brick or stucco home would provide some protection).

If it were large scale disaster (not just a single home) like a flood, one might want to discreetly set the house on fire and leave so insurance would cover it. If the entire area is on fire, grab the jewelry/laptop and run. As long as I had my wallet, I would do fine once out of danger.

[Evans, Marv]

Call the F.D. I have records/papers, etc. all in one place (a fire resistant safe) to grab in case. My outside hydrants put out a good volume of water, so I'd get them going if things hadn't gotten out of hand already. The house on fire would be sometning difficult to deal with. As far as fire coming from the outside, I have a very good defensible space around the house, tempered glass windows, no eves, and stucco exterior. The bad thing about a brush fire coming from the outside, is that the power company shuts off power, preventing me from using my own water from my 10K gallon tank. My generator is mostly for the fridge and freezer. It doesn't power the well and pressure pumps.

[flatbutt]

I have a bug out bag with enough clothing and personal meds for two weeks, one personal protection device with projectiles, portable power pack for the mobile and a pic of a document with all insurance policy numbers.

If time I'll grab pix and other memorabilia. My house has a basement below grade where there are other valuable in a safe but I hope the safe will survive.

[herr_oberst]

First order of business is EVERY SINGLE NIGHT BEFORE BED get wallet and keys and phone and laptop next to the bed. Put some clothes and shoes close by, too.

#1 Get Bugout bag, and the stuff listed above, start to assess the situation, while I call FD.

(Using the Fire extinguishers and garden hose are a possibility, situation dependent)

# 2 and 3, if possible, remove contents of safe and 2 bins of camping gear plus hiking gear to a safe place.

# 4 Move DailyDriver to safety.

#4a Grab a bicycle and bike gear for alternate transportation.

Doing any one of these things will keep me alive in the event of a fire on the worst, (wettest, coldest, darkest) night of the year. The further down the list I can go, the better off I'll be if the house is lost. BB has the minimum, plus jump-drive with contact numbers; everything else makes life a little better.

[LWJ]

Mrs LWJ just asked me this yesterday.

After family and pup is safe:

1. Grab papers in fireproof safe- not valuable but things like passports and insurance.
2. Grab backup hard drive
3. Grab my old archtop that I have owned since early 1980’s.

On a different note, I have a generator, food, water, and built a shed we can easily live in if need arises.

[Dixie]

Living a few miles off the Florida coast means I have experience evacuating. Here's my action plan.

• Have a full tank of gas long before disaster threatens. I typically have at least 3/4 of a tank during hurricane season, and top off at the first mention that a storm may be headed my way.
  She who hesitates is SOL.
• Make a reservation somewhere out of harms way. Shelters suck. I'd rather not be in one.
• Call all my friends and see if they can put me up. Hotels have a nasty habit of cancelling reservations and raising rates. That means that reservation may not really be a reservation. Plus, friends will let you stay for free.
• Flip the main breaker, turn off the water, and head out doing my best to avoid the overflowing highways, especially I-4.

As for what I take? I take whatever I can cram in my car. That's my dog, my makeup, most of my clothes, some canned food, a couple gallons of water, and my fireproof lockbox. Everything else is expendable.

[rfuerst911sc]

Being in the mountains our biggest concern is tornado followed by fire . Our house under previous owner was demolished by a tornado back in 1995 . Completely gone just the basement/foundation survived . Fortunately so did the owners .

My wife and I plus the dog would head down to the basement if a tornado hit . In regards to fire all our trees are far enough from the house to not be a concern . We are on a well and have a whole house generator . We can survive for however long 600 gallons of propane lasts .

My wife and I each have fireproof lock boxes with the important papers in them . Have two fire proof spoon safes so can protect ourselves if needed . We always have 10 - 15 gallons of water stored in the basement . If we had to evacuate I would hitch up the 5th wheel RV and drive to safer area .

[Bill Douglas]

You guys are better organised than me. My plan is to grab the dogs, the cat, the credit card and head for the hills.

[HobieMarty]

Run away!!!!

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[cockerpunk]

we had a fire in the lab here at work, and thankfully an ex-firefighter was working at the time and he put it out with an extinguer. we all good practical, real world, actually put out different kinds of fire training after that.

caused me to up my fire protection, i have ABC 20lbs fire bottles in the kitchen, the rest of the house and the garage. i have foam extinguisher in the garage too.

first thing to do is remove the fuel if you can, second thing is to fight the fire, again, if you can, and third thing is to remove yourself, your loved ones, and valuables, in that order.



we dont get much natural disasters, but when civil order was lost here, we didnt leave. we united with our neighbors, and figured out a counter plan, reestablished safety, and got everyone what they needed. which is probably what we would do in the event of some kind of natural disaster. prep isnt worth much, pooled resources and community is far more important.

[GH85Carrera]

At my last job where I commuted to work, the fire department came to inspect the place. It was a metal building. The fireman asked the manager what steps we take in case of fire. He said Big Steps, out the door, and call 911.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

I'd make sure my wife and pets were out of the house.

My vet made a great case for keeping your dog in a crate if you are out of the house.
If there is a fire, the FD is likely not going to go through the house looking under beds for terrified pets. If the dog is in a crate, all the FD has to do is grab the crate, take it outside, and go put the fire out. Dog is safe and FD is busy putting out the fire in a matter of minutes.

[VINMAN]

Hard to say, really depends on the situation.

As far as fire goes.... Because its something that needs split second actions..

First and foremost priority is to get my family and pets out. ( as is should be everyones.)

Second is to call 911

Third, again depending on size ,location of fire. Attempt to extinquish IF POSSIBLE.

Fires can get out of control way faster than you think. It not like on tv or in the movies. Don't try to be a hero and get yourself dead. Seen it happen many times.

Every single room in my house has a smoke detector. My garage detectors are hardwired to detectors in my house.

I have extinguishers all over. I also have 50ft large diameter garden hoses connected in closets on each level of my house.

Anything of importance such as documents are kept in fireproof safes. I have bug out bags pre packed for everyone and my dogs.

.

[Alan A]

Preemptively shoot all my neighbors so they can’t loot my stuff?

[I remember reading that quote somewhere, I just can’t remember where. It stuck with me though].