Week 5: Plan and practice evacuation drills using two different escape routes from each room and meeting at a pre-appointed location. Consider placing an escape ladder on the second floor of a two story home. For each family member add: 1 small can opener, 1 can prepared meat and 1 box/package raisins or other dried fruit.
I remember being in school, fighting sleep, while the professor droned on about all things boring. I would start thinking about how many periods were left in the day and how many days in the week and how many weeks in the school year and how many more years of school till graduation. It seemed endless.
But sometimes, something magical happened. An alarm rang. Heads poked up, eyes met and smiles cracked. Initially there was hesitation. “Is this real? Is there a fire?” Moments later we were pushing out of the classroom into packed halls, a stream of students merging and converging until we reached the open.
Teachers assembled their streams and counted heads. The principal held a stopwatch and nodded. A few stragglers emerged from the washrooms. Some were genuinely disappointed there was no actual fire. I was just happy to be out of the classroom for a few minutes.
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| A very elaborate drill. |
That’s what comes to mind when I think of evacuation drills. The reality is that these days I live in a fourth floor condo with two bedrooms and one front door. I devised an evacuation route the day I moved in eight years ago and have practiced nearly every day since. I call it: taking the stairs. Can I have a book deal now?
As for an escape ladder, I think the fourth floor is a little high. My place is not that large, so I find it hard to imagine a scenario where I would be able to access the deck but not the front door. There are also three separate stairwells, all of which are outdoor access. You can see two of them from the first picture below; the second picture is taken from my deck.
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| Maybe I'll just tie a few sheets together and land in that shrub. |
For each family member add: 1 small can opener, 1 can prepared meat and 1 box/package raisins or other dried fruit.
The first thing on this weeks list of items to buy was also the hardest to find. Small can openers are not found in most stores so I had to go to a camping supply store where I found this:
I happen to think it is the neatest item I've added to the kit, although it did not come with a holster. It was pretty cheap as well, only $1.89 after tax. I've never seen a can opener like this before and I just had to test it out.
There is a small notch on the edge of the handle which catches on the lip of the can you are opening. You then use the notch to create a bit of leverage and punch a hole in the can with the blade. It's a little awkward from here but it's not too difficult to use a back and forth motion to cut the can open. As you can see the edges are a little rough, so be careful!
You can't have Spam bacon sausage and Spam without the Spam. And apparently you can't have an emergency preparedness kit without it either. What I want to know is how they get away with calling it prepared meat. Pressed meat is more like it. Maybe compressed meat?
I decided on raisins rather than some other dried fruit mainly because they are cheaper. Also, Sunmaid raisins really take me back to my childhood. My mother used to buy them for us kids and they came in little individual serving boxes. I probably never would have liked them if it were not for the boxes but that little bit of novelty made them special. You can still get them in the little boxes but I choose a bag because it's twice the raisins for the same price. They also don't expire until August 2012 which means they will almost survive until the world ends.
So there you have it. A couple more items to the kit. I apologize for the lack of posts the last couple weeks. Blogger was down for a few days which kept me from posting and the rest of the time I've been battling a case of lazyitis. I shall not let it happen again (I hope)!
Here is the cost breakdown for this week:
Spam and raisins: $5.83
Can openers: $1.89
Weekly total: $7.72
Grand total: $23.36 (Family of four: $93.44)
The first thing on this weeks list of items to buy was also the hardest to find. Small can openers are not found in most stores so I had to go to a camping supply store where I found this:
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| Perfect for all your small can needs. |
I happen to think it is the neatest item I've added to the kit, although it did not come with a holster. It was pretty cheap as well, only $1.89 after tax. I've never seen a can opener like this before and I just had to test it out.
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| Mmmmm.... jagged. |
You can't have Spam bacon sausage and Spam without the Spam. And apparently you can't have an emergency preparedness kit without it either. What I want to know is how they get away with calling it prepared meat. Pressed meat is more like it. Maybe compressed meat?
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| Pressed ham, anyone? |
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| Quick, get me some bread! I just had a fantastic sandwich idea! |
So there you have it. A couple more items to the kit. I apologize for the lack of posts the last couple weeks. Blogger was down for a few days which kept me from posting and the rest of the time I've been battling a case of lazyitis. I shall not let it happen again (I hope)!
Here is the cost breakdown for this week:
Spam and raisins: $5.83
Can openers: $1.89
Weekly total: $7.72
Grand total: $23.36 (Family of four: $93.44)
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| Cry havoc and pry open the cans of war. |
During a disaster is not the time to plan!
