Pandemic Survival: Prepping For COVID-19, Ebola, H1N1, SARS & More

2 Comments

With coronavirus spreading around the world, it’s understandable that people are searching for ways to protect themselves and prepare for the different possible outcomes of the spread.

The knowledge you acquire to protect yourself and loved ones in a pandemic survival situation has never been more valuable.

In this article, I am going to show you what preventative measures to take to reduce your risk of exposure before, during, and after a pandemic. We are also going to take a look at some of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available to keep the chances of transmitting an illness as minimal as possible including kits like these:

Freedom Hill Pandemic PPE Kit	Ebola Virus Preparedness and Travel Kit	Personal Ebola Preparedness Kit

Understanding How Pandemics Are Transmitted

Knowing how a pandemic is spread is the first key step in planning to protect yourself from getting sick. Pandemics are generally passed on in 3 ways – through the air, through physical contact, and through contaminated food or water. Let’s take a look at these 3 methods and the illnesses that are transmitted through them.

Transmission Through The Air

Many bacterial and viral infections are transmitted through the air. This generally happens when a sick person coughs or sneezes, which releases the microbes into mucus or saliva droplets into the air. If a healthy person breathes in these particles, in they can become infected. Here are some of the most common illnesses that can be transmitted through the air in this manner:

Bacterial Meningitis
Chickenpox
Common cold
Influenza
Mumps
Strep throat
Tuberculosis
Measles
Rubella
Whooping cough

Protecting Yourself From Air Transmitted Infection

Wear a surgical mask – Note this does not filter the air, it is designed to protect splatter or spray from coughs and sneezes from entering your mouth and nose. To filter air one would need a respirator. There is also evidence that wearing a mask prevents you from unknowingly spreading disease via droplets if you are presymptomatic or asymptomatic.
Wash your hands if you come into contact with someone who has been coughing or sneezing
Make sure any rooms you share with a person who is ill are well ventilated
If you are caring for a family member that has contracted one of the illnesses mentioned above, encourage them to wear a mask and to wash their hands as often as possible
Note that according to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), Ebola CANNOT be transmitted through the air.

pandemic survival

Transmission Through Touch

The second common transmission method is through physical contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person including:

Mucus
Saliva
Blood
Feces
Semen
Breast milk

Transmission may occur from both direct contact (touching mucus, blood, etc directly) or indirect sources (touching a surface, doorknob, or shaking hands with someone who has the mucus/blood/etc on their hands). Once you have made contact the pathogen can enter your body through broken skin or through your nose, eyes, or mouth. Here are some of the most widely known illnesses that are passed on via touch:

Ebola
Rhinovirus (common cold)
Hepatitis
HIV
Influenza

Protecting Yourself From Touch Transmitted Infection

Wash your hands frequently, especially if you come into contact with a sick person
Wipe down surfaces that have been contacted by a sick person with an antibacterial cleanser or bleach solution
Do not handle items that have come in contact with a sick person (clothing, bedsheets, medical equipment)
Wear gloves or other PPE if you think there is a high risk of encountering sick individuals or if caring for an ill family member

Transmission Through Contaminated Food Or Drinking Water

There are 2 main pandemics that are typically transmitted through drinking water:

Typhoid
Cholera

Both of these have been nearly eliminated from the western world by improved sanitation conditions and antibiotics but still regularly occur in less developed countries. In the event of a major disaster, there is the chance of these plagues returning again until our society is able to get back on our feet.

These are caused by microorganisms that thrive in unsanitary water and food. Modern water treatment techniques and food handling methods are effective at eliminating both types of bacteria.

Protecting Yourself From Food & Water Transmitted Infection

Practice hand hygiene after going to the bathroom and before preparing food
Boil water that you think may be contaminated or treat it chemically or with ultraviolet light
Cook food thoroughly before eating
Make sure your waste is being kept far away from your water source if you are setting up a camp

Prepping For Pandemic Survival

Now that we know what we are up against let’s take a look at what steps we can take to prepare and protect ourselves. We are going to look at the 3 stages of a pandemic – before, during, and after – and see what we can do to reduce our chances of exposure during each.

What to do before a pandemic

If a pandemic has reached towns in your area or a location where people in your community frequently travel to, it is a good time to start making preparations to limit your exposure to any potential carriers. You do not need to put your life on hold, but raising your level of vigilance will not hurt.

Wash hands your hands religiously

This is something we are going to see again and again through this article and throughout medical literature. Your hands are one of the most common ways that a pathogen enters your body so it is extra important to cleanse them frequently when a pandemic is on the rise. Try to instill the importance of this in your children as well if they are old enough to understand its importance.

Be aware of symptoms

Before a pandemic strikes is the best time to educate yourself on the symptoms that are caused by the illness. This will allow you to identify whether or not the people you encounter are affected. It also allows you to get medical attention to any family member who falls ill as soon as possible.

While it is good to know general symptoms for many illnesses, it is also wise to educate yourself on the specific symptoms of the particular pandemic that you see coming. If you are prepping for Ebola, you should be aware that Ebola’s symptoms are:

Nausea & vomiting
Fever
Unexpected bruising
Diarrhea (possibly bloody)
Redness in the eyes
Raised rashes
Chest pains and coughing
Stomach pain
Severe weight loss
Bleeding, usually from the eyes or other orifices (ears, nose and rectum)

Seek medical help immediately if you show ANY symptoms

You may see that a pandemic is approaching but not realize it has arrived until it is too late. Because of this, it is vitally important to seek professional medical help as soon as possible if you or a family member begins showing any symptoms of illness.

Get vaccinated if possible

If a vaccine has been developed for an illness that is spreading rapidly it is wise to take it as soon as possible. Not every illness mentioned above has a vaccine unfortunately and it will not help against illnesses transmitted by bacteria. But, if a vaccine is available this is really the only way to ensure that you are safe against infection.

Start planning for disruptions

If a pandemic becomes widespread there will be disruptions in everyday life. Some of these may be imposed to prevent transmission of the pandemic and some may be by choice to reduce your own risk. Some things to consider when planning include:

Schools may be suspended – plan childcare if you are going to still be required to go to work
Transportation may be disrupted – you may need to find alternate ways to get to your workplace. Avoiding public transportation is a good idea anyways during a pandemic, plan accordingly.
Discuss plans with work – talk to your boss about working arrangements during a pandemic. They may be planning to close the office or have employees work from home. You may need to work from home yourself to take care of a sick family member. Discuss these possibilities so you know what your options are.
Stock up on food and water – Having what you need at home means fewer trips to the store and less chance of exposure. Stock up on non-perishable items and clean water before panic hits and the shelves are empty.

What to do during a pandemic

The steps to take during a pandemic survival situation are primarily focused on avoiding exposure and keeping safe until it passes. With careful planning, good hygiene discipline, and a bit of luck we can maximize our chances of passing through a pandemic unharmed.

Avoid crowds at all costs

The more people you come into contact with, the higher your chances of exposure. During a pandemic crowds should be avoided at all costs. This includes avoiding:

Areas where people congregate
Public transportation – if you HAVE to use it avoid rush hour
Sporting events
Concerts
Stores
Schools

If you do need to go out try to stay at least 1 meter away from other people.

Wash your hands

Again, washing your hands is the easiest way to avoid getting sick. Wash your hands whenever you arrive at a destination, after you encounter a crowd, and especially if you come into contact with a person whom you suspect to be sick.

Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

If you do have to pass through an area where there is a crowd or it is likely that there have been sick people around, you may want to wear PPE to minimize the chances of transmission. This is also important if you are called upon to care for a sick family member. What you wear will depend on the nature of the pandemic as well as how you come into contact with these elements. We will cover PPE in detail below but for now, keep in mind that it is an option.

Have Your Stay At Home Plan Ready

Depending on the nature of the pandemic, it may be best to stay at home with your family instead of bugging out. Make sure you have a plan in place to accommodate this that includes food, water, and communicating with friends, family, and neighbors in the outside world.

If you are a single parent, coordinate with a caretaker to look after your children if their daycare center is closed
Make arrangements to work from home if possible
If you live alone or are caring for an elderly or disabled person make arrangements with another caregiver in the event that you yourself get ill
Make sure the phone numbers for your doctor, local hospital, neighbors, and family are posted prominently in the home
Avoid face to face meetings if possible, rely on phone and email to communicate
Postpone non-critical travel and gatherings

What to do after a pandemic

If you are fortunate enough to survive a pandemic you will be left with putting the pieces of the community and your own life back together. There may still be pockets of infection present, here is how we can avoid getting sick from them:

Avoid hospitals and medical equipment where pandemic victims have been treated
Do not touch the clothes, belongings, or bodies of those who were infected, wear your PPE if this is absolutely necessary
Contact local authorities to have the deceased disposed of properly
Remain vigilant when coming into contact with others, keep an eye out for lingering symptoms of the pandemic
Avoid coming in contact with objects or surfaces that may be contaminated when visiting a relative who may be recovering
Get vaccinated if a vaccine has been developed

pandemic survival

How Personal Protective Equipment Can Protect You

One of the best ways we can reduce our chances of becoming infected by a pandemic is to wear Personal Protective Equipment or PPE whenever we need to come in contact with those who are infected. This PPE is similar to what we imagine a doctor wearing in a hospital and is designed to protect the most common entry points of bacteria or a virus into the body as well as minimize our chances of infecting others. If you are prepping for an ebola outbreak or any other pandemic, the PPE that I am going to discuss here is designed to protect your:

Hands
Eyes
Nose
Mouth
Exposed skin
Clothes

PPE For Your Hands

Dynarex Black Nitrile Exam Gloves	Kimberly-Clark Nitrile Powder Free Exam Gloves	Dynarex Synthetic Vinyl Powder Free Glove

Gloves are the most commonly used PPE to protect your hands from contacting an infected person or surface. These are a highly effective barrier against infection and should be worn whenever you are in an area where sick people have been as well as if you are caring for an infected person.

Gloves are typically made from vinyl, latex, or nitrile
They come in sterile and non-sterile (but still clean) varieties
If you working in an area with rough surfaces consider wearing two pairs of gloves, remove and replace both layers if one suffers a tear or becomes heavily contaminated
Even if you are wearing gloves be conscious of what you are touching. If you inadvertently scratch an itch or rub an eye with an infected glove this has a very high chance of transmitting the illness to you.
Also avoid touching things like doors and light switches with contaminated gloves to avoid cross contamination
Make sure your gloves fit snugly and allow you to use your hands as needed

PPE For Your Eyes

Uvex Stealth OTG Safety Goggles	Pyramex Safety Goggles Chemical Splash Anti-Fog Lens	3M TEKK Protection Splash/Impact Goggle

PPE designed to protect your eyes will consist of goggles that should fit snugly around your eyes. This will prevent mucus, blood, and saliva from a cough, sneeze, or other ejection from entering your body through your eyes.

If you are going to be wearing goggles for an extended period consider applying anti-fog solution before putting them on
Personal eyeglasses are better than nothing but do not provide the same level of protection as a set of goggles
If you touch a contaminated surface with your hands or gloves be very careful not to rub your eyes or touch the inside of your goggles

PPE For Your Nose & Mouth

3M Full Facepiece Reusable Respirator	3M Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask	MSA Safety Works Multi-Purpose Respirator

There are two types of PPE for your nose and mouth. The more common one is a surgical mask. This is a semi-spherical shaped mask that is fastened around the back of your head by either tying it in place or with elastic straps. The mask should also pinch snugly around the bridge of your nose for a good fit.

Masks are generally rated based on how small a particle they will prevent from passing through, N95 is the most commonly used rating.
Note that a surgical mask WILL NOT filter the air. It is designed to stop fluids from splattering at your nose and mouth and to keep your own sneezes and coughs contained.
If you are worried about airborne pathogens you will need a respirator to keep you safe. This also fits snugly on the nose and mouth but actively filters the air you breathe. Respirators are generally more expensive than surgical masks but provide this extra level of protection.
Again, if you touch a contaminated surface with your hands be sure not to touch your face or the inside of your mask or respirator when adjusting or removing it

PPE For Exposed Skin & Clothing

Medline Basic isolation gown	Medline Industries Closed Back Coated Polypropylene Isolation Gowns	DuPont Disposable Elastic Wrist, Bootie & Hood White Tyvek Coverall Suit

If you are going to be traveling through a crowd or have frequent exposure to people infected with the pandemic you will want to protect any exposed skin and prevent your clothes from becoming contaminated.

Wearing a gown or apron is the appropriate PPE for this purpose. These typically are worn by doctors performing surgery or in other environments where blood, saliva, or mucus spray is likely.

Gowns cover arms and torso and fasten in the back with ties.
Not all gown materials are fluid resistance. If you expect heavy soiling make sure you have a gown that is fluid resistant or fluid proof.
Gowns should be donned before gloves and the wrist of the glove should overlap the gown sleeve

pandemic survival

Personal Protective Equipment Tips

Make sure your PPE fits snugly. It will not serve you well if it gets caught and tears as you move or inhibits your intended actions.
Have extra PPE on hand so you can replace damaged or contaminated items
Consider the type of exposure that you are most likely to face. Are you likely to face spraying body fluids, airborne contaminants or large numbers of infected people? Are you just trying to keep yourself safe during your commute? Will you be caring for a sick relative? Be sure to choose gear that is appropriate to your needs.
Make sure you put your PPE on before you are exposed to infected people, even before you leave your home if possible.
When done, remove PPE carefully to prevent cross-contamination. Do not touch the insides of masks, goggles, or gowns with contaminated gloves.
A full set of PPE is generally put on in a specific sequence to maximize protection:

Put the gown on first
Mask or respirator goes on second
Goggles go on next
Gloves go on last
Make sure everything is adjusted and snug fitting before you touch any contaminated surfaces to avoid having to make adjustments with contaminated gloves

After removing PPE be sure to wash your hands before doing anything else

Prepping For The Next Pandemic

Partnering these tips with properly used PPE should give you the best chance possible of making it through a pandemic unscathed, whether you are prepping for coronavirus or the next pandemic. Remember to use caution and common sense when considering traveling, congregating, or otherwise interacting with others and be sure to practice good hygiene to prevent a pandemic from spreading.

Please also note that I am not a doctor and this article is absolutely no substitute for sound medical advice. The majority of the information found here is publicly available from the CDC, Wikipedia, and other online sources. If you or someone you know is showing any symptoms of infection seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Your Thoughts?

Do you have advice for protecting your family during a pandemic survival scenario? Do you have PPE that you would recommend? Let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!

Primitive Fire Making – 6 Ways To Make Fire Without Matches

12 Comments

In a survival situation being able to start a fire can mean the difference between life and death.

Hopefully your bug out bag or survival kit has the fire starting tools that will help you start a fire quickly and reliably. But what if this gets wet, lost, or used up? Then you will need some primitive fire skills to build your fire. Primitive fire making is a bushcraft discipline that uses simple tools and natural materials to create fire.

By being able to make fires quickly and effectively in any weather conditions, you will be better prepared for emergency situations. In this article I am going to show you how to start a fire using primitive skills as well as compare and contrast the various methods to help you decide which one is best for you to learn first.

Primitive Fire Making Techniques

Flint and Steel

This is the easiest of all bushcraft fire starting methods. All that is required is a flint and a piece of carbon steel (such as your survival knife). Flint and carbon steel should be a part of every wilderness survival kit as it will allow for easy primitive fire starting in virtually any conditions:

The friction formed by striking the steel against the flint will form sparks.
You want to strike the steel against the flint with a loose wrist. It may take a bit of practice to get the technique down.
Have tinder ready to ignite as the sparks start to fly from the flint.
Gently blow on the sparks that land in the tinder or char cloth until it ignites.
Make sure you have your kindling nearby and ready to add to the tinder once it catches.

This method of bushcraft fire starting is relatively easy to execute. It requires the least amount of physical strength and energy to perform and can be done with only two items. We recommend the SurvivalSPARK Emergency Magnesium Fire Starter as a trusty flint and steel tool. However, if find yourself in a situation without carbon steel or a flint available, which is why it’s important to know as many primitive fire making techniques as possible. This will better perfect your wilderness survival skills, preparing you for all situations. Here is a video that shows you how to find flint in the wilderness:

Fire Plough

This is the simplest form of primitive fire making using only natural materials. It is essentially an optimized way to “rub two sticks together” with the base board being one and the plow stick being the other.

Start by procuring a flat piece of hardwood at least a couple of inches thick to use as your baseboard.

On the flat side, cut a straight line down the center using your survival knife.
Hollow out this line to create a shallow, thin groove, about ¼-inch wide.
Find a softwood stick, at least 1-inch thick. Use your bushcraft knife to carve the end of the stick to a rounded point, with the tip being small enough to fit into the groove on your board.
To cause enough friction to generate sufficient heat to ignite a fire, we will now rub the two crafted parts together.
Applying continuous force, rub the stick through the groove in the wood, starting at one end and going toward the other.
This will require a bit of strength in order to create the friction necessary to form a spark.
As the stick rubs against the baseboard, wood will slowly shave off.
The friction you are causing will create heat and tiny embers, which will ignite the wood shavings.
Have your kindling ready and, as before, gently blow on the sparks within the tinder to ignite a flame.

The fire plough method of primitive fire making is simplistic in design, allowing it the versatility to be applied in virtually any location. It’s an ideal wilderness survival tactic due to sheer simplicity.

Nonetheless, it does require quite a bit of physical force and energy to create the spark, someone who is weakened by starvation or exposure may have difficulty getting the fire plough to work. As with all primitive fire starting methods it is essential to practice in order to perfect the technique. Here is a video demonstrating the fire plough method:

Hand Drill

A hand drill is a bushcraft technique that is simpler to build than the bow drill, but it will require greater energy, patience, and skill to implement. All that is required is a drill and a fireboard. The stick being used for the drill is spun between two hands (instead of using a bow to spin the drill) to generate enough friction to create embers.

In the same way as the bow drill’s drill was constructed, find a softwood stick and carve one side to a rounded point.
Cut a small hole in the softwood fireboard, about an inch from the edge of the board.
Cut a v-shaped notch connecting the hole and the edge of the board, with the point of the v connecting with the hole.
Fill the v-shaped notch with tinder. Position the point of the drill into the hole on the fireboard.
Place both palms flat on either side of the drill. Press your hands in firmly, and rub them back and forth. Apply downward pressure as you spin the drill for added friction.
Continue to spin the drill in the fireboard until smoke and embers form.
As with the bow drill once the embers start to make the tinder smolder gently blow to develop a flame.

This method is easy to construct in a pinch, making it a valuable bushcraft skill. Be sure to practice often because it can be difficult to implement. Persistence and endurance are required to make it work. Here is a video showing the hand drill fire starting method:

Bow Drill

This method is more complicated to build than either of the previously mentioned methods. However once a bow drill is built it requires less exertion to create a usable ember. Lets take a look at how to build a bow drill fire starter:

Start by finding a piece of hardwood, rock, or bone that contains a divot or shallow depression. This will serve as the socket that the drill rests in.
Next, find straight stick that will serve as your drill. The drill will need to be a piece of hardwood about ¾-inch thick. One end should be blunt and the other end will be chiseled to a rounded point.
Make a flat piece of softwood, at least 1-inch thick, to use as a fireboard. Cut a tiny hole into the board, about one inch from the side, barely big enough for the tip of the drill to rest in.
Cut a triangular notch connecting the hole to the side of the board, with the point of the triangle connecting to the hole in the board.
Find a bendable, green stick to craft into a bow.
Tightly tie a piece of sinew or paracord to the bent ends of the bow.
Place your tinder into the triangular notch in the fireboard in step 4. This is where the sparks will form.
Place your foot firmly on the fireboard to hold it in place. Loop the bowstring around the drill and place the point of the drill into the hole in the fireboard. Grab your socket from step 1, and place the depression in the socket on top of the drill to hold it firmly in place.
Pull the bow back and forth rapidly. As you do so, this will drive the drill into the wood, creating friction.
As the embers begin dropping into your tinder nest, gently blow until it ignites.

Although a bow drill is more difficult to build than a fire plough it should create fire faster and with less effort. If you are able to make your tools you can use them multiple times, making your investment pay off again and again. Here is a video demonstrating the bow drill technique:

Pump Fire Drill

The pump fire drill is the most difficult to construct of all the primitive fire starting tools. This is due to its more mechanically complicated nature. This is compensated however by requiring nearly no effort to generate embers and a fire once the pump fire drill is constructed. Lets take a look at how to build one:

Find a round piece of hardwood and cut a small hole in the center. Using sinew, cordage, or paracord attach a sharp rock or arrow to the end of a hardwood stick.
Drill a hole through a rock at the same width of the stick, and push the stick through the hole, with the arrow resting about one to two inches below the rock. The rock should fit snugly, without moving.
Find a slightly curved piece of hardwood and drill a hole through the center, the same width as the stick.
Insert the curved piece of wood onto the stick, an inch above the rock, so the bow in the wood is facing upward. It should fit loosely so the device will easily rotate inside of it.
Etch two notches on the ends of each side of the bowed wood so that a string can be tied around easily. Tie a piece of sinew, cordage, or paracord to connect the edge of each side of the bowed wood to the tip of the stick, in the direction away from the arrow.
Grab the bow wood as a handle. Press the arrow to the hole in the firewood and spin the device to wind it up.
Allow the device to unwind itself. As the arrow is driven into the fireboard, embers will form.

This bushcraft fire starting technique requires almost no effort to create a fire and is great for people of smaller stature and strength. However, the pump fire drill itself will take some time to build so it should be practiced or built ahead of time and then brought out when needed. Here is a video showing the pump fire drill technique:

Fire Piston

The fire piston is a primitive fire starting technique that is a bit more complicated to make, requiring the use of hardware to build. The fire piston uses the pressure created by quickly ramming the piston down a chamber to generate enough heat and pressure to ignite a piece of charcloth or other tinder.

You will need a piece of copper or strong plastic pipe about 10 centimeters long. Sand the ends so they are smooth.
Plug one end using a brass end cap, piece of metal, or wood. Glue the cap on so it fits snug.
Take a 10-millimeter thick wooden piston and cut it so that it is a couple of centimeters longer than the tube.
Insert the piston into a power drill. Run a file on the end of the piston, a couple of millimeters from the end and run the drill until the file carves a smooth indented line around the piston.
Insert a 10-millimeter rubber ring around the ring in the piston. Drill a 5-millimeter hole into the end of the piston on the side with the rubber ring.
Apply a thin layer of glue to the end of the piston to clog the pores of the wood. Drill a 10-millimeter hole into a cylindrical wooden knob and glue the bare end of the piston into the knob.
Fill the hole at the end of the piston with charcloth.
Lubricate the rubber ring and insert the piston into the copper tube. Forcefully push the piston into the tube quickly, pulling it back out immediately.
Do this repeatedly until the charcloth ignites, then transfer the ignited charcloth to your tinder.

While the fire piston method does require some effort to build, creating a fire with it is incredibly easy. Although it can’t be built out in the woods with simple tools it is still useful to learn. Once a fire piston is built it’s a light weight and compact addition to any fire starting kit.

Bonus Method: Fire Starting Tools You Can Depend On

While primitive fire starting is a huge asset in your survival skill set, being prepared with the right tools can make your life a lot easier.

I recommend the SurvivalSPARK Emergency Magnesium Fire Starter as mentioned above. It is a fire starting tool that you can count on getting a fire started quickly in an emergency situation.

The other interesting survival fire starter worth checking out is the Everstryke Pro Waterproof Emergency Lighter which integrates a wick and striker wheel in a small waterproof housing.

What is the Best Primitive Fire Making Method?

In an ideal world we could just go out and master all of these 6 techniques and be ready to build a fire no matter the circumstances. However not everybody has time to master all these survival skills. What I suggest is picking one, or 2 at most and practicing it until you can create a fire using it in your sleep. Picking which method to learn comes down to several factors including:

What resources are available
How much time you have
How much energy you want to expend

Feel free to try out all 6 methods to find which is the best for you. Once you have that figured out practice, practice, practice. The time invested improving your primitive fire starting skills will pay huge dividends if you ever need to start a fire without matches. Always remember, Chance Favors The Well Prepared.

Your Thoughts?

Do you have a favorite primitive fire making method? Have any tips for starting a fire without matches? Let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!

How To Build An Upside Down Fire

15 Comments

upside down fire

This past weekend The Bug Out Bag Guide Family hosted a barbecue for some close friends. One of the highlights of this was testing out an alternative fire building method in our back patio firepit. Instead of building a standard teepee or log cabin we decided to try building what is called an “upside down fire”. We got some great, hassle-free results from this that we wanted to share with you. As I always say, it is always good to add new techniques to your survival skills. At the end of this article you will know how to build an upside down fire on your own!

Why build an upside down fire?

Over many years of camping I have built hundreds of fires. These were mostly of the teepee and log cabin variety, with some lean-to fires mixed in as the situation required. These fire building methods have served me well and I have enjoyed many a meal and evening sitting around their warm glow.

I was excited to learn about a new method of fire building and try it out for myself. What I learned from my test run, is that there are several advantages that an upside down fire brings to the table.

An upside down fire is self feeding

An upside down fire is built in a layered fashion starting with tinder at the top and increasing in size all the way to large logs at its base. One of the biggest advantages of using this fire building method is that as a layer burns it progressively ignites the larger layer below it. The tinder lights the kindling, which ignites the fuel wood, which in turn lights the logs. In other words, once an upside down fire is lit it will burn by itself for hours. There is no need to baby sit it and keep adding wood over time! You can light your upside down fire and then focus on other tasks like setting up camp, preparing food, or just relaxing with your fellow campers.

While traditional fires (teepee and log cabin) do progressively ignite successive layers (if properly built!) they tend to do this over a shorter period of time and require that a fire tender monitors the burn rate and add more fuel and eventually place logs onto the fire. The genius of an upside down fire is that it frees you from this chore!

Being self feeding makes an upside down fire an excellent choice if you want to keep a heat source burning through a long, cold night. As it is self feeding you will be able to build it before bed, light it, and then keep warm without having to climb out of your sleeping bag or shelter.

An upsidedown fire generates lots of coals

As an upside down fire burns it creates a large supply of coals from the logs integrated into the base of the design. These logs are lit as the flame consumes the fuel wood and transfers heat down to this base layer. These coals are excellent for most cooking purposes. With a good bed of coal you can:

cook foil packets
heat up a dutch oven
barbecue meat, fish, or vegetables
and much, much more…

With a traditional fire you would need to set up your teepee or log cabin and as they got burning need to continually feed it larger and larger logs to get a nice bed of coals going. The upside down fire does this automatically with the same amount of wood but far less active management. Set it up, go get your food ready and then come back to a nice bed of cooking coals!

Where can I use an upside down fire?

An upside down fire can be used pretty much anywhere you would build a traditional fire. It can be a great option for many applications:

Survival cooking
Camping
Bonfire
Barbecue
Wood Stove
In home fireplace
Rubbish disposal

Can I build an upside down fire in a fireplace?

Yes! People often build them in fireplaces or woodstoves for the same reasons why they are used outdoors. Wood stove enthusiasts actually favor the upside down fire building method as it tends to heat up the chimney pipe faster than a traditional fire and by doing so increases the stove’s efficiency.

How to make an upside down fire

Here is a step by step guide for building your own upside down fire. Follow the written instructions and refer to the pictures if you run into any trouble.

Step 1: Clear your fire pit

You are going to lay your base layer of logs down in the next step so you will want your pit clear of debris and as level as possible so the fire you build will not topple over as you build it up.

How to build an upside down fire — Clear your fire pit out

Step 2: Lay down the base logs

You are going to build your base layer first. This means use the largest logs you intend to burn and lay them down parallel to each other. Have the logs all touching each other so there are no gaps between them and it is best if the tops of them are relatively level with each other so you will have a nice sturdy base to build the rest of your fire upon.

Step 3: Thicker Fuel Layer

You are going to use large fuel wood for this layer, larger than your thumb. Remember, this layer has to be large enough to generate enough coals and heat to ignite the logs below it. Lay this wood in the opposite direction to the logs below it and allow space between each piece for air to flow. Feel free to build 1-3 layers of this sized wood if you have enough and if you have organized your wood build each layer upwards out of slightly smaller thickness pieces. Each layer should be laid down crosswise (perpendicular) on top of the layer below, similar to the method used when building a log cabin.

Step 4: Smaller Fuel Layer

You are going to repeat the process used in step 3 here but using smaller fuel wood, preferably smaller than your thumb in thickness. Once again build 1-3 layers of small fuel wood up with each being perpendicular to the last layer and slightly smaller thickness. You should have a small tower of wood now with the thickness of pieces used getting gradually smaller as you get nearer to the top.

Step 5: Kindling

Now you are going to start adding on the smaller wood that you have, kindling that is thinner than your pinky. Add 3-5 layers of this if you have enough to do so. By the time you get to the top layer the wood should be of the smallest thickness you have, no bigger than a twig. Stick to the same method of laying each layer down crosswise across the layer below it to allow proper air flow.

Step 6: Tinder

Choosing and adding your tinder is a crucial last step. You need something that is small enough to be ignited with your match, lighter, or firestarter but that will burn long and hot enough to get your kindling to start burning. Place this tinder on top of your kindling. Here are some suggestions for kindling that have worked well for me in the past:

Dryer lint
Birch bark
Paper
Cardboard
Commercially available firestarters
Cotton balls soaked in vaseline
Bird’s nests
Dry Grass
Coconut husks
Pine needles
Punk wood
Cattail fluff

Step 7: Light And Enjoy!

Shelter your match and tinder from any wind (If you are lighting your fire with an EverStryke Match, you don’t need to worry about this) and get that fire started. Depending on what tinder you chose you may need to blow gently to get the tinder going. As the fire burns each layer that you built should ignite the next one down all the way to your base layer of logs. In my testing an upside down fire built as I have described should burn for well over an hour and result in a large layer of coals all ready to cook your meal. Enjoy!

Your Turn!

So, now you know how you build your own upside down fire. I encourage you to give it a try next time you are camping or setting up a backyard bonfire. It is a great tool to add to any fire building arsenal and I think you will be impressed with the results.

Your Thoughts?

Have you built an upside down fire before? Did you give our step-by-step instructions a try? Please let us know in the Comments Section below what you thought about this fire building method or if you have any tips or tricks to getting it to work better! Thanks!

My First Bug Out Plan Wasn’t Very Good (And How To Make Yours Better!)

My First Bug Out Plan: Get Out Of Dodge

I recently shared with you some of the preparedness lessons that I learned during my time living in New York City (article here). These lessons were as diverse as the events that inspired them and I truly hope that you were able to apply some of the tips I provided to improve your own preparedness.

At the time, there were 5 of us, My Aunt B (mentioned in the previous article as surviving the 9/11 attacks), 2 cousins, my future wife, and myself who worked or lived in NYC. We were spread all over the city, downtown, midtown, and uptown. We were fortunate that one of us drove in daily and we agreed that her location was the best meeting point. Her office at Columbia University was set as the rally point and we agreed to a simple strategy that she would drive us out to our destination of Aunt B’s house. It was a simple bug out plan, the first that I had been exposed to. Let’s take a closer look to see good and bad points:

Positives

We took action to make a plan

The fact that we made a plan in the first place is a huge positive. We had been caught with our pants down in earlier cases, having to scramble and figure things out individually. Making a plan is the first step towards improving your odds for survival. If you haven’t read our article on this, take a moment to understand what you can do for yourself here.

We made a specific rally point

My cousin worked at Columbia University, an institution that takes up several city blocks and has many buildings within. If we had just agreed to meet at the university it could have led to confusion and wasting time to find each other. Making a highly specific rally point, such as her office in building “X” will save time and reduce potential confusion.

Mode of transportation

Although public transport such as the commuter trains would probably be faster, these have been stopped on more than one occasion due to manmade events, blackouts, hurricanes, and freezing temperatures. Relying on this could have left us stranded. So, we chose the most flexible option as our primary go-to. With a car we would have had to deal with traffic but would still be together and mobile and could always get out and walk. It is best to choose the most flexible mode of transportation as your primary option.

Destination

We knew where we were going to head to once on the move. This gave us a goal to keep morale up and also allowed us to tell other family members where they could find us.

Room For Improvement

We never tested or practiced the plan

Once we agreed to the plan we left it at that, never doing a test run. If we had to initiate it things may have gone smoothly, thankfully we never had to find out. However had we carried out a test run we could have found out points of failure and made improvements.

No secondary communication method

If we needed to initiate the plan while we were all in our offices we could call each other on our respective landline phones. However, if we were in meetings or out to lunch it would be necessary to rely on cell phones. Anyone who has been in a disaster situation (or even in a huge crowd) can tell you that cell reception can quickly become spotty. Having a secondary communication method can be a life saving addition to a bug out plan. This could mean walkie-talkies or having a designated spot where you can leave each other messages or notes.

No backup rally point

While we did a great job of picking a specific rally point, we stopped there. If for some reason that became inaccessible we would have been lost. It is best practice to designate at least one secondary rally point away from the primary one. You never know where it will be safe to meet. Separate your rally points to ensure your bug out team can get to an alternate if the primary is not available.

No designated secondary destination

Although we were fortunate enough to have multiple extended family member’s homes in the metro NY area to go to if there was a problem reaching our primary destination (Aunt B’s house), we never designated a secondary (or tertiary) location specifically. This once again could have led to confusion when our other family members were trying to find us.

Stash bug out bags at rally point or workplaces

While I did have a rudimentary BOB at home at this point if a disaster occurred during working hours we all would have been left to survive with just what we had with us. Storing a get home bag or even BOB at my workplace or at our primary rally point would have made me much better prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

The Aftermath

So, where did I go from here? Luckily we never needed to execute the plan and I have since moved far from New York City. I have however continued to grow my preparedness knowledge and planning skills. As I mentioned at the top of the article I have written an in depth article and created a free template for anyone (including YOU!) to download and fill out to build a Bug Out Plan for their own family, check it out here. Good luck with your preparedness planning and always remember, chance favors the well prepared.

Your Thoughts?

What did you think of my first bug out plan? Do you see any other areas I could have improved? What do you include in your own bug out plan? Let us know in the Comments Section below, thanks!

10 Preparedness Tips From Living In NYC

10 Comments

There are many places we can look to learn the skills and knowledge we need to help ourselves and our loved ones survive. Often times one of the best teachers is the world around us. I experienced this over the 7 years that I lived in New York City. Living there provided many practical and at times terrifying lessons in urban survival and disaster planning that I hold on to today. This was caused by the pervasive impact of the 2001 attacks as well as multiple events that occurred while I was living there afterwards. In this article I am going to share with you some of the life changing events that I experienced and show how to apply the lessons learned to your own preparedness journey.

In the beginning…

Growing up in the suburbs, New York City (or simply “The City” as we called it) was an entrancing place that children were taken to on field trips and whispered about by older siblings who managed to sneak down for a concert or night out. It held great mystery and allure, there always seemed to be so much going on there. It was common that a fair percentage of kids from my home town would end up there after (or instead of) college to pursue opportunities and adventure. I myself took this path at the ripe age of 22, moving with a girlfriend (now wife) into a shoebox of an apartment as we both landed jobs in the financial sector. I lived there for 7 years, from 2003-2010 and although I have since moved on a large part of me remains there and I loved the overwhelming majority of the experience.

The day of days

Anyone who is old enough to read these words will remember where they were on September 11, 2001. I was as far away from the epicenter as I could have been, just 3 days into a 3 month exchange program in Australia. I remember walking into the lounge room after a night out and seeing everyone glued to the TV. It was early in the event and the newscasters were still calling it an accidental plane crash. Then the other plane hit. It flashed in my mind that I had an Aunt working in the WTC. The distance from home could not have seemed greater as I ran to the phone and frantically dialed home. My mother was in a panic and had not heard from her sister. We spoke briefly as to not tie up the phone line. We reassured each other that we were both OK and she promised to call as soon as she heard more news. Hours later I got a phone call that my Aunt B had safely been evacuated from Tower 7, which later collapsed. One small bright spot in an unspeakable day. Growing up in the area I know many families that were not so fortunate.

prepping tips — The sunset from my NYC apartment

Lessons From Modern Day NYC

It has been over a decade since that terrible day and New Yorkers have done what they can to grow past the events of 2001. Not moved on, but perhaps grown scar tissue over the wound. People go about their lives without living in fear and accept changes such as seeing more police and national guardsman in public locations. Perhaps more subtle are the new physical changes that have cropped up. For an example, we can look at the iconic skyscrapers that give New York City its distinctive skyline. Most skyscraper office buildings have a large glass atrium on the ground floor. This will nowadays be invariably surrounded by a picket line of heavy concrete barriers to prevent a truck ramming in with bad news in the payload. Great pains have been taken to disguise measures such as this by planting trees or flowers in the barricades and most people would walk by them without even noticing. This is the epitome of modern day NYC. Be safe but keep living your life.

Lessons Learned:

Learn from and grow from any negative experience after grieving is over
When possible make your preparing a part of every day life to make it less overbearing
Live your life to the fullest

A Deadly False Alarm

At one point during my tenure in NYC I was working in midtown Manhattan right around the corner from Grand Central Terminal. This train station is one of the busiest commuter and subway stations in the world and its beautiful architecture and design make it a popular tourist destination (Personal note: if you ever visit NYC, stop by Grand Central. It is one of my favorite places there). All these things also made it a widely acknowledged soft target for terrorism.

One warm summer evening in July 2007 I was leaving work and in the elevator with several colleagues. We experienced a shudder and a brief power outage. When the lights came back on seconds later the elevator had stopped. To break the tension, I made a remark “Well, I have lived a good life”. Nervous laughter escaped and the elevator started moving again, taking us to the ground floor.

What we were met with was chaos. We could see people out in the street literally screaming and running northwards past the front of the building. I have burned into my memory a woman in a business suit and high heels running past me with tears streaming down her face saying over and over, “Not again. Not again.”

We had no idea what was going in. We looked out the front door to see what they were running from and saw a large black cloud erupting front the middle of the street about 2 blocks away. We joined the crowd moving northwards, calling our loved ones around Manhattan telling them we had just seen an explosion and they needed to move NOW. This actually took convincing as more than one person said, “No one here is freaking out and we haven’t heard anything about it on the news”.

When I eventually arrived home I flipped on the TV and began to pack supplies. After a few minutes I learned that the explosion had been caused by an underground steam pipe from 1924 that had burst. Although it had not been ruled out, terrorism was seen as unlikely. It ended up a couple people did die and many were injured regardless of the cause (see here for more info on the event).

That was it, a steam pipe bursting and it had sent everyone in the area into a panicked frenzy. Part of this was lack of information and the location (right next to Grand Central). But the other part was the scars of 9/11 that people still bore.

Lessons Learned:

Although it was a steam explosion, the next time it may be an intentional event. I did the right thing by trusting my instincts to move away immediately.
Reaching loved ones was difficult as the cell phone services were immediately jammed with EVERYONE trying to do the same thing – Have alternate means of communication.
Once they were reached they required a conversation to get them going – Have a code word to cut through this. Discuss this with whoever you need to and gain an understanding of when I call/email/text XXX it means GO!
When I got home I wasted time packing a bug out bag – Have one ready at all times. Or, if I had a get home bag ready at my office I could have gone back up and grabbed that.

A Threat From Afar

One beautiful August Sunday afternoon in 2004 I was barbecuing at a friend’s place, relaxing and generally having a great day. We were watching the game and it was interrupted by a news flash.

It was reported that a laptop had been found in Pakistan that included detailed plans to attack several financial institutions in our fair city. One of the buildings specifically listed was the Citigroup Center. I had been working for Citigroup for a couple of years at this point and frequently worked out of this exact building.

I was frozen in my tracks. Why would someone that I had never met want to kill me because I worked in a particular building? To this day it makes no sense to me.

The response from the national, state, and local government was overwhelming. Laura Bush actually came to the Citigroup Center to have lunch to show support.

I showed up to my office building on Monday not knowing what to expect. I knew some people were planning on not showing up to the office until more information came out. When I arrived what I was met with was, as I said, overwhelming:

A line of police cruisers literally around the block
Armed National Guardsmen on the corners
Bomb sniffing dogs circling the building
Newly installed airport style metal detectors and x-ray machines that had to be passed through to get in the front door

The show of force helped inspire confidence in my fellow employees. People could come to work knowing that others were working around the clock to keep them as safe a possible. I never really got used to having to get my bag x-rayed and emptying my pockets before getting to my desk but it did help others reduce the spectre of violence from their everyday lives. Once this was overcome people were compelled to outwardly show resolve and return normalcy to their everyday lives.

Lessons Learned

Violence really can come from any place any where. There is not much to do about this really other than prepare as best you can, keep your eyes peeled and most importantly keep on living your life.
The people that would carry out these terrible acts against us cannot be reasoned with. Or, if they can, their frame of reference is so alien to my own that constructive dialogue is impossible.
We cannot live in fear. Do everything you can to return a sense of normalcy to yourself and those around you. Lead by example if you can. Love or hate the Bush Presidency, I respect Laura’s attempt to show strength through her own example.

How Did I Take Action?

These events were a big a wake up call to me and my family members who either lived or worked in NYC. We ended up putting together my first rudimentary bug out plan to be ready for whatever may come next. To be honest, it wasn’t a very good plan but basic enough to work. Thankfully we never needed it. I will be going over this first bug out plan in another article in the near future, so keep an eye out for it for it! I will highlight good points and areas for improvement in this original plan as well as show you how you can use my mistakes improve your own plan.

urban survival — A beautiful Autumn day in Central Park, life carries on

What to take away from it all?

There are some serious points and dark times discussed here. However, I think it is important to say that in the 7 years that I lived in NYC, these never overwhelmed the amazing experiences and fantastic people that I met along the way.

This is what I think should be the big takeaway. Although we are all a little more wary than we used to be and some things have changed we can NEVER allow this to run our lives.

By all means prepare yourself as best as possible and learn what skills you can to help you survive and protect your loved ones. As I continue my own life’s journey I will certainly continue to do so. But, I will also live, love, and learn a far greater amount of the time. No matter what happens I will focus on the positives in my life such as my family and the friends I have made and adventures we have had rather than the dark moments.

Your Thoughts?

Have you had an experience that has taught you an important preparedness lesson? Please share it with us in the Comments Section below, thanks!