Editor’s note: ITS Plank Owner Brock Carter wanted to share his experience during the massive tornado that devastated Oklahoma a few short days ago. 

As a citizen of Southwest Oklahoma City for 20 years, I’ve seen numerous tornadoes and many of them firsthand. I was a mile west of the 3 May 1999 tornado that, until now, was the most deadly tornado in Oklahoma. There’s a saying that Oklahomans go out on the front porch to look for the tornado when the siren sounds, I can tell you that is absolutely true. I can also tell you that when I stepped out on to the front porch to survey the site of the 20 May tornado, I decided to flee for my life.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had produced several warnings of a possible severe weather outbreak for the three days leading up to and including 20 May. Just the day before, on 19 May, massive tornadoes ripped through parts of Edmond and Shawnee, Oklahoma, resulting in loss of life. On the morning of 20 May, most Oklahomans had hoped and assumed the worst was over; we had no idea how wrong we were. 

Warning Signs

Beginning at approximately 1400hrs CST, local weather stations began constant coverage of increasingly severe storms developing to the southwest of Oklahoma City and Moore. They had essentially appeared out of nowhere and were growing in size.

By approximately 1425, the local weather stations were alerting citizens of a storm developing very rapidly west of Newcastle, OK (further west – by-southwest of Moore). At this point I decided to leave work and sprint home to be there when it came so I wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not my family close by or my dog were in danger, and if they were, if I would have to struggle with gaining access to those areas after a disaster.

On the far too long drive home, the radio channels were permanently on the weather and we were being fed reports that the meteorologist was absolutely certain this was going to develop into a tornado. I drove on the interstate and traffic started to thicken as I accompanied people wanting to do exactly what I was doing – get home.

As hail and massive downpours began to sporadically interrupt the drive, more and more vehicles began pulling over to seek shelter under the overpasses above the interstate. I drove on, exiting just a couple hundred yards east of the 7-11 where 4 dead bodies [source] would be pulled just 20 minutes after I passed their location.

Later on, I would be able to recognize the path of the tornado covered part of my path exactly, delayed by less than half an hour. I had to drive further west to reach my house so I was forced to drive towards the developing storm. 2-miles out from my house I heard the news come over the radio – tornado on the ground approximately 5 miles from my location.

Contact

At this point things became increasingly concerning. Pauses in the rain and hail being abruptly interrupted by massive downpours and hailstorms gave an incredibly eerie feeling. The wind began to exhibit reckless patterns that triggered the worst of assumptions in my head.

From here on I drove unlawfully fast to get to my home. Once I turned into the neighborhood, the highest parts of what would become the tornado’s funnel were visible. It was still very light outside in the west so you could make out plenty of detail. I had ignored the assumption that the massive dark wall just out of sight was the tornado simply by telling myself: “there’s no way it’s really that big”. I was wrong.

Once I got my garage open and entered the house I put the dog’s harness on (to include a carabiner so I can positively attach him to me), my helmet on, and got the storm shelter prepared. As the sirens blared, I pulled the “Oklahoman Doppler” as I call it and exited the front door to get another glimpse of the storm. My heart sank.

Adrenaline immediately flooded my system and I can positively confirm that the fight or flight mechanism took hold. To the southwest of my position by no more than 2-3 miles was the largest tornado I have ever seen. At this distance I was able to take in the enormity of scale to the point that, for a split second, I stood just in awe.

Imagine never having seen anything taller than a two story building in your life, ever, and then one day stepping out of your front door and seeing the new World Trade Center. It was, purely by definition, awesome. Debris was being flung around like pieces of dirt. The energy of the funnel was gravitational – you could sense it. In the half second it took to process what I saw, I recalled the words from the 3 May 1999 tornado: “if you’re above ground, you’re going to die”.

In an instant I raced back into the house, grabbed the dog, locked up, and fled out the garage door. I hit the garage door remote in my truck and sped away. I would later return to find that before the garage door even had time to fully shut, the power to my block had gone out; the garage door was halfway shut when I returned home. That’s how close the tornado was when I chose to hastily egress.

Instincts

Let me first tell you that the choice to flee was not a professional decision. It was instinctual as much as it was a gift from God (to whom I made many pleas as I fled). But once the choice was made, I was committed. I knew I wouldn’t survive above ground and I couldn’t get underground, so I bailed. As I drove away, the scene around me became surreal. Trees danced to the point I would’ve thought I was hallucinating under any other circumstances.

I knew the general direction and path of the storm based on radar imagery from the phone and news reports. My plan was to cut west by a half mile and then run north. As soon as I exited my neighborhood, I noticed vehicles stacked up in the northerly direction I was trying to travel I can’t control other drivers so if they’re panicking, I knew it would be a bad situation if they stayed still and I couldn’t get around. Due to that, I hit the secondary route by pulling an immediate u-turn in the 4 lane street and heading back east; this wasn’t ideal but if I wanted to turn north it was my best bet.

As soon as I reached the street to cut north I did so without haste. I cut through a typically empty street that circumvents the traffic lights and popped out on the desired street. With a speed limit of 45, I can tell you that I did much more than that during this period. Once I made it a mile north I bore west two miles to get north of and behind the tornado – knowing that it was travelling east by north east.

I passed two stationary emergency vehicles during my high speed egress and neither of them chose to pursue me – they understood and would likely be on my tail if the storm got closer. Again, I cannot recommend my particular actions so please don’t take this as an endorsement by anyone, especially ITS.

For the entire duration of this three mile journey, I was in constant fear for my life and I have no problem admitting that it’s not okay to be controlled by fear and it’s equally foolish to ignore fear and pretend it doesn’t exist. I had a near constant visual of the tornado funnel and it began to grow to the point that I was unsure if I’d see 21 May 2013.

As I drove on, the winds became more aggressive, at one point scooting my vehicle over as I did north of 70mph. It is a strange feeling to move laterally due to incredible winds bearing directly towards the funnel as your twin turbo V6 is screaming to keep you moving. Once I was able to move behind the tornado I stopped and pulled into a church parking lot. That’s where I took this picture that you may have seen on Reddit Monday night.

At this point, looking at the NOAA trail and knowing my location, I can tell you I was 2 miles west and approximately 2 miles north of the storm – giving me the rough approximation of 4 miles away from the funnel, and my house being approximately 1 mile or less.

I can also tell you that I assumed my house was gone and that I would have to search for neighbors when I got back. I texted the lady to let her know I had grabbed the dog and was out safe, but that the path of destruction looked too close for comfort and that I feared for the worst. I would later find out when I returned home, my house was spared suffering only minimal damage, and that in immediate walking distance, all hell was unfolding.

As soon as I felt comfortable that the immediate threat had subdued and that follow on tornadoes weren’t a threat, I drove back into the fight. I want to specifically mention at this point the shear speed by which first responders were on scene. I was no more than 4 miles from point of impact at any time and I was constantly pulling over to allow emergency vehicles to get in there. I’m also confident that debris was still landing when they reached the scene of impact. From that point on, for the next 6 hours, the sirens wouldn’t stop.

Swift Response

Back at the house I was able to confirm my property was okay and that there was no fatality-inducing damage to my immediate neighbors. I put the dog in his crate, confirmed no further threats of storms again, and drove towards the impact point. I didn’t want to impede the rescue efforts but wanted to help, so I stayed off the main roads and kept to the neighborhood streets. As quickly as I could get there, the main streets were blocked off. The track of the tornado was apparent due to the sheer devastation of its path.

Just a mile east of my immediate location was a facility called Orr Family Farm; news reports would later say that 75-100 horses at that location were either killed or put down as a result of the tornado. As I recognized I would only be a hindrance to coordinated SAR efforts, I retreated to a friend’s house close to the action. I used my crank powered weather radio to keep abreast of the tornado’s path and, somehow, text messages and some data were coming through my cell phone. I got messages out to the appropriate parties that I was okay.

Just the Beginning

Even though I was beginning to wind down, the tornado was increasing in damaging size. Reports would funnel in via radio and social media that the tornado was growing to almost two miles in size. Friends and family east of my position were still in harm’s way, and you feel incredibly helpless compared to an F4/5, 200+mph natural disaster. Since power was already down and the cell towers were being flooded with data we were getting whatever info we could at snail-like pace. Part of preparing for the day was keeping my phone fully charged throughout the day, so I was fortunate enough to have juice until nearly 2130 hrs (it’s the iPhone, so, I count that as impressive even though it’s really not).

Over the next hour we kept getting worse news. The talk of leveled buildings that I knew well was terribly unsettling, though it wouldn’t compare to the news of dead bodies being pulled from the 7-11 I had passed not 20 minutes ago – including a mother and her 7 month old child.

As I finally got news that my eastern most family members were okay, I was able to finally unwind by a fraction of a percent. Having been around for 3 May 1999, though, I knew that the worse had just begun. Seeing ambulances going to a scene really tugs at you; seeing emergency personnel with their heads hung low hurts worse.

More and more news began to come in and we heard that more than one elementary school had been hit. Reports would soon note that an unconfirmed number of children were found dead at an elementary school, some reportedly having drowned after the tornado passed. The sky was so mockingly peaceful against the chaos on the ground that looking up made you angry; this was nothing to nature but a phenomenon it does well – we were like ants.

A half mile north of my position was the local western triage site. Emergency vehicles were a constant presence and in the now calm skies, helicopters buzzed feverishly. To the south I could see a helicopter repeatedly attempt to touch down, presumably to medevac; each attempt exposed the pilot’s increasingly aggressive resolve to touch down as his commands became more succinct and deliberate. I became angry at the world again – let the damn chopper land. After the exhaustion of checking on loved ones and watching an endless flow of emergency vehicles pour around us I began recalling my preparation and what we needed to do.

Personal Preparedness

Within an hour of local touchdown, we had confirmed the following threats: drinking water for areas immediately around ours were considered unsafe due to a water treatment plant going down, looting was reported via news purportedly via police (take it with a grain of salt), power was off and we didn’t know when it would be back on and loved ones may need assistance. Here’s what I did to prepare for that moment from months to minutes before:

Physically Fit: Anyone will tell you that if you can’t save yourself, you can’t save anyone else. You cannot reasonably expect to be able to run three miles into a disaster zone to extract loved ones if you can’t run one mile without stopping or move any amount of weight. Don’t put the responsibility on adrenaline alone – that’s a lie to make you feel comfortable. Get uncomfortable. I was prepared to sled drag and/or carry out my loved ones because I trained for it.

Food: I had MRE’s that would provide 4 days food for each member of my family, plus a lot of dry goods and a method for fire. We also had enough dog food to last for weeks.

Water: We had cases of water to provide us with drinking water along with water treatment options (purifying bottles, steripen, pills).

First Aid: Bet your ass I had an ITS trauma kit strapped to the front of my Kifaru Koala for immediate response. Debris can open your body in a split second and I had the means to stop major bleeding for myself and a loved one.

Fuel: I had reserve cans of gas in the garage to fuel the truck as needed, but I also topped the truck off the previous few days and instructed the lady to do the same.

Comms: I have a weather radio to receive, but I’ll be honest and tell you that I don’t have a well prepared comm plan. That’ll change as of today.

Tools and Defensive Capabilities: I had my multitool, numerous lights, my Bark River Bravo 1 and my defensive pistol on my person. The last thing I’m going to do is become overly defensive in such a situation – the focus is on recovery and rescue – but I’m also not going to put myself in a situation where I cannot defend myself. All of these were in my Kifaru Koala right behind my ITS trauma kit.

Mental Strength: Part of being able to survive disaster events is being able to survive the initial shock and stay on top of your emotions. You need to organize your responses so you can navigate secondary and tertiary threats. Physical fitness does a lot for this, but more than anything it takes preparing yourself mentally to see the worst of events unfold and still remain actionable. One of the top resources I can recommend is a book titled “On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace” by Lt. Col. (Ret) Dave Grossman and then Navy SEAL CMDR (RET) Mark Divine’s SEALFIT instruction which has an intense and purposed focus on mental strength. I fully credit my ability to think through the situation even with the tornado staring me down due to the benefits of his instruction and the books of Lt. Col. Grossman.

ITS Tactical: It’s probably pretty obvious since this is where I’m sending this article, but ITS is the prime type of community and info source to keep yourself in a preparedness state of mind. I can recall reading an article on each of the topics I mention here on ITS. It’s solid info, use it.

After Action Report

Lastly I want to say that I witnessed the selfless actions of our first responders and those of neighboring states and cannot be more impressed. I’ve heard of teams from Texas responding within minutes and mobilizing to come help – I’m sure it’s the same for many other states. There was a constant reminder from all media outlets for civilians to stay back and out of the way while first responders worked and I believe that was the absolute right decision.

Those teams were a tremendous asset and saved countless lives. Reports have come in that overnight, 101 survivors were pulled from the rubble. I’ve also heard of donations from around the country coming in – as a citizen of this community I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Seeing these families walk around with nothing left intact, sometimes including loved ones, it’s going to take a lot to rebuild and the generosity of this nation in times of disaster can be truly impressive. I escaped the situation remarkably better off than so many, so please don’t look at me as a victim.

Keep the true victims in your thoughts and prayers as they try to process what’s being called the most destructive tornado in the history of the United States. I can’t confirm that title right now through a credible source so I’ll only say that having lived here for almost 20 years, I fled an area I knew well to return to a hell I couldn’t imagine.

How You Can Help

Donate $10 to relief efforts by texting:

• STORM to 80888 Salvation Army
• REDCROSS to 90999 American Red Cross
• FOOD to 32333 Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
• CONVOY to 50555 Convoy of Hope

Survival prep is something most of us never want to have to worry about. Unfortunately, that also means it’s often the most overlooked group of items that one should carry if they find themselves venturing into the great outdoors. I believe that camping should consist of what’s needed for your trip along with a few “just in case” items. I don’t need a four-course meal while trekking through the backcountry. The feeling of being remote is what brings me pleasure. Getting away from pavement, getting away from crowds, getting away from the creature comforts of home and calling the forest or desert your home for even just a few short days, that’s what it’s all about. Regardless of how you spend your time outdoors, being prepared is something you need to be concerned with.

• Website: www.gearpods.com
• Direct link to product: Survival Pro
• Cost: $69

As a gear junkie, I am always on the lookout for the next best product. Something to replace what I was using. Something that improves upon previous designs. Something that is more compact and easier to carry. Something smart. It seems I have found something that fits all those bills, called GearPods. The majority of my time spent outdoors is either traversing some trail in a 4×4, hiking into the mountains or spending countless hours on my bike in the hills. Lately I’ve been looking closely into bike packing which is spending several days riding and camping with only what I can carry on my bike. When I first heard about GearPods I was immediately excited. A survival kit and stove in a container almost the size of a soda can? Say it IS so!

In order to show you just how small this pod is I had to grab a bottle of water and a can of soda. Something this small will be very easy to throw in a bag, glove compartment, saddle bag, or just about anywhere on your person, bike, motorcycle or in your truck.

The container itself is very tough and will take a beating. I dropped it a couple times just to make sure the caps or “terminators” wouldn’t break or come loose. Nope. One of my other favorite companies, Topeak, already offers a bicycle bottle cage that will work perfectly to hold a GearPod! This just brought another smile to my face.

• Colors: Various (GearPods Terminators), Smokey Grey, Dark Grey
• Materials (GearPods container): Polycarbonate, Polypropylene
• Materials (GearPods CookMug): Hard Anodized Aluminum, Silica, Thermoplastic Elastomer
• Materials (GearPods Stove): Hard Anodized Aluminum
• Materials (Other): Rip-Stop Nylon (Stuff Sac), Hexamine (Fuel Tablets)
• Weight: 0.83 lbs (13.3 oz)
• Dimensions: 3.2” diameter, 6.0” height

Removing the caps from both ends reveals the CookMug, Waterproof and Tearproof instructions, and the stove found in the nylon bag. The instructions also feature a compliment of survival tips and tricks.

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. Here are all of the items that come included in this little container.

• GearPods CookMug: Compact 4.0” anodized aluminum cooking mug/pot with snap-in lid
• GearPods Stove: Solid fuel stove with windshield
• Esbit® solid fuel tablets (2)
• Rescue Flash™ signal mirror – 2″x3″ signal mirror with retro-reflective targeting, protective film, plastic sleeve and instructions
• Fox40 Micro Safety™ – loud emergency whistle for signaling distress and communicating location
• Spark-Lite™ – dependable, one-handed fire starter
• Tinder-Quik™ (4) – weatherproof waterproof tinder that burns 1-2 minutes
• NATO “Storm” Matches (10) – vacuum sealed, NATO-approved waterproof and windproof matches with striker
• 20mm Liquid-filled button compass – simple navigation tool
• Mini-LED flashlight – small keychain-type flashlight with rugged case and battery with 24+ hours of continuous use
• Folding saw – light- to medium- use knife with stainless steel razor blade and rugged handle
• Folding knife – light- to medium-use saw blade constructed of 18TPI steel for cutting wood and metal, and housed in a rugged handle
• Katadyn Micropur-1 Water Tablets (6) – 1 tablet per 1 liter (33.8 fl oz) of water; effective against viruses, bacteria, guardia and cryptosporidium
• Sterile, self-standing water bag (36 fl oz) – for pre-treatment water capture and storage
• Heavy duty needle – for repairing clothes and gear
• Heavy duty thread (50ft reel, 10 lbs BS) – for repairs and emergency line for fishing
• Safety pins (2) – 2″ – for repairs, first aid or even improvised hooks for food procurement
• Wire (8ft) – 0.02″ stainless steel wire, non-magnetic – use for repairs and snares
• Braided nylon cord (25ft, 70lbs BS) – many uses including securing gear and building shelters
• Fishing kit – 4 hooks, 2 split-shots and 1 snap swivel
• Duct tape (2″x30″ 9mm) – many uses from first aid to repair
• Weatherproof stationery – 2”x3” (4) – keeping logs, leaving messages, drawing maps
• Pencil (with protective cap) – use with weatherproof stationery
• Fresnel Lens (2″x3″) – redundant fire starting method
• Waterproof and tearproof instructions – with illustrations
• Stuff Sac – with drawcord and fastener (2)

There are a handful of stove systems out there, but not many as compact as this. In the past I’ve used the Snow Peak, MSR and Jet Boil systems and they all work great. But, you will have to carry fuel to run them which robs valuable space. Before I go on, it should be obvious that this stove system isn’t made to cook big meals. This is a survival kit and the stove should be used for emergency water cleaning, heating up soup, tea or anything else you can fit into the CookMug. Would I rely on this for a few days? Yes. A week long trek? You could rely on it, but I would probably pack something more substantial if I were cooking large meals.

Following the included instructions, I wrapped the windshield around the stove and CookMug and placed one of the fuel tabs into the base of the stove. I did this over one of the BBQ grills at my local campground just to be safe. I also didn’t want to upset the Park Ranger.

Using the included matches I lit one match and placed it along side the fuel tab. In a few seconds the tab was going and getting hot. You can blow out and save used fuel tabs. If you decide to not keep a used tab, please be smart about what you do with that unused fuel. Remember, we don’t like forest fires. Be smart.

The retractable legs kept the stove upright and the windshield allowed the fire to burn nice and hot. Hot enough that I was boiling water without the lid on the CookMug in a matter of 3 minutes. That’s quick in my book. It took most of one fuel tab in order to boil this cup of water. Keep that in mind depending on how long you will be away and how many times you will need to use the stove. Pack a few extra fuel tabs since they’re cheap and small to carry.

The concave base of the CookMug allows maximum heat capture from the stove. The silica band around the mug keeps your hands from getting burned when it’s time to enjoy your warm liquid. Be careful though, the mug will still be warm. I was able to safely drink the water after giving it about 30 seconds to cool off just a little bit. The stove and mug come together to create a great lightweight cooking system.

This is what the base of your stove will look like after use. You are burning fuel directly on the base so it will discolor the stove and will need to be cleaned. GearPods also offers a Burner to allow the use of denatured alcohol (with the Burner) or solid fuel tabs (without the Burner). I would bet depending on how much stuff you carry in your Survival Pro pod, you could get the Burner to fit.

Another item in the pod that caught my eye is the constant-on LED light. Having a switch to keep your light on is invaluable when camping. Most of those small LED lights you buy at REI don’t offer this. They really should. You often need both hands when working in the dark.

When using the windshield be sure to face the vents downwind. This will allow better wind protection while still providing oxygen for the fire to breathe. The edges of the shield are a tad sharp so be cautious when rolling it back up for storage.

Looking to do a little fishing? Need to sew something up? This little container has just what you need for those tasks. As a former avid fisherman, it’s nice seeing the weights included.

There are two blades in the kit that could cover most of what you need in any survival situation. Most of us carry a pocket knife, but what if you drop it? Or, what if you really are trying to save weight and need something smaller. These should do the job.

The pod includes 6 Water Purifier Tablets that are effective against viruses, bacteria, guardia and cryptosporidium. Nobody likes getting sick in the woods. If you do run out of water, clean water is your top priority. Boiling water or using purifier tablets could save your life. Using the included sterile, self-standing water bag, you can use these to start the sterilization process for clean drinking.

Weatherproof paper and pencil (with cap) are also included as well as this Fresnel magnifying lens, which is great for creating fire if needed.

Here is a closer look at a few more of the items inside the pod. Nice to see the emergency whistle, 8-feet of stainless steel wire, 25-feet of 70lb nylon cord, button compass, fire striker and heavy-duty thread.

The only frustrating thing I found about the pod is trying to stuff everything back inside the container in the same fashion it was removed. Fortunately, I found there is enough room to get everything back in regardless of order. Just make sure the larger items go inside the cup, not the stove.

With the stove and smaller items in the base, I wanted to show you how everything went into the cup without the included bag. As you can see there is still plenty of room to stash a few more matches or other items.

The pencil (with cap) is the longest item in the pod, make sure it is lined up with the CookMug lid opening when closed.

Another great feature to the pods is their modular system. All of the pods are able to be connected to one another keeping your gear organized. This empty small container screwed onto the lid of my Survival Pro gave me extra space to store more items. You can purchase empty containers in a variety of sizes to fit your needs.

Perfect for a few extra matches, fuel tabs, band-aids, etc.

To test the size of this kit in my bag, I found the GearPods Survival Pro with the small container added still fits great into my Triple Aught Design FAST Pack Lightspeed.

I wanted to do a little comparison shopping after using the pod so I headed down to REI. After spending about an hour looking over every survival type kit they have, this is the closest I came to what is included in the Survival Pod, minus the stove and mug. There are several survival type kits ranging from $20-$200 but none of them had what the pod has with a stove.

This SOL Scout kit was close when it came to what was included but didn’t feature a mirror, cable and a few other items. Of course, no way to cook.

GearPods sells all of the items found in their kits separate when its time to refill your pod. REI sells the same fuel tablets for $1 more. Just an FYI in case you’re in a hurry.

When I started looking into portable stoves, I of course ran into the Jet Boil systems, MSR and Snow Peak options. All of these are great but require much more room and a constant fuel source. I could not find anything available at REI, Sports Authority or Bass Pro Shops (when I looked online) that compared to the GearPods system.

As you’ve read, I am thoroughly impressed with the GearPods system. So much packed into a small package. I like it. I can see myself throwing this Survival Pro pod into my pack when camping or hiking, and it will definitely come with me when I start bike packing next Spring. At $69, I don’t see how you can’t afford to have one of these just in case you need it. Even if I were glamping with a loaded truck, I would still pick up a GearPod. What if your group decided to wander away from camp on a hike and something happens? You get lost and now you have to spend the night in the woods. Don’t be the “I should have” or “That won’t happen to me” kind of guy/girl. Be prepared, be smart, pack light and be safe.

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Please join us in welcoming Jordan May as a contributor on ITS Tactical. Jordan is a journalist and photographer that has traveled the world following his passion. When not on assignment, he’s often riding his mountain bike or out running and preparing for an adventure race. You can find Jordan on Twitter and on his website, A Gentleman’s Word. We’d also like to thank Jordan for allowing us to republish his review of the GearPods Survival Kit.

You may have read Bryan’s latest article on smoke detectors and recently replaced yours, but do you have a plan for what to do when they go off? Smoke detectors may work in different ways, but their primary goal is to alert those nearby that something has changed in the air, be it gas, smoke or carbon dioxide.

It’s important to know the difference in the sound of your smoke detectors, due to the fact that it changes how a person needs to react to save themselves and their family.

What is Smoke?

This may sound like a silly question, but it’s important that we all get on the same page. Smoke is the hot unburned gases that are visible to the naked eye. This is what sets off the alarm and can cause you to frantically fan the unit when you burn something on the stove. The problem isn’t necessarily the smoke, but the number of other undetectable elements that are released when a fire breaks out.

Smoke and most other bad gasses, will first rise in a fire and then bank back down off the ceiling. This is why being close to the floor is best. Because the smoke will rise, the air closest to the floor will be safer and you’ll have a greater chance to escape. Smoke inhalation is actually the leading cause of death in most home fires.

In addition to producing smoke, fire can incapacitate or kill by reducing oxygen levels, either by consuming the oxygen, or by displacing it with other gases. Heat is also a respiratory hazard, as superheated gases burn the respiratory tract. When the air is hot enough, one breath can kill.

Now that you know the true definition of what smoke is and how it acts, what should you do when you hear the smoke detector go off?

During the Night

If you’re sleeping and the alarm goes off, DO NOT SIT UP IN BED. Roll to the floor first, before getting your bearings and assessing the situation. The reason you wouldn’t want to sit up in bed, is that you could be lifting your head right into smoke and hot gases. Most people found dead in house fires are found in bed because they’ve sat up, inhaled a big dose of bad air and died.

Once you’re on the floor, where you go depends on the condition of the room you’re in. Is it really hot and full of smoke? If so, find the closest exit and get out. The term “exit” means any way possible of getting your body outside of the home as rapidly as possible. If your door is closed, remember to feel the doorknob with the back of your hand. If it’s warm or hot, find another way out.

Lets say it’s not just you in the home, but your family is there too. Again, focus on the conditions in the room you start off in. If they’re bad, get out now and work from the outside in to help your family. If conditions are clear, stay as low as possible and move to the rooms they’re in and then to the closest exit immediately.

Find Your Escape

Advocating the closest exit is due to the fact that people are creatures of habit. If the family always goes in and out of the front door then that’s where they’ll try and go, but this obviously isn’t always the best way. Whether the closest exit is through a bathroom window or down and out through the basement, keep an eye out for the best option.

The Fire Department looks at windows as doors and that they can be used to enter and exit a building in roughly the same manner. This being said, you may get cut trying to use a window, or break a bone jumping from a second story window, but cuts and breaks are much easier to fix then lungs exposed to hot gases or burns to the body.

In the event a family member is trapped inside and the rest of you are safely outside, this is the first thing that Firefighters need to know when showing up to the scene. Things to tell them would be the family member’s name, age, sex and what room they may possibly be in. This information can help reduce the search time to find loved ones.

Prepare for the Worst

Having a solid escape plan can help with nearly every situation described above and even with the aftermath of recovering from a tragedy. Taking the time to sit down with your family and discuss what to do when the alarms go off, as well as primary and secondary exits, is a very import conversation to have.

Prompt your kids to get creative and draw out a map that they hang in their room. They’ll pass it everyday and hopefully see it from time to time. Quiz your family at dinner and ensure everyone is on the same page with what to do in the event of a fire.

Along with the basic items we use on a daily basis, such as a driver’s license, credit card/s, car keys and cell phone, there are also other items that will be especially important after a house fire. These include copies of your Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insurance Policy, Birth Certificates, titles or deeds, computer backups, spare clothing, etc.

These are all items that can be copied and/or stored somewhere other than your home so they’re available if needed. If you store these items in a fire-proof safe, keep in mind that most safes are only designed to be in a heated environment for so long. When the Firefighters arrive, you can inform them of the safe location or items you need saved, which will help them help you.

Some simple items can be stored in a shed, neighbor’s house or with a family member that lives nearby. These would be things such as a change of clothes for everyone in the family (remember to keep sizes up to date), important phone numbers, backup ID, credit cards and any daily prescriptions that a family member requires.

Each family’s list will be different, as well as what and how much will be stored. In the short time it takes for a house to burn everything inside, a little prior planning can mean all the difference in starting over.

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Please join us in welcoming PJ Packard as a contributor on ITS Tactical. PJ is a Florida Firefighter, Paramedic and TSAR. He’s been involved in emergency services for over 10 years and loves hunting and the outdoors. We’re also proud to have him as a Life Member at ITS!

I was talking to a fellow on the phone the other day about bug-out bags. He indicated that he had read somewhere lately that he should mark his map with three routes to his BOL (Bug-Out Location) and asked what I thought of the idea.

I indicated that, at least in my opinion, that it didn’t sound like a sensible OPSEC (Operational Security) idea. In a bug-out situation there are many conditions that could cause your map to fall into the wrong hands.

It could be lost or even taken by force, to name a few. In the wrong hands, you’ve just revealed where you are going and that place most likely has your supply of food, weapons, ammo and other self-reliance items. Other members of your family might even already be there.

My thoughts were that it’s not a bad idea to have alternate routes to you BOL, predetermined in the event of detours. But you don’t want to advertise them. I believe in running your routes, before you need to use them and memorize those routes. In executive protection, the advance team and drivers always run various routes such as the hospital, airport, etc., so they are familiar with possible detours and become comfortable with the routes. The same should occur with Bug-Out routes. But in the event a family involved and something did happen to the main leader, a map could come in handy. So, upon further thought on the matter, I felt if you really wanted to mark a map, then you should do it covertly.

What I came up with was the use of a fine-point UV (Ultraviolet) marker to make your markings, then use an UV light to see the markings. I happened to have used this technique for other purposes over the years so I knew it would work in this situation. I also have a couple of different small UV lights that could easily be carried or concealed in a pack.

This photo shows a fine point UV marker, a Streamlight Stylus with UV LED, and a Micron Freedom with UV LED.

This photo shows a map of an area where a BOL could be. This map already has three routes marked to a location using a UV marker.

This photo shows the marked route using the Micron Freedom with UV LED.

As you can see, this is a great way to make markings without other people being able to see them. This can be used for other OPSEC purposes as well. Let’s say you have some information that you want to carry with you, but don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands. This could be phone numbers, lock combinations, or other personal information. You could write that information in an innocuous location on something that you have on you such as a piece of paper in your wallet. What I like to do is write inside a small book, in a location that I won’t forget. You could use odd pages, or always start on page 12, etc. Use a system you’ll remember.

This is a page from the Emergency Pocket Survival Guide which is very small and thin booklet. It could be carried in almost any survival kit or pack.

This photo shows how information could be concealed on a page of an innocuous book.

This could also work for information kept at your home or BOL. Just use any book sitting on your bookshelf and add the information you don’t want people to see with a UV marker.

Anyway, I thought this information might be interesting to people who want to mark their maps with various routes to their BOL without it falling into the wrong hands, or securing other private information. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: John D. McCann is the owner of Survival Resources, a company that specializes in survival kits, survival kit components, and outdoor skills courses. He has also written two books, Build the Perfect Survival Kit and Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need.

If you’ve been following our progression as we get closer to the GORUCK Ascent, you’re probably wondering what gear we’ve decided to take.

When Bryan and I first committed to the Ascent, we knew almost nothing other than everything we’d be taking would have to be carried in or on a GORUCK GR2 and that we’d be climbing 14′ers. We didn’t receive the packing list until about a month after signing up.

Though the packing list set in place by GORUCK is strict, we have the freedom to choose exactly what pieces of gear we will be taking. Everything from what base layers to a tent (if you even want a tent). They were also adamant that if it wasn’t on the list, we wouldn’t need it; including food other than lickies and chewies.

Before getting too far in this article we’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Todd and Julie at Tactical Distributors for working with us as a liaison between many of the companies you’ll read about that are providing gear for our adventure to allow us to tell you all about how it performs for us.

Not your Average Pack

I heard that most hikers will recommend a pack with 2,500 to 3,000 cubic inches of space for a day hike, the GR2 holds roughly 2,900 cubic inches. This isn’t to show how much we plan to do without and “rough it,” or that we’ll be ill equipped. Instead it caused us to ask ourselves, what’s truly necessary? If it’s necessary, how can it be made lighter? Is there an alternative? All of these are excellent questions when you are trying to simplify your life and especially useful when attempting to lighten your load for backpacking.

Another feature of this bag people will ask about is why doesn’t there appear to be a sternum strap or waist belt. To quote Jason, the founder of GORUCK and designer of their bags:

A couple questions we’ve consistently gotten deal with both the sternum strap and the waist belt. Or, in our case, the lack thereof. We approach our design with the philosophy that simpler is better, less is more. Whenever possible, we like to let people add on as they see fit. … A bag should not look like a gypsy camp, not ever. I prefer cleaner, simpler, and more functional, so that was our focus.

The entire Ascent is planned to last 100 hours and we need to be self-sufficient with no planned resupply. Since details aren’t forthcoming, we don’t know how much time we will be spending actually reaching summits, moving between cities, or learning land navigation and survival skills. This means we need to pack so that we’re as fast and light as possible.

Bryan and I both believe that two is one and one is none, but in this case, we’re having to do with just one or even none. What can we really do without? Do I ‘need’ a six inch survival knife or will my Benchmade Mini Griptilian do well enough?

While an endless supply of money would help to better answer the question of what gear is best. Before we get into what’s in our personal loadouts, here’s the packing list we were working with from GORUCK.

GORUCK Ascent Packing List

Mike’s Gear List

• Waterproof Shell
• Outdoor Research Mentor
• 488 g / 17.20 oz
• Insulating Layer Top
• Outdoor Research Radiant Hybrid Pullover
• 372.8 g / 13.15 oz
• Synthetic/Dry Fit T-Shirt
• Under Armour Compression Short Sleeve / Nike Dri-Fit
• 144 g / 5.10 oz – 186 g / 6.60 oz
• Cold Weather Base Layer
• Outdoor Research Sequence Long Sleeve Zip Tee & Radiant Hybrid Tights
• 207 g / 7.30 oz – 368.5 g / 13.00 oz
• Underwear
• Under Armour O Series (2 pairs)
• 184 g / 6.4 oz
• Knit Cap
• Outdoor Research Winter Trek Hat
• 53 g / 1.9 oz
• Hiking Boots
• Lowa Renegade II GTX
• 1110 g / 39.15 oz
• I checked these boots out based on a recommendation from our Managing Editor and I couldn’t be more happy with them. Flexible but tough, these boots feel very capable and during my test on Old Rag mountain, they performed extremely well. I opted for the GoreTex variant.
• Socks
• SmartWool PhD (2 pair total)
• 252 g / 8.80 oz
• I plan on alternating the same pairs of sock for the duration of the Ascent. One pair will be worn while the other dry out.
• Lightweight Pants
• Outdoor Research Furio
• 584 g / 20.60 oz
• Lightweight, Durable Gloves
• Louis Garneau Ergo Air (mountain biking gloves)
• 78 g / 2.80 oz
• Sleeping Pad
• NEMO Zor Short
• 283.5 g / 10.00 oz
• Camera
• iPhone 4 in waterproof case.
• 160 g / 5.64 oz
• Emergency Blanket
• Adventure Medical Kits Emergency Bivvy
• 112 g / 4.00 oz
• Survival Kit
• Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pak Plus
• 166 g / 5.80 oz
• Tent
• NEMO Meta 1P
• 878 g / 31.00 oz
• This tent is fast and lightweight. It uses no poles for support except one trekking pole to form a sort of teepee design. It only sleeps one but has a decent amount of room as well as decent ventilation and a vestibule.
• Personalize GR2
• UCP Camoform on top handle of bag and various morale patches.
• Hydration Bladder
• Source WXP 3L Helix
• 381 g / 13.40 oz
• Constant hydration is key at altitude and having three liters is a good start.
• Water Purification
• Katadyn Micropur MP 1 Tablets (8)
• 6 g / 0.20 oz
• Headlamp
• SureFire Saint Minimus
• 93.6 g / 3.3 oz
• Small, bright, waterproof… this is just about everything I was looking for in a headlamp. It offers a truly variable beam and enables you to go anywhere from 0 lumens to 100 with a simple twist. Also, I used this in my GORUCK Challenge and it passed with flying colors.
• Flashlight
• SureFire G2X Pro
• 125 g / 4.4 oz
• While I’ll probably have the Saint Minimus on most of the time, this light could easily be the primary light source due to it’s size, weight and light output. It’s variable and outputs 15 or 200 lumens.
• Batteries
• SureFire 123A‘s in micro Nalgene container
• 140 g / 5.0 oz
• Pocket Knife
• Benchmade Mini-Griptilian
• 72.57 g / 2.56 oz
• Compass
• Suunto
• Sunglasses
• Suncloud Polarized Wrap Around Sunglasses
• 35 g / 1.20 oz
• Semi lightweight and I dont really mind if they get lost or broken.
• Medication / Medical
• Bayer Asprin, Ginkgo Biloba, Ibuprofen (repackaged)
• 31 g / 1.10 oz
• Water Bottle
• 32 oz. wide mouth Nalgene
• 186 g / 6.60 oz
• Can fill with hot water and place in my sleeping bag at night if it gets cold.
• Pens/Pencils
• Fisher AG7 and mini pencil
• Notebook
• Field Notes brand notebook
• Sunscreen / Insect Repellent
• Small one time use SPF 30+ packets / Repel micro squirt
• Lickies and Chewies (2 lb. Limit)
• Trail Mix, Clif Bars, Sport Beans, GU Gel
• Personal Hygiene
• Toothpaste dots, Deodorant, Body Glide (all repackaged)
• 42.5g / 1.5 oz
• Fire Makers
• REI Storm Matches, Spark-Lite Flint, Tinder-quiks
• Bungee Cords
• Tactical Tailor
• Sleeping Bag / Compression Sack
• Marmot Plasma 15 / Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Compression Sack
• 906 g / 31.96 oz / 66 g / 2.3 oz
• Outside magazines Gear of the Year award winner. This bag is rated to 15 degrees, weighs under 2 pounds, and can be packed down to almost the size of a standard Nalgene. This was an early Christmas gift from my parents and I’m super stoked to test it out during the Ascent.
• 550 Cord
• 50 ft. OD
• 122 g / 4.30 oz
• Waterproofing
• Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil 50L Pack Liner
• 74 g / 2.60 oz
• Duct Tape
• A few feet wrapped around Nalgene and more in survival kit.
• Misc. Equipment
• Snow Peak Ti spork, Snow Peak 600 Ti single wall mug, Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork trekking poles, Suunto Core Extreme Edition Everest, HeadSweats Race Hat, Gossamer Gear Polycryo Ground Cloth.

Maximum Pack Weight at Start: 28.62 lbs.

Note: While focusing on the main items, some ‘odds & ends’ were excluded from the above list. If you are interested in viewing a full breakdown of every item with notes, check out this Google Doc. I’d like to thank Brian Green for the idea and template.

…

Bryan’s GR2 Gear List

• Waterproof Shell
• Arc’Teryx Alpha LT Jacket
• 357 g / 12.6 oz
• Insulating Layer Top
• Arc’Teryx Atom LT Jacket
• 330 g / 11.6 oz
• Synthetic/Dry Fit T-Shirt
• Under Armour Heat Gear Long Sleeve and Short Sleeve T’s
• 144 g / 5.10 oz – 186 g / 6.60 oz
• Cold Weather Base Layer
• Outdoor Research Sequence Long Sleeve Zip Tee & Radiant Hybrid Tights
• 243 g / 8.6 oz – 386 g / 13.6 oz
• Underwear
• Under Armour O Series (2 pairs)
• 184 g / 6.4 oz
• Knit Cap
• Outdoor Research Winter Trek Hat
• 53 g / 1.9 oz
• Hiking Boots
• Lowa Renegade II (Leather Lined)
• 1313 g / 46.3 oz
• Socks
• SmartWool PhD (2 pair total)
• 252 g / 8.8 oz
• Lightweight Pants
• Arc’Teryx Sphinx
• 618 g / 21.8 oz
• Lightweight, Durable Gloves
• Kuiu Guide Gloves (Review coming soon from Peter on ITS Tactical)
• 76 g / 2.7 oz
• GPS
• eTrex Vista HcX
• 199 g / 7 oz (w/ batteries)
• Sleeping Pad
• Therm-a-Rest Z Lite
• 317 g / 11.2 oz
• Camera
• Contour GPS w/ extra battery
• iPhone 4 in waterproof case
• 163 g / 5.7 oz – 160 g / 5.64 oz
• Emergency Blanket
• Adventure Medical Kits Emergency Bivvy
• 112 g / 4.00 oz
• Survival Kit
• Custom Mini Survival Kit (As seen in articles on ITS)
• 141 g / 5 oz
• Tent
• NEMO Gogo LE (w/ stuff sack and stakes)
• 1227 g / 43.3 oz
• Personalize GR2
• Paracord wrapped grab handle
• Hydration Bladder
• Source WXP 3L Helix
• 381 g / 13.40 oz
• Water Purification
• Katadyn Micropur MP 1 Tablets (8)
• 6 g / 0.20 oz
• Headlamp
• Princeton Tec Remix Pro
• 67 g / 2.4 oz
• Flashlight
• SureFire A2 Aviator
• 115 g / 4.1 oz
• Batteries
• Surefire 123As and AAs in CountyComm Battery Holders and LOKSAK
• 210 g / 7.4 oz
• Pocket Knife
• Emerson SOCFK-1A
• 128 g / 4.5 oz
• Compass
• Silva Ranger
• 72 g / 2.5 oz.
• Sunglasses
• Gatorz Wraptor
• 24 g / 1 oz
• Medication / Medical
• Bayer Asprin, Ginkgo Biloba, Ibuprofen (repackaged)
• 31 g / 1.10 oz
• Water Bottle
• Liberty Bottle
• 184 g / 6.5 oz
• Pens/Pencils
• Fisher Military Space Pen and 2 ITS mini pencils in LOKSAK
• 26 g / .8 oz
• Notebook
• Rite-in-the-Rain notebook
• 72 g / 2.5 oz
• Sunscreen / Insect Repellent
• Kinesys
• Dermatone
• DEET
• Lickies and Chewies (2 lb. Limit)
• Trail Mix, Clif Bars, Sport Beans, GU Gel
• Personal Hygiene
• Toothpaste, Deodorant, Body Glide (all repackaged), Cut down toothbrush
• 42.5g / 1.5 oz
• Fire Makers
• Lighter (Plus TAD Survival Spark and Lifeboat Matches in Mini Survival Kit)
• Bungee Cords
• Brigade Quartermasters
• Sleeping Bag
  
• Mountain Hardware Phantom 32
• 652 g / 23 oz
• 550 Cord
• 50 ft. of Paracord tied in two Paracord Deployment Lanyards (Article coming soon to the Knot of the Week!)
• 122 g / 4.30 oz
• Waterproofing
• ALOKSAK Bags (see weights above)
• Integral Tactical Backpack Cover
• 216g / 7.6 oz
• Duct Tape
• Six feet wrapped around Liberty Bottle and more in survival kit.
• Misc. Equipment
• Jetboil Flash Cooking System, Eureka! Ground Cloth, Snow Peak Ti Spork, OSOE Trouser Belt, Crocs, Trecking Poles

Maximum Pack Weight at Start: 31.65 lbs.

Notes

By the time you read this we’ll be heading out to Colorado to start our acclimating and getting ready to shake the heavens with GORUCK and our Ascent teammates!

We’d like to again thank Tactical Distributors, Arc’Teryx, Outdoor Research, Under Armor, NEMO, Jetboil, Smart Wool, Princeton Tec and Contour for getting us some great gear to evaluate on the Ascent!

Stay tuned for our after action report with details on all of the gear we’ll be carrying and our honest evaluation of how it performed.

I’m sitting at my desk as I feel the floor gently ‘bounce.’ I work on the 11th floor of an office building in downtown Washington DC. Being at the top of the building and next to a small bridge, it’s not uncommon to feel small ‘shutters’ of movement as a large truck passes by.

Was this a truck? An earthquake? An explosion? The bounce subsided for a few moments as my coworkers and I stood and stared blankly at each other.

I typed to a friend on Skype:

“i think were having an earthquake”

Just as we were trying to figure out what it was that we felt, much larger vibrations were now starting to hit, and hard. The ceiling tiles began to shake and it sounded as if loose nuts and bolts were being dropped on top of them. I turned to my right and through the conference room window I saw the building next to ours shaking. The glass made sounds like it was going to buckle under stress.

Then all of a sudden, everything was still. The low rumble was gone. The building once again completely stable. Unsure of what happened and not wanting to stick around to find out, my coworkers and I evacuated the office to regroup on the streets outside.

One more quick message on Skype:

“gotta go”

All I had to do was zip up my bag and head for the stairs. That’s it. Because I try to pack for every situation, there was no scrambling to assemble things. I left my computer behind, with every application still running. It would have just weighed me down and my data is already saved in multiple places (Evernote, Dropbox, etc.).

Freedom Plaza, Washington DC; taken by Jeffrey Levy.

Everyone on the street immediately tried calling loved ones but the voice network for our cell phones were down. I immediately sent my wife a text which seemed to work and then turned to Twitter. It turns out it wasn’t just DC, but almost the entire East Coast felt it. This was a real earthquake (5.8) and knowing the facts afterwards, it was the largest in this area since 1897.

My neck of the woods was relatively untouched but closer to the epicenter there were some buildings affected and chimneys knocked down. Actually, a picture frame at my house fell but that’s it.

Preparation

Because I don’t live or travel in an earthquake prone location, I only carry and know the very basics when it comes to preparing for one. With that said, I have designed my most basic ‘everyday carry’ to cover a large variety of situations.

Below is a list sharing some of the items I had with me ready to go. This is also what I carry on a daily basis.

• Sturdy bag
• Usually my GORUCK GR1 but I had the GR2 at the time.
• First Aid kit
• Basic ‘boo boo’ stuff with band-aids and what not.
• ETA Kit 
• If there were more damage and lives at stake, a true blow out kit would be needed.
• Survival Kit
• Pocket sized and includes everything I need to get home if I have to walk the 10 miles.
• Pocket knife
• I carry a Benchmade Mini-Griptilian. A very strong and capable little blade.
• Multi tool
• Pliers can be extremely useful, especially in an urban environment.
• Flashlight
• What if I were trapped under rubble or even on the Metro (subway) when the earthquake hit?
• Water
• In my bag you’ll almost always find at least a one liter bottle of water.
• Food
• Just a few snacks.
• Backup cell phone battery charger
• Just because voice networks were down, texting and tweeting runs the battery down fast.
• Sturdy shoes/boots
• Had there been significant damage, boots would offer great protection.

Don’t use my list as a rule but as something to give you ideas on. Work on developing an EDC that works specifically for you.

Also, our West Coast readers will most certainly laugh at us for making so much noise about a quake under 6.0 but this was my, and many others first earthquake. Being 11 stories up and feeling everything shifting and groaning was an intense experience. I’m just glad that’s all it was.

Further Reading

Here are some past articles that you should really take the time to revisit:

• Preparedness Lifestyle vs Preparedness Event
• Every Day Carry Planning Series
• How Blow Out Kits Saved Lives in Tucson and Why You Should Carry One
• Three Seconds. Three Minutes. 30 Minutes. Are You Prepared?
• 12 Things You Need In Your Vehicle Emergency Kit
• Pocket Survival Kit Review Series
• Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits for Staying Alive
• Can You Physically Save Yourself
• 42 Grunt Tips & Tactics for Your Toolbox when the SHTF

Please feel free to leave a comment with ideas on how to prepare so we can help inform as many people as possible about this. What’s in your ‘go bag’ or what do you carry every day in case something like this happens?

- Thanks Josh for asking about a debrief on this.