Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Life Lessons in Preparedness

If we are not prepared for every situation, life tends to teach us those lessons.  Saturday night, my husband, who is a volunteer firefighter, was called out to a house fire at 2:30 a.m.  The dispatcher announced that there was possibly two people trapped and they had lost contact with the caller.  As my husband rushed to help, he was hindered by the fact that the windshield on the truck was heavily frosted.  He frantically dug around for something to clean the frost off with, but ultimately had to use his fingernails to scratch it off enough so he could see enough to safely drive.

This was a bad situation, and one of the most dire my husband has been called to so far.  Luckily, the fire was put out before it got too bad and no one was harmed, but it taught me and my sweet husband a lesson.  A lesson in being prepared.  Since that night, he gathered the tools he needs to help him get out quick.  The ice scrapers have been located and a piece of black plastic now covers his windshield.  The next time he needs to get out to a fire quickly, he will be able to simply take off the black plastic and be on his way.

What can we learn from this lesson?  If an emergency should occur in the middle of the night, are you prepared?  Is your gas tank sufficiently filled?  Would you have enough gas to take you where you need to go in an emergency?  To the hospital?  To safety?  Do you have an ice scraper or something draped over your windshield so you can leave in a hurry if you need to?  Do you have an emergency kit for your car?  Emergency Essentials has a good article on emergency car kits.  http://beprepared.com/article.asp?ai=28&bhcd2=1260249019 .  Kentucky Preppers Network has a great article too.  http://www.kentuckypreppersnetwork.com/2009/05/car-emergency-kit.html .  A kit doesn't have to be expensive, it can be easily assembled from discount type stores and stashed in a back pack.

You never know when an emergency will happen.  Keep your car ready to go at a moment's notice.  Make sure the tank is filled with gas and keep an emergency kit in it.  Keep your keys, wallet/purse, medicine and 72 hour kit close, so you can grab them in an emergency.

Be prepared in all things so you can sleep through life's storms.

~MJ

3 comments:

  1. GReat thoughts and prompts. I will keep this in mind.
    Frances

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  2. I love your blog! Great tip, and that is awesome you put together an "ice" kit! I think about heat here in vegas, not to much ice and snow in these parts. :)

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  3. Your comment is very educational. Sometimes we tend to think only about our own little world and how to prepare for it, but if I were suddenly thrown into your world, I would be out of my element. What would be some preps you would have to go through? Possibly more along the lines of heat rather than cold. Interesting.

    Hummer and Ilia, thanks for the feedback. I am glad you are enjoying the blog.

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