Active Shooter!

“Active Shooter On Oregon Community College Campus!” was the CNN News feed to my smart phone.  My blood began to race and I nearly dropped my phone bringing up more details.  I have two grandkids in the local community college.  As it turned out it was another campus about 60 miles away.  

Stories of heroism along with stories of unthinkable insanity are still coming out.  Political types are quick to make hay of one form or another.  Everyone in Southwestern Oregon is grieving not only the tragic losses, but just the fact that “this happened here!”

Police train and school administrators plan for what they hope will never happen on their watch.  Lockdown drills are held in schools all across the country. Some states even require periodic lockdowns.  But no amount of preplanning can cover every contingency.  The day after the Umpqua Community College shooting, certain mis-information and misguided posts on social media led to mid-morning school shutdowns in our own county. Every police officer, paramedic and emergency room worker knows that scared people behave badly.  That’s where dozens of mildly (to not-so-mildly)  anxious parents began arriving at schools to pick up not only their own children, but in some cases, their friends’ kids as well.  Phone calls clogged lines into the administrative offices, and traffic flow problems restricted  the movement of school busses. Add to this certain school policies designed to keep kids safe by restricting who can pick up whom and you’ve got the recipe for a secondary disaster.  

Now take this to the next level.  Let's suppose there is a natural disaster.  We’ll use “earthquake” just for the sake of discussion.  The roads are busted up, the phone lines are completely down, electrical power is out and the schools are full of our kids.  Have you discussed this scenario with your family?  Do you have a plan to reunite your family if this happens?  Even if schools can deliver your children home, is anyone going to be there?  Who have you authorized to pick up your children at the school if you can’t get there?  Do your kids know what to do?  These are all questions families need to address and get settled now, before something happens.

Likewise, schools need to work on disaster planning.  Is there a drill that can be designed to simulate a disaster and how do we pull it off.  Something that goes beyond the lockdown or the “soft lockdown”.  How do we make it work when nothing else (like phones) does?   Fire drills are proven to save lives and have for decades.  Lockdown drills, unscheduled school closure drills and serious disaster drills will save lives as well.  

To plan for just such a contingency, some schools have purchased lockdown kits.  The kit is usually stored in a five-gallon bucket and contains water pouches, food bars, first-aid supplies, and many other items considered useful to weather such an incident.  Some even include a snap-on toilet seat/lid complete with toilet bags to provide for the sanitary needs that would eventually arise.  Ideally each classroom would have a kit with enough supplies to meet the needs of several students.  One kit I checked out sold for $70.00 and contained 30 water pouches.  It also had a battery powered radio, several light sticks and several other items.

It is unfortunate we have had to turn our schools into fortresses, but with the right planning and some supplies on hand, we can make our schools safer for our kids.

As always, send your  comments and questions to Disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  

Hunting Prep

Every year about this time, hunters all across the country head into the woods in search of wild meat and some outdoor adventure.  In our area it’s elk, deer, bear and sometimes wild turkey.  It is also about this time every year when we read stories of hunters getting lost, stranded, injured, or otherwise having more adventure than they bargained for.

Having hunted, fished, camped and backpacked a time or two in my life, I have picked up a few lessons about being in the out of doors.

First, get your vehicle in shape for where you’re going to be hunting.  Many years ago when I was a Deputy Sheriff we received a call that a single mom was overdue from an elk hunting trip on State Forest land.  The dispatcher took all the pertinent information from the caller and assigned a couple of us to search for the missing hunter.  We found her the next morning where she had slid her Oldsmobile sedan off in the ditch and spent the night in her car .  (Pre-cell phone days.)  She and her four year old son had slept in the car and were little the worse for wear.  But an OLDSMOBILE!!?  I have no idea what she thought she was going to do with an elk if she actually shot one, but her story is just so wrong on several levels. I have often used her story as an example of how not to go  hunting.   Your rig should be fully capable of navigating back roads and in good repair with good tires and recently inspected belts and hoses.  Oh and don’t forget to top off your fuel tank!  I know it sounds way too basic, but you never know.

    Secondly, take a few things with you that you can use just in case you can’t get out.  Sometimes a tree will fall across the road, blocking your way.  That chainsaw you threw in the back on impulse could be a lifesaver.  Or you could use it to cut firewood if you wind up spending the night.  Some extra food never hurts.  Most hunters take along plenty of snack food and some water or a thermos of coffee.  How about a first aid kit?  Some extra band-aids and gauze pads, tape, anti-biotic ointment are easy insurance and can bring peace of mind to what could be a trip-ending cut or other minor injury.  Firestarter.  Can you start a fire with what you have with you?  Matches, a small propane lighter or a ferro rod and steel striker like a Lightning Strike starter should already be in your kit anyway.  A good pair of walkie-talkies can be valuable when you and your companion get separated.  The list goes on, but you get the idea.  Murphy’s Law is always looking for a place to strike, so try to cover all the possibilities

    Finally, take along a good dose of common sense.  Always let someone know where you’re going, when you’re going to return, and then stick to the plan.  It’s a good idea to take a companion.  After all, you need somebody to wrap that winch line around the tree and besides it’s just easier to have help packing your trophy out of the canyon.    Remember your hunting grounds may not have cell phone service so don’t rely completely on that smartphone to get you out of a jam.

    As always send your comments, questions and hunting stories to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  Dave Robinson is the Postmaster in Bandon, Oregon, and the author of “Disaster Prep For The Rest Of Us.”

Attitude Attitude

I have enjoyed watching the TV series "Alone".  Aired by The History Channel it is the story of ten men chosen for their survival skills.  Each man was given certain items useful in a survival situation and then dropped off somewhere on  the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  No one was aware of anyone else's location.  Each contestant was equipped with camera gear to film their own adventure and a satellite phone to call for help if needed.  The phone was also used to notify the producers when they had enough and wished to be extracted.  The motivation was $500,000 in cash to the last man standing.

The first to call it quits did so after spending one night in the wild.  He was visited by a couple of curious black bears and was totally undone by their presence.  One tapped-out when he lost his fire-striker and with it his will to continue.  Some gave in to homesickness, another drank bad water and became ill and yet others were affected by the dismal and sometimes stormy weather.  On the positive side, one guy  built a yurt, a canoe and even a guitar.  Each man built a shelter and all found some manner of food although some food items were  more appetizing than others.

One by one they tapped out for various reasons.  Finally there were two men left. One finally talked himself into making the call when he dwelt on his personal situation at home. The eventual winner actually cooked and ate slugs.  He also ate fish, shellfish, bull kelp and sea lettuce.  His shelter wasn't the fanciest, nor were his skills the best.  What he did have was a positive attitude and the ability to laugh at himself and not to get down in the dumps when it was cold, wet and windy.  In the end it was his attitude that kept him going for 56 days and rewarded him with a $500,000 payday.

Then there was the 62 year old woman near Fresno, California, who recently went for a day hike with her Sierra Club friends.  When her group returned to the base camp, she was discovered missing.  Nine days later she was rescued alive and hungry.  She reportedly carried a few supplies in her backpack, although not exactly equipped for an overnight outing high in the Sierra Nevadas.  She had somehow fallen and fractured a bone in her lower leg, then spent two days crawling to a creek.  She did have a small water filter to purify her drinking water.  The nighttime temperatures had fallen to the low 30's and after nine days she heard the voices of searchers.  Using her whistle she got their attention and was flown out to a hospital where she was treated and released.  Attitude!

Equipment is good, food is necessary, and good skills are vital, but in the final analysis, if you're going to survive any disaster, it's your attitude that will carry the day!  As always send your questions and comments to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  Dave Robinson is the Postmaster in Bandon, Oregon, and the author of "Disaster Prep For The Rest Of Us."

Lightning Strike

If you’ve been reading this column for a while then you know I always encourage everyone to carry a get-home bag.  Some call it a “bug-out” bag or a “go” bag.  But because disasters don’t always happen while you’re snugly at home, you should have some items, supplies and tools with you to help you function (translated: keep you alive) until you can get home.  Everyone’s bag will be different.  Mine includes some extra blood pressure pills, some food, something with which to purify drinking water, some clean socks and other clothing items (no need to go into intimate detail here) and something I can use to start a fire.  

    Depending on your travel habits, your individual bag will be custom designed by you to meet your lifestyle.  There are literally hundreds of companies online that are happy to sell you a ready-made kit, but again if you’re a veteran reader, you know that I advocate building your own kit.  You get to choose the items YOU will need for your particular situation AND you get to pick quality products to fill up your bag.  In other words, you are invested in your own survival and there is no need to outsource that responsibility to someone who doesn’t even know you.  

    If you need ideas on what to put in your kit, then by all means look over the list of contents on some of the better kits, but build your own.

    From time to time, I offer my opinion on a particular product you may want to consider for your kit.  Every kit needs some means of alternative fire starter just because you may want to start a fire to keep warm.  Imagine being out in the hills, hunting, firewood-getting, or just sightseeing and all of a sudden you slide off the road.  Or a fallen tree blocks your egress.  Or you find yourself behind a locked gate.  Building a fire would be one of the things you’d want to do to keep warm, keep you company and maybe even heat up some food.  

    I recently came into possession of a “Lightning-Strike” fire starter.  There are dozens of products available that use this technology.  It is a variation of the old flint and steel although none of these products actually use flint anymore, rather it consists of something called ferrocerium.  Commonly referred to as a ferro rod. When you grind a piece of steel against a ferro rod, a spark is produced.  

    The Lightning-Strike fire starter is about the size of a Mini-mag flashlight.  Constructed of machined, anodized aluminum it is an ingenious design which contains dry tinder in the water-tight handle storage area and a tubular-slotted barrel which houses the ferro rod. When the steel striker grinds against the ferro rod, a spark is ejected from the end of the barrel.  Because of the larger-than-average ferro rod and a larger- than-average steel striker, the spark this thing gives off is significantly bigger than any similar device I have used.  And because of the “shotgun barrel” design, you can direct the spark to go where you want.  Invented in Powers, Oregon, by Darrell Holland and sold from his website (www.hollandguns.com), this could be the perfect addition to your collection of necessities.

Now for the downside:  It’s not cheap.  The $60.00 price tag could put some folks off, but this is after all, the Christmas shopping season and if you’re looking for that perfect gift for your outdoorsman or prepper-dude (or dudette) then you can’t go wrong with the Lightning Strike.  It is a quality product, easy to use and well thought-out.  I’m very pleased with mine and show it off every chance I get.

As always, send your questions and comments to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  Dave Robinson is the Postmaster in Bandon, Oregon, and the author of “Disaster Prep For The Rest Of Us”.

Lightning Strike II

Back in December, I wrote a column about a product to which I was recently introduced.  It’s a fire-starting device called a Lightning Strike. Several weeks back I had opportunity to use mine. Check out blog post dated December 7, 2014.  

Each year on Memorial Day weekend I take my two grandsons on a little trip.  We drive over to Central Oregon and camp out in a little campground that lies right next to a big tract of BLM land near Fort Rock. One afternoon we decided to ride up to Hole-In-The-Ground (look it up).  My 8 year old grandson was riding with me on my four-wheeler and were about three miles from camp when a windy rain shower blew in and we were getting drenched and cold.

I drove off the trail and dropped down out of the wind into a fair-sized gully where we hunkered down in the lee of a big burned-out stump.  The stump was open on one side and we set about gathering some kindling and dry sticks and laid a small fire inside the stump.  I dug my Lightning Strike out of the pack on my ATV, shoved a couple of the tinder pucks under the kindling and handed the fire starter to my grandson.  After only two strikes on the ferro rod, the pucks caught the spark and in minutes we had a nice little fire going.

Now I realize this wasn't exactly a "survival" situation, nor we were ever in any actual danger, but that little fire warmed us and taught my grandson a valuable lesson. (Besides making a pretty cool memory.)

The rain shower passed and we extinguished the fire, making sure it was safe to leave untended and proceeded on with our ride.

For more information or you’d like to get your hands on one check out www.hollandguns.com.  

Just thought you'd like to know.

    Kids Prep

Several months ago our electricity failed one evening in the midst of a wind storm.  The lights blinked twice and then total darkness.  Flashlights in hand we fired up our Coleman lantern and settled down for an evening of “camping in”.  After a couple of hours of primitive living, my six year old grandson asked when the power was coming back on.  I took some time to tell him about what might have happened to cause the outage and that right this minute there were crews out there working in the dark and the wind and rain to bring the electricity back.  I assured him that by morning we would probably have our lights again.  Sure enough, by the time we got up, electrical power was restored.  There were no episodes of fear or overt insecurity, just the horrid inconvenience of trying to adjust to life without TV or x-box for the evening.

Children learn to take their cues from from the adults in their lives.  If the grownups are panicked, then children will likewise be undone.  When the adults have made some simple preparations and are ready to handle the unexpected, it can serve well to bring stability and avoid all the drama associated with fears.  Secondly, it is time well spent to explain what has happened, what is being done to fix things and how soon things might be expected to return to normal.  You might ask if they are afraid.  What are you afraid of?  Reassure them that you are there with them and nothing bad is going to happen.  Tell them you have plenty of food and supplies and remind them that they are warm and secure because you are a wise and caring parent you have already prepared for just such an emergency.  No worries!

Disaster preparedness for kids can be a fun and exciting activity. Getting their own backpack and emergency gear can become a game.  Picking out the perfect flashlight (don’t forget extra batteries), gathering extra clothing and a spare toothbrush makes your kids feel like they’re a part of the grand solution.  The internet is loaded with resources for kids.  FEMA (www.ready.gov) has games, puzzles, cartoons and something called “Readiness U”.  Your children can even earn a certificate of graduation when they master Knowing the Facts, Making a Plan, Building a Kit, then they earn the right to graduate from Readiness U.  How can you go wrong when you have help from Flat Stanley and Flat Stella to help your kids navigate their way to preparedness?  Even NASA has a website designed especially for kids that offers tips on surviving hurricanes and other hazards.

So when you’re making your plan and getting your kit together, involve the kids.  They’re always part of the plan anyway and they love to be involved in preparedness.  As always send your comments and questions to  disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.   Dave Robinson is the Postmaster in Bandon, Oregon, and the author of “Disaster Prep For The Rest Of Us.”

 

Stuff About Knives

“Mary gave him a bran-new "Barlow" knife worth twelve and a half cents; and the convulsion of delight that swept his system shook him to his foundations. True, the knife would not cut anything, but it was a "sure-enough" Barlow, and there was inconceivable grandeur in that - …”.   - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

       Knives have always been a part of American culture.  From a rite of passage for Tom Sawyer to today’s hi-tech blade systems and multi-tools.  Whether or not you carry a knife in your pocket or purse every day, you should have one in your kit. There are folding knives, non-folding knives, multi-bladed knives and all kinds of spring-loaded knives.  Big ones, little ones and in-between ones.  There’s a knife for every purpose and for every budget, and like most things, you get what you pay for.        

       Everyone knows about Swiss Army knives.  Understand that not all red plastic-handled knives are the genuine article.  There are only two companies authorized to market “Swiss Army” knives.  Victorinox and Wenger. Victorinox acquired Wenger in 2005 and they have decided to retain the Wenger nameplate.  To determine the brand of a knife, open the blade.  The brand is engraved on the ricasso (base of the blade).  If it simply says “China” or “Pakistan” or “stainless” then keep looking, that is unless you’re buying a cheap gift for your brother-in-law.

               Some of the best quality knives are made right here in Oregon.  Gerber, CRKT (Columbia River Knife and Tool), Benchmade, Kershaw and Leatherman, to name a few.  These companies offer a wide selection of quality products.  Most companies offer knives that appeal to the “survival” crowd.  Once again, use wisdom when choosing a knife. Some so-called survival knives wouldn’t help you survive a 30-second power outage much less a real emergency.  Let me tell you about a couple of knives I own and recommend.  First is a folding knife made by Tool Logic.  It features one-handed opening, a built-in whistle, an LED flashlight and a magnesium fire striker.  Cost is in the $50 range.  The other is marketed by Bear Grylls of Man vs. Wild .  Manufactured by Gerber, it is a fixed-blade knife.  Incorporated into the design is a whistle, a firesteel, and a sharpening stone.  The butt of the handle is designed to pound things like tent stakes, walnuts and even nails should the need arise.  Cost is also in the $50 range.

               Another must-have for your kit is a multi-tool.  Multi-tools were made famous by Leatherman and have been copied by several other knife makers.  All multi-tools have a knife blade, an assortment of screwdriver heads, a set of pliers and depending on the model, a saw, wire-cutter and mini-scissors.  As most men already know, a good multi-tool is a very valuable item to have.  

               I would be interested in hearing your knife stories or recommendations for outdoor equipment.  As always, email me at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com. Dave Robinson is the Postmaster in Bandon, Oregon, and the author of “Disaster Prep For The Rest Of Us.”