Know the Basics & Rule of 3

Know the Basics

 Listen here: http://youtu.be/ioTRGOXbYSU

In any disaster or survival situation there are five main things you have to have.

These include:

Fire

 Shelter

Purified Water & Food

First Aid

Signaling & *Security

Fire: Whether you are staying hunkered down or have bugged out, you will need a way to build a fire. This provides warmth, light, a means to cook, and offers some protection from some animals. Make sure you have a tool or the skills necessary to build multiple fires. Such items as a magnesium fire starter, or stormproof matches can be stored in a bag and take up little space. It is also recommended to practice survival fire making techniques using friction or bow & drill techniques.

Shelter: You will also need to have a warm and safe shelter of some sort. If you have a BOL, then you have that covered, but if you are stuck outside without a tent or tarp of some kind, you're going to have to build a wilderness/earth shelter. This will keep you out of the weather and help your body retain heat to prevent hypothermia. It will also keep you hidden and provide security.

Water/Food: No matter the situation your body has to have clean purified water to survive. You can easily store chemical drops or tablets that use iodine or chlorine to purify water. It is essential that you wait the full 30 minutes suggested on the bottles, before you drink the water. Other techniques can be filling clean PET water bottles and placing them in direct sunlight for 6 hours. You can also make water filters from gravel, sand, and charcoal. (more about these later). Food is also an important necessity to have, obviously. You can either purchase items such as MRE's, make your own, or pack non-perishable foods. If you are caught in a disaster, you may need to scavenge or snare wild game to cook.  

First Aid: Having at least basic first aid supplies will help you when you need it! I would highly recommend taking a first aid & CPR course now. You may never think you need these skills, but if something were to happen you would know what to do, how to do it, and having the skills will prevent you from panicking if you or someone else is injured.

Signaling/*Security: If you are in a natural disaster and need help, having signaling tools can save your life. This helps you to alert others of your whereabouts and increases your chance of survival tremendously. These can include a flare gun, whistle, mirrors, smoke canisters, or trail markers. 

 *However, let me also mention that it is possible that you are purposely trying to stay hidden. In this case, I would suggest taking along something for security. A knife for one, has multiple uses. You can use this as a tool to build your shelter, digging holes, cleaning game, self-defense and security. Another option would be taking along a gun for hunting and security. Just remember you will need to take additional ammunition along. I would suggest a minimum of 100 rounds per weapon.

(It is important to note to be careful in the amount of ammo you decide to take, because if you are doing a lot of walking this will become heavy and deplete your energy).

Rule of 3:

Preppers sometime think of the Rule of 3 as being you need 3 of everything. This can be helpful in some situations, but it not always meant literally.

I would agree that you need at least 3 routes of escape. If you were evacuated for instance, you need to be conscience of the fact that your normal escape route will most likely be jammed packed with others trying to leave that way. So have back-ups to your route, and take a map!

Practice all 3 of these routes, before disaster strikes.

I would also suggest having back-ups for your fire-making and water purification methods. These are two things that will help you survive, so take along at least 3 options for building a fire and purifying water.

TO SURVIVE NEVER FORGET:

3 MINUTES WITHOUT AIR

3 DAYS WITHOUT WATER

3 WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD

3 HOURS WITHOUT SHELTER

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS!!