Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

I have my daily bag set up with a bag-within-a-bag, just a nylon drawstring, black inside a black ruckie. You can barely see it and it just stays put. It contains a pouch with a very basic washkit, couple pairs undies/ socks, other pockets contain phone charger, torch, swiss army knife, meds and OTC painkillers and mini first aid kit.

The idea is, if I had to stay over somewhere unexpectedly, I could freshen up and change. I only own sensible shoes and don't wear season-inappropriate clothes, so would always be sensibly-clad. My keyring contains several useful bits and bobs.

:T RAS, yes, if you start to think strategically, it is amazing what you can do in a short amount of time, like you packing with the cab on the kerb. I'm pretty good in a crisis as I go into a zone somehow and become very focussed on what needs to be done NOW and what can be done later or not done at all.

Like when giving first aid at a couple of different crashes; that man has a broken leg, I can see the bones sticking thru his shin, he is trying to get out of the front to go around to his missus in the back (who was shocked, bruised, otherwise unhurt) I must stop him walking, that's the critical thing. He had a broken leg, a broken ankle and cuts but all he could think of was his missus, bless his heart (they wrote to me to thank me after the event, the Police gave them my name and address).

Another crash with a burning car and a driver we'd already got out and onto the verge; the car is burning and I can see fuel dripping and pooling underneath the burning car, creeping towards the engine where the fire is destroying the front end of the car, and more fuel leaking from the other car, up on the middle of the road, rolling down the camber towards the burning one.

Like any first aider, I know you shouldn't move a casualty but she was in a burning car; we got her out. What do you do, let her burn? Ideally, now she's flat out on a grass verge, we shouldn't move her again, but we are still close to the burning car and there is a risk its ruptured fuel tank might ignite. The risk gets higher every second as more fuel drops onto the road. The leaking fuel creeping down the road towards it might flash-ignite that and go up to the other car, leaving the three of us and our casualty trapped behind flames with a very high and impassable thorny hedge behind us cutting off our retreat in that direction.

I tried getting sense from the driver of the other car as to whether their fuel running down the road was diesel or petrol but they were too shocky to answer me. I sent a passerby in their car back onto the industrial estate I'd just left, to the car parts factor I worked for, to get a sack of those fuel-absorbing granules, but they didn't get back with them; couldn't find our unit. Since I didn't know if we had petrol (highly flammable) or diesel (less flammable) around two sides of us as well as fire to one side, I made the decision we had to move that driver. We did our best, the fellers on either side of her cradle fashion, me supporting the weight of her head and neck and carted her several more yards.

A few minutes later we had all the proper people with us; fire brigade to douse the fire, doctor to check over the casualty, paramedics and ambulance to take her to hospital to be checked over (she was fine).

But, for about 15 + minutes, even though we were on the edge of a market town with its own fire and ambulance stations, there was just us, the other drivers, the people from the offices nearby. We had to do the best we could with what we had. Life is often a matter of being ready to make the best fist of it that you can, and things Just Happen when you are least expecting them.

[Deleted User]

Regarding getting out of your home in the event of a fire, I would say that, if the property is over 2 stories, you should own an escape ladder.

GreyQueen

Excellent idea about having an escape ladder. For those in one story dwellings, it's useful to know the correct technique for getting out of a window whilst minimalising the injuries you sustain.

Short version is climb, hang, drop with legs together and slightly bent and aim to roll on landing. I've seen diagrams in books, I'm sure the same thing is available on the web.

Someone my size, by hanging at arms' length from a sill, even if I could only hold for 3-5 seconds (probably the limit) would take 8 ft off the drop by bringing my feet 8 ft nearer the ground - at full stretch my reach is 8 ft 6 inches standing flat-footed.

What you don't want to do is be throwing yourself at the ground with force; a running footfall is said to put x 4 your bodyweight onto the descending foot, imagine what would happen if you were throwing yourself at an unyielding surface with force from above.

Happily, the drop from the openable part of my windows to the ground outside is chest-height, so would be dropping about 18 inches onto grass once I'd got my leg over (;) deliberate pun for the other half of my comedy duo, BB; bookings for all sorts of social engagements being taken now).:rotfl:

moneyistooshorttomention

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Regarding getting out of your home in the event of a fire, I would say that, if the property is over 2 stories, you should own an escape ladder.

I second that and I had one in my last house. This house being a bungalow I no longer bother.

Thinking back a stage beyond that though - when I replaced the windows in my last house I made sure they were done in a style with big enough openings that I could climb out through them if I needed to readily. I did not want to worry there might be a situation where the window openings weren't big enough and I was wondering how to break a doubleglazed window:eek:. Single-glazed = I would have just thrown something heavy straight through it if need be...but doubleglazed...whoops! So if anyone still hasn't changed their windows yet....bear that in mind.

Softstuff

Problem for me Bedsit Bob, is that the picture of the ladder there looks as terrifying as the fire . I have bother up a 2 step standard ladder in the house, that would not be a possibility. Subconciously, could be a reason I've lived in ground floor property ever since.

Moneyststm, you can get a special little hammer for double glazing. One sharp tap of the pointy end in the corner of double glazing smashes the pane in an emergency.

moneyistooshorttomention

You may be right on your reasoning for sticking to ground floor only places Softstuff. I'm not the slightest bit keen on anything to do with heights myself - and have had to have people literally holding my hand when near a steep drop or refused to go anywhere near it again if I belatedly discovered there was one too late.

I figured I could psych myself up to use the darn ladder if need be by telling myself "Money, you might NOT get overcome by smoke and that's the last you'd know of it....you might still be conscious and feel the fire" and I think I should have been able to persuade myself to use the ladder on that basis. I'd be totally unfazed by the "overcome with smoke" scenario and think "Oh well...next stop...the Tunnel of Light and reunion with old friends etc" but burnt by fire - agh!

[Deleted User]

You would be amazed what you can do, when pumped with adrenaline.

Fear is a powerful encouragement.

ETA: It rained again overnight.

moneyistooshorttomention

Seconded re those feelings about the weather....I am just so OVER winter <sigh>, but then its true that tales are frequent of English people having moved to some even remoter parts near me and then promptly moving again after their first winter there. Thankfully, I picked one of the more benign micro-climates here..but looking out the window now thinking "I intend to go OUT - for a walk - weather! Can you hear me?:cool:".

Agree re the fear. One of the few things my father ever said to me in his "written on an A5 sheet summary of life in the Armed Forces censored on daughters behalf...because I know what shes like;)" was a comment that "Just because you do things sometimes...doesn't mean you aren't scared to do them".

Personally, I find I usually go cool as a cucumber and my brain dishes out instructions in computer mode if there is an emergency to do with someone else and then sit and gasp afterwards about it, but Computer Mode has lasted long enough to get things as resolved-as-possible. But, if its to do with me personally, then that can often be a very different kettle of fish and the adrenaline does get up...

RAS

Yep

Have one that will drop out the back window and get me down to ground level. Weighs a fair bit but preferable to incinerated guest.

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Regarding getting out of your home in the event of a fire, I would say that, if the property is over 2 stories, you should own an escape ladder.

[Deleted User]

Good news is, it's not raining.

Bad news is, it's hail-stoning instead. :mad: