Why you always want enough spare batteries for all you smoke and CO detectors.

Smoke detectors using 9V batteries have a warning beep, when the battery gets low. This will keep beeping until the battery dies or has been replaced. A few handy facts to know:

- The batteries have a lower voltage when it’s cold. Since the temperature drops during the night, the beeps usually starts during the night. This is also why sometimes it seems to disappear in the morning and come back next night.
- If you have multiple detectors, the threshold for the beep to start varies between detectors. So using a multi meter of battery checker might not find the one which is beeping.
- NiMH and Lithium batteries have different voltage properties so depending on the detector it might start beeping to late or too soon.

If you do not want to wake up at night from the beeps, make sure you replace the batteries on time. If it still beeps, make sure you have enough batteries to replace them all. Finding the correct detector can be hard and is rather annoying in the middle of the night. Replacing them all at once and get back to sleep. Trust me, I have 5 detectors (smoke, heat and CO) and all in a small apartment.

Other things to note:
- Make sure to cap or tape of 9V batteries after use to prevent short circuiting
- The detectors have expiration dates too. When you use them to long, the detectors become less sensitive.

How to stay up to date

I have a back ground in public management specifically aimed at safety. However there are many government cut backs and emergency management is just as affected by these budget cuts as other government tasks. I'm currently not employed in this field directly. I work for a supplier of training software for emergency management, so clsoe but not clsoe enough. There are a few thing i do to keep up to date so i can get back in to this field of work. This is what I do:

• Follow all the news letters of all organisations related to your field. This keeps you up to date with all the new things.

• Following Linkedin group related to your field. This keeps you up to date with all the new things, but also what others think of it. Knowing what the feeling is amongst the crowd is vitally important as a policy maker.

• Following  additional courses to make you stand out. This can be expensive professional education, but MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) are also good option. MOOC’s have the advantage of being free, allows you to follow up to date courses and from university all over the world (different perspectives). But they generally do not provide with profesional certifications which are needed sometimes. It does nicely extend your CV and shows future employees that you are doing things to improve yourself and keep up to date. Professional education has the advantage of actual certification which are in demand. However also rather expensive.

Light weight electric vehicles crash worthiness

With increasingly more attention to global emissions and local pollution, electric vehicles are getting more popular. There are a few way of making electric vehicles. One way is to make a electric car like a gasoline car in size and weight. The other way is to make a lighter type of vehicle. This increasingly is causing concern in crashes between light weight vehicles and regular vehicles.

The IIHS already published there finding on low speed vehicles (or mini trucks) in 2010

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/low-speed-vehicles-and-minitrucks-shouldnt-share-busy-public-roads-with-regular-traffic

Euroncap made a test for what is referred to as  ‘quadricycles’. US and European vehicle classes are not the same so it’s hard to compare them directly, but these vehicles are also light weight and do not have to meet the same regulation as ‘normal’ vehicles on the road.

http://www.euroncap.com/results/quadricycles.aspx

Light weight vehicles generally do not perform well against regular traffic. Something to keep in mind when buying and driving such vehicles. 

Burglar prevention; Secustrip

Many countries have certain burglar prevention and mitigation which are not seen in other countries. One interesting door hardening devices out there is a Secustrip, made by a Dutch company. It’s a metal bar with a special shape placed on both the door and the door frame. It effectively prevents burglars from being able to stick something between the door and frame to pry the door open. This effectively reduces the chance of burglars getting entrance by prying, which is one of the most popular methods of defeating doors.

Several versions are available, for inwards and outwards swinging doors and different recess between the door and the frame. Some versions have the screw fully covered by the bars, while some models have requires special security screws on the outside.  Available in steel, aluminum and galvanized steel and in different colors.

These strips run the full length of the door and frame and does require a stiff door to work effectively. If the door is not stiff enough, a gap can be created by putting a boot on the door and flexing the door at the bottom. By no means a solution for all burglar methods, but it does make it harder.

More information can be found on the website of the manufacture (unfortunately in Dutch)

Helmet do they work or they they not work; ski / snowboard helmets

There is a lot of discussion about helmets. For proffesional use; contractors, rescue personal, etc they are pretty much mandatory and not much discussion going down there.

However when it comes down to helmets are recreation, this becomes a discussion. Does a helmet save you from a climbing accident? bike crash? a ski/snowboard crash? Ice skate crash?

Well all sports have there discussion, different dangers and different helmet regulations. Here are some interesting information about ski and snowboard helmets:

http://skicanadamag.com/2011/12/05/gear/helmet-science

http://www.ski-injury.com/prevention/helmet

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/sports/on-slopes-rise-in-helmet-use-but-no-decline-in-brain-injuries.html?_r=0

In the end the basic conclusion is that a helmet won't increased your survival rate when you hit a stationary object (rock, tree) with high speeds. It does protect your head from slower impacts, which would be far more harmful if no helmet is worn.

Nice short video from NGC about keys

Nice short video from NGC about keys. I knew you could copy a keys from pictures, but I honestly haven't though of the 3D printer yet. 

Consumerism and preparedness: just be practical

There are many different people whom prepare for emergency’s. A lot don’t, some are very casual about it and a few are more serious about it. Even in the serious categories there are many differences. Some are very practical ones and some are consumer driven. The last one is also quite active on the internet.

With preparedness and preparedness items being more and more of a regular consumer product, people act like the manufacture want them too. Manufactures try to make new models each year to satisfy the never ending crave for new things of consumers. This is not always a bad thing. A lot of things have been improved over the years.

However when it comes down to emergency preparedness, when practicability, ruggedness and simplistic plays a role, this generally does not. In the process of making ever new products, manufactures are starting to place ever more features on their products and using more exotic materials, to make them more desirable. This however does not mean it's more practical and useful. Quite often they are less practical, less rugged, and more complicated. Or at least not as time tested. This is fortunately not a problem with large scale equipment. Organisations buying large equipment are all about practical application and costs. It is however a problems when it comes down to personal equipment.

First of all I’m not saying that you should not have new equipment and technologies. Some are great, like modern communication and network enables capabilities.  But you should look at equipment primarily at the practical stand point:

- Price; you can only spend your money once, so you better make sure it’s worth it.
- Usability; things needs to be easy to use, with little instructions. People often do not use emergency equipment, so it needs to be easy to understand and use.
- Maintenance; emergency equipment is often stored for long periods of time and when they are needed, there is little time for maintenance.  So equipment which require very little maintenance are best. However all equipment need maintenance to work properly. Spare should be on hand and it’s best if they are the same as other commonly used parts on other equipment. Maintenance should be easy and require little (specialist)  tools.
- Quality; a well manufactured piece of equipment usually work a lot better than a cheaply made equipment. However don’t confuse  a nice finish with quality. They are often related, but not always the same. 
- Larger storage and operating range; Equipment should be able to be stored and used in dry, wet, cold, hot and dusty environments. So the equipment should be able to operate in a wide range of conditions. This not only applies for exposure to the elements, but also for the inputs of systems; power input (mains, battery, generators, voltage and type of sinus), water (salt, sweet, dirty), fuel (propane, petrol, diesel or a combination of these) and lubricants.

For proper equipment, look for ‘professional’ or ‘Industrial’ line/grade of equipment. Another good source of equipment are items design for third world/emergency aid. These items are generally made to be practical and nothing more.

My EDC

Not really sure why, but there is a lot of interest in what people carry on them every day, the so called Every Day Carry (EDC). The term does get widely abused for gear people only carry for certain moments. I mean a EDC for hiking, is well uhm... what you carry for hiking, hiking gear/kit? My EDC is not really exiting, not too much gear and I don't feel like getting the latest and greatest gadgets. Anyways here is my list of things I carry:

On my person:

Wallet: Tri-fold leather wallet.

Just a regular tri-fold wallet with cards and cash, the wallet is lined with foil to block RFID signals.Certain additions are a few plasters, extra passport sized photo and condoms. Shown in folded position for privacy reasons.

Keys

Keys with a small carabiner. (no keys pictures, just the carabiner. Keys can be copied using photos) The carabiner is used both to attached it to a d-ring on my pants (when available, depending on what I’m wearing) and to keep different sets of keys together. I have several key rings for home, work, running, car (car keys also has a ResQme), etc. and join them together with the carabiner. I have to many keys to carry them all. I choose a steel carabiner, because they are very durable. The alluminium ones break to often, unless you go for the large climbing style which are to big to carry.

A Swiss army knife: Victorinox Huntsman.

I have been carrying this for almost 10 years now.  It’s the ideal size for me and looks innocent enough, so nobody cares about it.. Tiny multitools are just too tiny for me and the larger ones are too large. I usually only need a blade, scissors, screw drivers, awl and bottle opener. I use the larger blade primarily for food and the smaller one for cutting all the other stuff.  The can opener and saw are only used when I’m camping with it.

A small Flashlight: Fenix LD10.

I have been carrying this light for 5-6 years now. I have one of the earliest versions of this light, without belt clip. I used to have a Fenix L1P, but with the newer CREE LED’s I decided to replace the L1P with this one. I do still use the Fenix L1P holster for my LD10, which I think is more convenient. Good thing I ordered replacements when they were still available. I prefer using AA sized batteries for most of my equipment, so this light suits that need. The light could be more simple for me, I usually only used it in low or turbo mode. Clicking to change the modes takes too much effort and I never use the SOS or strobe option. I do stick the light in my mouth when I need both hands, since I have yet to find a headlight which is as small and easy to carry.

Smartphone: Motorola Defy

One of the first waterproof smart phones you could get. I have it for almost 3 years. I have never tested it under water, but it has got wet in the rain or from sweat. Usually on my belt in a  horizontally mounted pouch (keeps it out of the way of seats belt, etc), but sometimes in a silicone cover in a pocket. Primarily used for the calendar, emails, weather forecast, traffic information and the hazardous material guide app. Since it’s still working find, I will just keep using it. 

Other items:

Casio watch, flat pack of ducttape, tissues, lip balm and tiny pack of some kind of skin care product.

In a pack I almost always carry:

External battery charger for my phone: Varta portable power pack

A simple battery pack to charge my phone with. It has reasonable capacity, a capacity indicator and the best: it was free.

First aid: Nitrile gloves and CPR mask

In a simple Ziploc bag a pair of nitrile gloves and small CPR mask.

Dust mask: Ekasty Sekur dust and welding fume mask.

A FFP2 (similar to N95) mask with a carbon layer. Carried just in case. I don’t think bigger/complex escape masks are worth the weight and size for everyday carry.

Other items:

Deodorant, tire patch kit, pen, lotion bar, key chain size LED lights and sports tape.  

Entanglement hazard: the scarf

Some people think i'm weird for tying loose end or having break away lanyards on things attached to me. Even a common item like a scarf can dangerous.

Here is a story from Fox news abaout a womam being killed due to a scarf getting caught on a escalator.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/30/canadian-woman-strangled-by-scarf-on-escalator/

Or a famous in the thirties dancer Isadora Duncan, whom died because of her scarf getting caught on the spokes of the open car she was in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan

IIHS video 'Understanding Car Crashes: When Physics Meets Biology'

I often sigh when people crash there car and say things like, ‘He got save by his tail hitch’. Little car damage does not mean less force on the body during car crash. Here is a nice video from the IIHS explain how injury’s occur during a crash. 

Cover your webcam

Cameras  are showing up more and more on different kinds of electronics we are using; smart TVs. computers, tablets, phones, etc. Most of these will be connected to the internet and there for will be venerable for hackers. Although common sense (don’t click on certain things) and antivirus suites help, it’s certainly not a guarantee that nobody will be able to access your webcam. Even LED indicator lights from webcams can be disabled by hackers. So one sure way to stop others from watching you using your camera’s is to tape it off.

Here are some links about this subject: From the Norton website:

http://us.norton.com/yoursecurityresource/detail.jsp?aid=webcam_hacking

The Washington post did a article about this. Which is also a warning for Apple users whom thing they are invaluable to viruses.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/12/18/research-shows-how-macbook-webcams-can-spy-on-their-users-without-warning/

My car kit

If you have a car it’s good to carry some additional equipment with you. Not only useful when something happens while you were traveling, but also useful when you are somewhere and need something.

There are many methods to carry emergency equipment in your car. I prefer to stick everything in all the little pockets, nooks and crannies I can find. I do have a small cooler (winter only) and toolbag in the trunk. My car is in the ‘mini’ category, so there is limited cargo space and having equipment place in something prevents it from becoming a projectile during an accident. Here is what I carry in my car:

Emergency equipment:

First aid kit

Foam fire extinguisher (Powder extinguishers ruins cars)

Life hammer

ResQme (on car key)

Warning lights/ signaling

4x LED flares

4x Hi-Viz vests

LED warning panel

Warning triangle

LED flashlight

Traffic cone for flashlight

General repair:

Saftey goggle

2x dust masks (FFP3, similar to N99)

Nitrile gloves (medical grade)

Leather work gloves

Towing strap 4 ton

Jumpercables 25mm2 (slightly thinner than AWG 3 gauge cables)

Screwdrivers / Philips screwdriver
Multitool (Victorinox Swisstool x)
Test light

Funnels

WD-40

Silicon rescue tape

Duct tape

Electric tape

Door seal grease stick

Spare lights

Spare fuses

Tire equipment:

Full size spare tire (on rim)

Jack

Tire wrench

Tire plug kit

4 way valve tool and valve cores

Tire pressure gauge

Tire profile gauge

Recovery:

Tri-fold shovel

Traction plates

Foam pad

Survival equipment:

Trangia messtin

Pocket chainsaw
Waterfilter straw

Folding knife

Signal mirror

Signal whistle

Spare batteries

Emergency space blankets

Plastic ponchos

Candle

Lighter

Matches

Ferrosium rod

Tinder

Pillow

Blanket

Garbage bags

Toilet paper

Phone charger

Multipurpose key

Earplugs

Hand sanitation gel

Cooler with 6 pack water, food, candle’s and matches. 

Cargo

2x Short cargo straps

2x Long cargo straps

Cargo net

Winter:

Deicer

Ice scraper large with snow brush

Ice scraper small with glove

Not in this list are normal everyday gear (tissues, Umbrella, maps, GPS, glass cleaner, etc).

Emergency lighting at home

Emergency lights can be found on commercial or high occupancy buildings. Different countries have different law regarding to emergency lights. Some country’s require a combination of emergency lighting and lit emergency exit signs, while others only require lit emergency exit sign lights. Some countries want emergency exits light mounted high, while other low. In some cases the emergency exits light are always  turned on and sometimes it’s lit when the power fails.

On private residential structures, there generally are no rules for emergency lighting. The same challenges does exist when the power goes out. You need to be able to see to safely move around and in emergency's to find a way out safely. People should be aware that external lights from neighbors or streetlights will not be on, if the power interruption is not limited to your house. This means the little light from outside that allows you to see in the dark, is not there. So putting flashlights on a fixed location, might not be a great solution without any additional markings. Using commercial emergency lighting can be a bit expensive for regular consumers, there are a two options consumers can take:

- There are rechargeable flashlights  available, which will automatically turn on when the power goes out and when the light is pulled from the holder/socket. Often these lights are also equipped with an indicator/night light, so you can find them for normal use. (For example: Eton ARCBB200W DBL Blackout Buddy (USA), Olympia LED NL300 (German) or Alecto LED ATL-120W (Dutch / Belgium)). The advantage and disadvantage is that they will turn on, when they power goes out. They are usually aimed at the ceiling and the light will reflect of the ceiling and illuminate the room.

- Other options would be a flashlight with glow in the dark markings (make sure these are exposed during the daylights) or a Beta-Marker. This option does not require a power socket and does not continuously consume power (although a trickle charger does not use that much).

The flashlight with automatic turn on switch are probably the best option as a home emergency lighting. However sometimes you don't need a light when the power goes down. If you are sleeping, there is not much you can do if the powerline goes down and in most cases (in my country) the power is restored pretty quickly. So you might as well continue to sleep (a backup battery in your alarm clock is always nice) and find a light when you do need light. So choose the appropriate option for different rooms.

Tape over 9V batteries

A good tip about fire safety and batteries. Tape over or cap the terminals of batteries when they are loose!

Starting a fire with a 9 Volt battery and steel wool is a quite know trick. 9 Volt batteries are easy to short, both terminals are right next to each other. So any piece of metal can touch them and short them out.  Even if the materials shorting the terminals might not catch fire, the batteries does get extremely hot and can cause combustibles nearby to burn. So remember when tossing 9 Volt batteries in a bag of other batteries or in your junk draw, tape or cap them!

A far more detailed rapport about 9V battery issues can be found here at Richard Friedrich lab journal: http://friedrichengineering.com/web_documents/9volt%20Battery.pdf

Simple workable solutions

I have mentioned keeping things simple before, but I found a great example when this applies. The Nigerian Dr Awojobi Oluyombo makes medical devices him self, which he can repair himself and does not require any power. A great example how people adept to a situation and finds a simple low tech method to his needs:

His paper: THE TRAVAILS OF RURAL SURGERY IN NIGERIA AND THE TRIUMPH OF PRAGMATISM:
http://www.ifrs-rural.com/THE%20TRAVAILS%20OF%20RURAL%20SURGERY.pdf

Some articles by the media:

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-01-09/nigerian-doctor-runs-his-hospital-corn-cobs-and-used-bike-parts

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/5/10-040510/en/

Often I think why there no not more simple, easy serviceable equipment out there. Items should be built to last and if they break it should be easy to fix.

If you are interested in medical care in extreme environments, the book'Improvised Medicine: Providing Care in Extreme Environments', by Kenneth Iserson  is a great book.

Insulation, what to use for a emergency kit.

One of most impotent things to keep you alive are clothing and other form of insulation like a blanket of sleeping bag. Proper closing can in extreme conditions mean the difference between life and dead. In our modern world the primary role of clothing; protecting you from the environment, is of less important. There are heated cars and buildings everywhere. A lot of people cloth them self's fashionable, but not necessarily practical.

There are many article on the internet about outdoor clothing. This is a very good place to start when you are setting up clothing for your emergency preparedness. The basics are a three layer system:
- Under layer to wick away moisture from the skin
- Insulation to keep warm
- Wind proof and water proof/resistant layer to keep the weather out

There is however a important difference with the outdoors. For emergency kits, you need clothing that can be stored compacted for long periods of time and preferable durable enough to be used in less than optimal conditions.

There isn't much difference between outdoor under layers and emergency clothing. Insulation layer is a different story. With a move to ever lighter and smaller equipment, synthetic fiber or down filled jackets have been appearing as a insulating layer, replacing the traditional wool or fleece. In a preparedness point of view this lighter and smaller alternative to wool and fleece is not a solution. Emergency equipment is generally stored in kits or containers for years. This means equipment is compressed for longer periods of time. Synthetic or down require the fibers to loft to create insulation. Compressing them for long periods of time will reduce there lofting ability and making them less insulating (we are talking years on end here). Compressing fiber insulation for the first time, will cause the most reduction in loft. The compression after that are still harmful in the long term, but not as bad as the first time. If you are planning to replace them every few years, than you could use fiber based insulation. Not compressing them is also a option when space is not a issue. Wool and fleece do not compress well, but they do retain there insulating value in long term storage. They are also generally a lot more hard wearing than the insulating or down filled jackets (these generally have super thin and light outer shells).

I would also recommend fleece over wool. Fleece is much cheaper, lighter and dries out far quicker. Wool itches, stays wet for long periods of time and make you smell like a wet dog. Wool does however protects against spark, while fleece doesn't.

For the outer layer, the ultralight exteriors (Pac-lites, etc) are to vulnerable. Choose a stronger version, preferable with reinforcements on hard wearing locations. Thicker, more durable outer layers generally don't breath as well, so choose one with ventilation zips to get moisture out.

The problem with the insulating jackets not only apply to clothing, but also to sleeping bags and blankets. Synthetic and down sleeping bags are also not suitable for long term compressed storage. So use fleece or wool blankets, unless you want to replace the bag every few years. One other note, if sleeping bags are store in a reasonable accessible location (compressed or not), they will probably be abused and used a moving blankets. Things need to be moved in warehouses and moving blankets can be hard to find...

Marking your equipment

Marking your gear has many (useful) purposes:
- Identify what is yours
- Find the gear (brightly colored equipment helps)
- Put indicators or 'red flags' on your gear 

First of all make sure whatever you use does not affect your equipment in a negative way. Pay particular attention to personal protective equipment. The glue in stickers/tape and solvents in markers/paint can have effect on certain materials (especially plastics and textiles). Sometimes manufactures will sell specific stickers or markers to mark their products (helmets , rope, slings). Preferably mark your equipment on a part which is not safety related. If you have doubts, you can choose to tie strings or add zip ties with a tag to your equipment, which means there is no solvents of other chemicals interacting. (unless the string was contaminated)  

Second, make sure the markings does not get in the way. It can block the sight to parts of your equipment, both in operating the equipment, as well for inspections of your equipment (wear and tear, damages, etc). If string is used, make sure it won’t cause entanglement or choking hazards.

Third, make sure the markings can handle the environment it is being subjected to. This can be extreme temperatures, temperature swings, exposure to abrasion or even chemical exposure. For example; adding (reflective) tape to firefighting equipment can simply mean that the tape melts the first time you get close to a fire. Meaning you have to clean of the melted goo.

You can make your markings have additional function. Strategic markings can act like warning flags. For instance a visible red line when something is forgotten or a switch is set on life. Markings can also be zipper tabs, making it easier to locate and open a certain compartment. Or just a loop, so you can hang your equipment in storage. 

For finding and identifying equipment I use the following to make my gear stand out:

- Bright neon yellow reflective tape (a thick high quality version, which is also very abrasive resistant).
- Bright red cordage with reflective threads in it.
- Glow in the dark and reflective cordage. (white)
- Glow in the dark and reflective zipper pull tabs.

For safety markings or surfaces which does not allow tape of anything attach to it, without creating problems:
- Permanent markers (works best on rough surfaces, specialist markers are available for certain equipment)
- Nail polish (works best on smooth surfaces)

Note that sometimes you just can’t mark your equipment without causing a problem and sometimes you can only mark things on the inside. 

Keysafes

Need to leave keys out for somebody else or can't carry the key with you? Everybody know the usual hiding place;  under the doormat, behind a plant, in the bumper, on a car tire, etc. Obviously not the most safe methods.

So what do we do when we need to leave a key at a door or car without having the keys stolen? One method of safely leaving a key for somebody else is a keysafe with a number lock.

Keysafes are available in different sizes and shapes. There are versions which are design to bolt on to a structure and those that look like a giant padlock, allowing you the secure the keysafe to a object. There is a obvious risk that people see such keysafes and attack them for the keys. So hide them can't hurt.

Padlock style keysafe.

A keylock design to be mounted on a wall/object

Training rescue personel; the old fashion way

Some things are sometimes best kept simple. One of these things is training people what to do. Sometimes it's explaing structures, how they are made and how to deal with them. Sometimes you want to explain how to follow procedure and why. One simpel methode is the use of models. 

Here is a nice example of a model to explain thatched roof construction and how to fight fires with thatched roofs. Patches of canvas is used to simulate the strips of thatching and is removable from the model to reveal the interieur structure. 

Or just scale models of environments with various kind infrastructure. This is very usefull on teaching how to approach a scene and how to locate everything. Nice things about this particulair setup is the fact that these are actually puzzels. Multiple models can be joint to make a bigger envionment. 

But when do you get a birds eye view of a situation in real life? One way to get the right point of view is have people crawling inside a classroom, but thats not very user friendly for the student. Another simple, yet effective solution is to just put in on top of a extra high table.