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07 Dec 02 - 04:08 AM (#842897) Subject: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,Jenny O What are the 5 most important things you would take with you if you had only a little time to evecuate from your house because a bushfire was approaching? Mine are: * My cat 'Onyx' * My photo albums * My PC (just the box unless I had more time...) * My important papers * Musical instruments - fiddle, mandolin, drums... Anyone else?? |
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07 Dec 02 - 04:21 AM (#842900) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: mg about the same but I would take my portable dishwasher..just shove it out the door if I had time. It is my pride and joy. mg |
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07 Dec 02 - 05:56 AM (#842921) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: BlueJay A little planning is definitely in order. With the wildfires which Colorado Dickhead Governer Owens proclaimed: "All of Colorado is Burning", innumerable Coloradans have been forced to make such choices. Our own Lonesome EJ was threatened by fire a couple of years ago. Fortunately, his home was spared, but you can bet your ass he was busy prioritizing. I know some folks who did have to evacuate. When the Sherrif comes and tells you you have a half-hour to evacuate, it's decision time. My friends had to decide what, from their home and lives, would fit in the back of a pickup truck in the next few minutes. My friends were evacuated for two weeks. Their house was eventually saved, and they moved back, but the number one thing they didn't take was enough warm clothing, even in the summer. Survival is priority. Warm clothing for the family is more important than old photos or Collings guitars. |
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07 Dec 02 - 08:06 AM (#842960) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Midchuck Warm clothing for the family is more important than old photos or Collings guitars. Yes, it is, but if you've got insurance, and a credit card to use until the insurance payment comes through, you've got warm clothing for the family. So you grab what can't be replaced with money. In my case, 3 cats and 2 Collings. Good thing you specified 5! Peter. |
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07 Dec 02 - 08:41 AM (#842972) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Bobert My Martin guitar My Fender Guitar MY Gibson Giutar My Regal Resonator My Amp Then, if the house ain't all burned down, the wife and pets... Awww, jus funnin'... Bobert |
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07 Dec 02 - 01:46 PM (#843113) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: open mike i have heard it said that you shoud keep negatives from your photographs in a safe deposit box-they can be reprinted then... yes, thngs that cannot be replaced should take priority and i image for most of us that might be music-related and family members and pets and photos guess i'd have to leave the piano behind :+( and computer and cd's. I hope i never have to make this choice!! I am a fire fighter and if there is a fire i would probably not be home to do this-I would be out on the fire line. |
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07 Dec 02 - 01:56 PM (#843121) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: open mike what i mean is i would try to rescue the computer and the c.d.'s |
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07 Dec 02 - 02:13 PM (#843132) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST Why wouldn't someone prepare long ahead of time, as soon as the possibility of being in the path of the fires becomes obvious? That way you wouldn't have to make bad, stupid choices under stress, AND you could save the credit card bills too. Even with flash flooding, there is often time to take some preventative and evasive action (getting belongings to upper floors, in the car/truck, etc). I agree with the idea that there isn't any "thing" that is more important than the lives at stake. Much as I love and adore my photographs, and I've got TONS of them I would definitely take with if there were time, I would never risk anyone's safety to get them or any other possession or thing. Last night I caught a special on the Oklahoma tornados of 1999, that devastated a wide swath of country and Oklahoma City itself. Watching that program made me realize that the least of the emotional devastation was losing personal memorabilia. It just seemed like the least of people's worries who lost loved ones and/or everything--their homes, vehicles, neighborhoods, the whole thing, as some communities did that summer. |
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07 Dec 02 - 04:03 PM (#843176) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: bazza My five best Concertinas ,the other three would have to burn |
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07 Dec 02 - 04:45 PM (#843195) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: nutty I don't consider my dogs as objects so presume that they would be coming with me anyway. The five essentials I would try to save would be (in no paricular order) ........ My Address book ....all the addresses and telephone numbers that I can never remember .... I'd be lost without it. The photograph album that contains the photos of my son growing up. My song book ..... I even have problems remembering the songs that I have written ....... so this is of prime importance. My lottery ticket ....... I might just be lucky enough to win. My old LP'S ......... much loved possessions collected over the past 30 years, many now can't be replaced and some are quite valuable. |
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07 Dec 02 - 05:27 PM (#843208) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,David I have one of those cool fireproof safes lined with concrete. I've had a heck of a time hauling that thing around the world with us. It weighs about as much as a volkswagon. But I sleep easy at night knowing that all I have to do is make sure we all jump out a window. Our most precious and valuable things will protected from everything up to re-entry from orbit or something like that. |
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07 Dec 02 - 05:46 PM (#843215) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Ned Ludd Two hurdie gurdies, fylde guitar,fylde bouzouki,and the fiddle I made (don't forget to wake wife and dog!) |
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07 Dec 02 - 05:50 PM (#843216) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST Darn it Bobert, you took my answer almost word for word! (It just would have been Tacoma, Tele, Vox 12, Resonator, Amp) *g* Blues |
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07 Dec 02 - 05:57 PM (#843218) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Blues=Life Ok, now that I have signed in properly, (WHAT HAPPENED?) Yes, that was really my answer. OK, I would wake the kids and the wife. There's more guitars than just five in here, and I'd need the help. LOL Blues |
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07 Dec 02 - 06:07 PM (#843223) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Ned Ludd Good point, If the wife can carry two can I still take five? then I can save the Yairi and the classical and the dog can carry the whistle! |
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07 Dec 02 - 09:48 PM (#843303) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,JennyO I started this thread because 3 days ago I had to seriously think about it and make a list. There are about 80 fires burning in and around Sydney at the moment and one had just broken out 2 streets away from my place. Fortunately that one is out now but more could happen. It makes you think about what's really important when it's at your back door, and it's better to have a list before things get really hairy and you can't think straight. I figured there'd be a lot of musical instruments on everybody's lists. No wife and kids here, and I haven't trained the cat to carry stuff, so I guess it's all up to me. I heard a story yesterday about someone who loaded up their car with all their most valuable possessions, and a big fireball came over and landed on the neighbours' house, and their car with all their important stuff was completely destroyed and the house was all right. Another worse story was about a family who evacuated with important stuff in their car, then the husband dropped off the wife and kids somewhere and went back to get something and never returned. So they lost the stuff, the car and the husband. Cheery, eh! I figure if I got as much as 5 on the list I'd be laughing. You can always buy clothes. I had a bag packed with some in anyway, and my good camera. If things were really dire I'd be happy to escape with myself and the cat, even though she can't carry anything. |
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08 Dec 02 - 01:52 PM (#843378) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,Q Your bottle of single malt to console for what is lost. |
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08 Dec 02 - 02:27 PM (#843391) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Deckman #1, Bride Judy #2, Bride Judy #3, Bride Judy #4, Bride Judy #5, My antique Martins! |
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08 Dec 02 - 03:05 PM (#843410) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,JTT False teeth Wooden leg Toupee Glass eye Packet of condoms |
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08 Dec 02 - 03:34 PM (#843416) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,daylia JennyO glad you're still on-line in spite of all the 'heat'. Positive energy still comin your way ... Back in the 80's a tornado hit my home-town in Ontario. A lot of people lost their homes, but fortunately only a few lost their lives. I remember one story about a little girl who was home alone when it hit. She made it down to the basement on time, but the rest of the house and everything in it was completely destroyed. Amazingly enough, the only thing left untouched was her night-table on which she kept her rosary, prayer-books and a picture of her 'guardian angel'. These were found exactly as she'd left them, according to the newspapers! They even ran pictures of it. Always liked that story ... I'd make sure I had my cat, car keys, cell-phone, wallet (hopefully with some money in it), warm coat and lots of faith! But I'd sure miss my guitar and my piano and my computer ... and my books ... and my diggery-doo (to keep the cat in line!) And all this is reminding me that I should get my original artwork and music, photos, journals and important documents into a fire-proof box that's easy to grab. Kinda feels a bit like tempting fate, though. Blessings and COOL WET wishes to all you folk 'down under' ... daylia |
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08 Dec 02 - 04:56 PM (#843457) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: greg stephens 4 Lonnie Donegan 78s Kate |
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08 Dec 02 - 05:09 PM (#843470) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: mg wow...everyone should put stuff int he trunk of their cars just in case..plus a set of keys hidden somewhere on the car (a thief is going to get in anyway)..blankets, canned food, matches, can opener, tent or tarps, water, soap, toilet paper (and your entrenching tool!) ...maybe an old ax and shovel...old jackets and boots..and always keep a pair of shoes you can run in at your desk at work in case of earthquake or whatever. make copies of your most important papers and keep them either there (subject to theft etc.) or at home where you can grab them easily. Anyone who has to drive where it could snow and strand them should really be well prepared to last a few days in a car. Good luck in Australia. mg |
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08 Dec 02 - 07:27 PM (#843546) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Rapparee Having seen what can happen in a flood or six on the Mississippi, sat through an earthquake in Alaska, bicycled through a tornado, enjoyed a flash flood in North Carolina, been stranded in the snow in a car, and driven into a hurricane (don't ask why, that's a long story), I agree -- have emergency gear in your car. Ever since my wife and I were stranded in car during a snowstorm in northern Ohio, we've carried "winter kits" in each car. These have evolved over time, but include about three meals of military rations (you won't be tempted to eat them unless you have to), toilet paper (trust me, this is a necessity!), a book or two, sterno or other heat source, a pocket knife, candles, matches, a woolen blanket, a couple of cups, plastic spooons and forks -- you get the idea. Oh, yes, a *good* flashlight and batteries -- not a piece of cheap plastic junk. Jumper cables, too, and a snowshovel with a telescoping handle. Kitty litter or sand. With this in each car we could, if necessary, grab the important papers, her quilts, a few small boxes of memories, my trumpet, and we're outa there. I hope that no one who reads this ever has to face such decisions. I really do recommend a "winter kit," though -- remove the blanket and you have "summer kit." |
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08 Dec 02 - 07:34 PM (#843547) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Phil Cooper We had a house fire in 1994, lightning struck the beam in the roof and ignited several feet of it immediately. The lights all came on (it was 4:30 in the morning) so we were all awake. What I did get out after waking up the neighbors to use their phone (the fire department even suggested taking a little time to take some things) was: 1. the good guitars (picked up while looking for the cat, who would have been first otherwise). 2. The other good instruments (someone else had taken the cat out in the meantime). 3. Backed the cars out of the garage so they wouldn't explode if the fire got that far. One of the neighbors was helping us and offered to go back in to help get more stuff, but I was smelling smoke in the basement by then and said no. I was not going to ask them to go in, when I wasn't willing myself. I figured the sound system, our recordings, other instruments were going to have to make it on their own, they were all replaceable. As it turned out a lot of that stuff escaped damage. Having a fire changes your perception of things. |
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08 Dec 02 - 08:03 PM (#843562) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,JennyO It appears that they are starting to get on top of a lot of the fires. the worst one at the moment is in the Blue Mountains, and a bit of rain is expected, but we need some really serious rain over a long period, to break the drought that set us up for these fires in the first place. I like the idea of an emergency kit in the car. I'd find that pretty easy to put together because I'm a camper from way back and I have a lot of that sort of stuff. I do better than most when there is a blackout because I have a portable gas stove and light. When I camp at folk festivals, which I do a lot, I'm always the one that people know will be able to lend them something if they have forgotten it. On the other hand I have been criticised by former partners for taking too much, but they're only too happy to use what I've remembered and they've forgotten. So these days I just please myself and don't worry about the "white ants". |
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08 Dec 02 - 08:14 PM (#843569) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Bee-dubya-ell As someone who lives in A) a hurricane-prone area and B) the middle of the woods, emergency evacuation is probably higher on my list of priorities than for most folks. We have already bailed for one hurricane (though the traffic was so bad on the evacuation route that we turned around and came back home and rode it out). And the dry summers we've had the last few years make the possibility of forest-fire scarilly real. When I say we live "in the middle of the woods", I'm not exagerating. No yard, just trees starting a few feet from the house and stretching out in all directions. A fire in the treetops would rain flaming branches onto our rooftop. Having thus set the stage, here's what we'd grab if a hurricane or fire was coming our way (Of course, this assumes a situation with some warning involved. If the house should just catch on fire in the middle of the night I'd just grab my wife and my ass): 1) Important papers - Already in a portable file-box and ready to grab. 2) A couple of suitcases of clothes 3) All the musical instruments - Not just because I like them, but because they are a liquid asset. They can be turned into cash very quickly in an emergency. 4) The potter's wheel and the sewing machine - Because they are the tools by which we make our livings and they don't come cheaply. 5) This computer - Because I put off buying one for so long that I'm damned if any fire or storm is gonna get it! Our country cats would just have to be on their own. If it gets too hot, they know where the pond is. Bruce |
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08 Dec 02 - 10:13 PM (#843621) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,Anahootz My '24 Gibson Lloyd Loar F-5 (#79223) My '38 Martin D-45 (#19226) My '59 Les Paul "Sweet Cherry" sunburst My mid-18th century Guarneri ...And my pillow. It helps me dream. |
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08 Dec 02 - 11:10 PM (#843650) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,Walking Eagle I guess if you have time to prepare for a fire, as in being evacuated because of a wildfire, you should make a good a plan as you can. As for a house fire, only two rules apply: 1.Get out! 2. Stay out! You'd be surprised how many people we've (volunteer firefighters)had to restrain from going back into their homes. Believe me, deceased Aunt Mary's china ain't worth the risk! Chances are you won't be burned to death, you'll be smothered to death by the toxic smoke. |
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09 Dec 02 - 02:22 AM (#843708) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,Gloredhel, cookieless 1. box of letters from much-loved correspondants 2. grandmother's prayer book and great-grandmother's Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart pictures (my only heirlooms) 3. photo albums 4. my journals 5. harp and guitar And yes, in that order. I love my instruments, but I could learn to love other instruments. The first four items are utterly irreplaceable. (And I'm presuming that dog, cats, and parents can find species-appropriate exits on their own.) |
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09 Dec 02 - 06:15 AM (#843750) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Catherine Jayne *The Mog *My Fiddles and Mandolin *some clothes *Jewellery that my gran left me (cant be replaced) *Micca.....making sure he can carry 5 more things!! |
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09 Dec 02 - 07:26 AM (#843769) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Sandra in Sydney It was the night of JennyO's folk club & I was with her when she decided to return home! We ran the show without her - one of the artists was also in a fire zone & a group of shanty singers sang without their bass. The audience was also a bit sparse, but a good night was had by all. As I live in a inner city apartment & don't have a car, I'm not sure what I would grab if I had to leave suddenly. The only time I ever was in a similar situation (someone was in the nearby shopping arcade locked in a shop saying a lot of irrational things like I've got a BOMB!!), what I did miss was a change of clothes as I made the trip to distant suburbia to stay the night with my brother cos the police wouldn't let us in our building. As Jenny said the fires are quieter now but we know they will flare up again somewhere in the next few weeks/months & we will go thru it all again. Last count was 42 homes lost & 1 person dead sandra |
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09 Dec 02 - 10:53 AM (#843840) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,Mr Red (roasting by the fire) 1) a fire extiguisher 2) the battery outa the smoke alarm (the noise is getting on my nerves) 3) pajamas (redder than my embarrassment) 4) nothing more - my hands are full and I ain't staying in this place one more second 5) I forget the photo of the ex-wife. Oh dear, let it burn. |
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09 Dec 02 - 12:03 PM (#843900) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: katlaughing Having not had any time to plan, I know what my instinctive choices were: daughters, cats, dog and, with my brother's help we also got the suitcase full of his uncopied, original symphonic compositions. Yes, we have copies now, at various other places. We were fortunate in that the fire was contained almost immediately. Our landlord was not nice on the phone, uptight New Yorker, but the fire chief gave him whatfor. Told him if we'd been asleep we would be dead and he'd be sued by our surviving son! The fire box in the very old furnace had crumbled and ignited two walls, during a presidential debate! The one thing I noticed is that neither of us had the keys to the car. Rog had the other car at a store and I didn't usually drive the one we stuffed the kids and pets into. It was a standard so we could have pushed it out of reach. As it was, I am grateful we didn't have to. Walking Eagle is right, though. Get out and stay out. Between the four of us, we were able to grab and do just that. None of us went back in for anything. If I had time to plan? In order: pets, trunk of heirlooms, hardrive, violin, dulcimer, jewellry, as many books as would fit, esp. the really old family ones, photos and negatives. From another Mudcatter who lost an entire household and house to a lightning fire, check with your insurance company and see if they will hold a video tape of your belongings and/or pictures, in your file. No one told the Mudcatter they would do this. It took ages to try to document what they did have and be compensated. Before we put our stuff in storage for two years, I took photos of every box of books with the spines/titles easily visible and took pictures of our household furnishings, just in case. Now, all I have to do is store them somewhere other than in our house since we now have everything under one roof.:-) Good thoughts to you all near Sydney and please, stay safe. katalittleparanoidabouthousefiresnow |
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09 Dec 02 - 03:17 PM (#844009) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: mack/misophist left shoe fight shoe drawers t shirt glasses |
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09 Dec 02 - 04:46 PM (#844065) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: CraigS You've got to get the wife out first so you've got someone to catch the guitars. You could burn trying to save the computer - get a demountable drive drawer, and just take the hard drive. LEAVE THE BANJO! |
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09 Dec 02 - 04:59 PM (#844071) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Amos Wife Hard Disk Rest of computer Martin D35 Martin 0018 Assume wife would grab the legal files! A |
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09 Dec 02 - 05:29 PM (#844084) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: mytoycar bra- esential for not sleeping with breaasts under arms vibrator when one has the time tobuy one ( would leave a man to burn) coffee a spare pair of underwear (esentials) and lastly a photo of my dad which would be the hardest to find... |
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09 Dec 02 - 08:27 PM (#844210) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST If you have time to plan, you can take quite a bit more than 5 things, but katlaughing's recommendations are good too. But the main thing is to get out, even if it has to be on foot. You can't control for factors like "no keys!" or loading the car, only to have something crash down on it. That is the gods telling you in no uncertain terms to MOVE OUT NOW! I've had a number of personal fire horror stories in places I've lived over the years, though I've never been burned out of a place. We have taken in people who have lost everything though, including cats, dogs, fish, and horses. I just recently learned that you can easily transport cats safely in pillowcases that are closed up. |
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09 Dec 02 - 08:46 PM (#844222) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,JennyO Craig S - what's a demountable drive drawer - sounds like a good idea. GUEST - thanks for the tip about the pillowcase for the cat. I don't currently have a cat basket and I was picturing her panicking all over the car. I'd have probably gone for a cardboard box. Sandra - I KNOW what you would take! Your best bears. I suppose your flat could catch fire but there is a marked lack of bush for bush fires in KingsBloodyCross. Jenny |
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09 Dec 02 - 09:17 PM (#844234) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: SINSULL 4 cats and a credit card. And start over... |
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10 Dec 02 - 04:36 AM (#844367) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Mudlark When we were kids, both my husband and my own family homes burned to the ground, and our own home nearly burned 8 years ago--wildfire came within a rural road's width before savior firemen were able to put it out...so I'm a bit paranoid about fires. During the fire here I had to pack the truck while John was hosing down the perimeter...I loaded a lot faster than I unloaded. First five: Dogs first, in the cab, windows rolled up most of the way so they couldn't escape. Then: my guitar, my husband's paintings, old photo album, address book/purse. I had time for other things too, like our glase recipes (we were potters), armloads of clothing, computer.. Since that time I keep the truck at least half full of gas, keep my keys always in my purse, and dog leashes and collars on hooks by the door. The above suggestion of keeping really important papers in an easily accessible box is a good one too. Very difficult to stay calm in these situations, (my mother, in her panic, ended up taking a couple of unopened cartons of cigarettes and leaving the family business records behind). If I'm ever in this situation again (and after 4 years of drought not unlikely) I'll try to remember to take the time to put on sturdy comfortable shoes before loading. In my haste I slipped barefooted into the nearest pair to hand, and wound up with world class blisters by the time the danger was over. |
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10 Dec 02 - 07:03 AM (#844413) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: banjomad (inactive) 1. Stanley the cat, twc banjos and two mandolins. ? what wife. Cheers, Dave |
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10 Dec 02 - 08:39 AM (#844450) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: MMario My copy of Bronson My copy of Child's The quilt I spent 6 years making for my nephew most of the other important stuff is already in the car... |
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10 Dec 02 - 09:05 AM (#844469) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST I was very appreciative of the vet telling me about the pillowcase thing for the cats. There is no way to carry them safely otherwise, unless you have an animal carrying cage, and those can be VERY cumbersome. Not to mention, if you only have one cage, and more than one cat, the cats can hurt each other in their panic. So the pillowcase is a great thing to know about, as it keeps them from seeing (and alleviates their panic) and/or escaping, while allowing them to breathe. Good idea to keep certain important things in a handy, easily accessible place for emergencies, which should of course be near the doors. Of course, in a housefire where you don't have warning (as opposed to the approaching wildfire scenario) I think the priority has to be people first (and they are unpredictable enough as it is in a crisis), and pets last. There really aren't any other priorities for me in a house fire scenario, except to get all the people out safely. Pets will behave very unpredicatably in these circumstances, and so it isn't a good idea to think you can always save them. |
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10 Dec 02 - 12:04 PM (#844626) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: mg ever thought about having to evacuate a hospital? There is a big smock someone invented for evacuating babies..it has all sorts of big pockets and you just put them in and go...mg |
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10 Dec 02 - 02:31 PM (#844755) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: EBarnacle1 Since the issue is priorities, My kid, if he's with me. My concertina Diskettes for anything I haven't backed up on the books I'm writing Toss a painting or two out the window Step onto the terrace, close the door behind me, throw the safety rope over the side and go. [I live in a 3rd floor walkup.] Many years ago, when I was living on my leaky old schooner, a hurricane was due. I moved my car to higher ground and prepared to pump, bail or do whatever else was needful. Someone asked me what I would do if the boat started to sink anyway. My answer: Step off and watch 'er sink. The same applies here: Do your best and stay alive. |
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10 Dec 02 - 03:12 PM (#844785) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST EBarnacle, I'm intrigued! How does one safely step off a sinking boat in a hurricane? Presumably you would be bailing and pumping out in the harbor? I remember once getting FURIOUS at my husband and friends for coming into the dock in the middle of a huge storm, and handing 5 preschool children off the boat and onto the dock IN THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM. It is was idiocy, and incredibly dangerous. Unfortunately, the storm had come up quickly, and the two men on the boat were inexperienced boaters, and didn't know to just get close to the right river bank and ride out the storm. One slip, and we could have lost a child between boat & dock, into the water...I still get angry and shudder thinking about it. |
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10 Dec 02 - 07:00 PM (#844963) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: CraigS A demountable drive drawer fits in a drive bay and lets you slot your hard drive in and out like the drawer in a piece of furniture, only with plugs and sockets on the back for the drive connections. More often called a hard drive caddy in US, but this term also applies to any box containing a hard drive for connection to a computer (so might be used to describe, eg. a case for a hard drive external to a palmtop computer). The ones I have are made by a Taiwanese firm called Macase, and I've seen them advertised for sale in US as cheap as $15, but I can't find a decent picture after half an hour's search. |
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10 Dec 02 - 08:21 PM (#845002) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST,JennyO Thanks for the description, Craig S. I'm actually in Australia. I don't know what they call them here. I'm very new on computers so I might talk to my son about it. He's the one who helped me set this one up. Jenny |
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11 Dec 02 - 11:43 AM (#845209) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: EBarnacle1 Guest, I was risking no one but myself and the boat was tied to a pier. Believe me, I certainly would know when the water was getting ahead of me and my pumps. If necessary, I would have held on to the pier and crawled to land. |
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11 Dec 02 - 11:59 AM (#845223) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Grab Priorities:- 1. Wake wife. 2. Grab backups of my work on CD-Rs (*way* cheaper than a demountable hard drive, and can also be used as general backups too, although you do need to be disciplined about backing stuff up). 3. Put on clothes. Regarding computer stuff, there's various web services that'll act as an off-site backup. I'm lucky in that my main project is on SourceForge, so as long as I remember to do regular uploads, it's automatically safe. Otherwise IDrive or other services might be useful, or you could stash it on your web account with your ISP. Grab. |
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11 Dec 02 - 12:18 PM (#845239) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: GUEST EBarnacle, I wasn't suggesting you were putting anyone but yourself at risk. It is just that I've seen firsthand what the surf can do to a pier in a hurricane. I can't imagine a sane person actually believing they have the strength to attempt such a feat as that you are describing, and actually survive being swept away. But perhaps you are both very strong, and very crazy? Either that, or you must really love that boat of yours! ;-) I'm only teasing, now. |
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11 Dec 02 - 02:38 PM (#845377) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: EBarnacle1 2 out of 3 and I always have cordage available when I am on a boat. I have been terrified quite a few times but adrenalin is good for the soul. |
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11 Dec 02 - 02:42 PM (#845381) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: EBarnacle1 Actually it's amazing how well you can hold on when you are scared shitless. |
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11 Dec 02 - 11:17 PM (#845740) Subject: RE: BS: 5 Objects to take if house on fire? From: Dave Swan It's a great idea to make plans. Have escape routes and meeting places identified. Here's the thing...don't screw around because there's just one more object you must get out of the house in order to complete your list. Make lots of noise, so that everyone else in the house can carry out the family escape/rescue plan and get the hell out. There's plenty in a fire that can kill you before you know you're in trouble. This is your local Mudcat fire officer saying lists are fun and planning is good, but escape is mandatory. |