Today is going to be a serious topic. This one was supposed to follow the April Fools podcast but you know, stuff got in the way. Today we are going to talk about firearm safety.
I the firearm circles, anytime a firearm accident occurs, the term usually used is ‘negligent discharge’. The reason it is negligent is because one of the primary rules of gun safety has to be violated in order for it to occur in the first place.
Various organizations have three to ten rules that essentially represent the same principals. I will write the version that I use below.
Treat every firearm as it is loaded all the time
Never point the barrel at something you are not willing to shoot
Know what is behind your target
Keep your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot
https://www.military.com/video/guns/gunfire/firearm-negligence/1676955087001 I tried to get this to work as an embed, clearly I need to spend some more time trying to figure out the actual code to do it as it wouldn’t natively convert. But this is a short video on some examples of stuff that can happen.
I once had a negligent discharge and fortunately there was no serious consequences. It was definitely a life altering experience and made me completely re-evaluate safety and my approach. So what happened?
I once owned a pistol and periodically the trigger did not reset when I was shooting. The first time it occurred, I pulled the trigger back for a second shot and no action. I was messing around with the firearm trying to figure out what was wrong while it was still loaded and cocked and the gun fired in the air. In that case, I violated rules one, three and four and arguably all of them.
If you are around gun culture long enough, most people have a similar story. I know for me, it made me take safety much more seriously. If that were to happen now I would stop, unload and then try to figure out the problem. Most accidents occur because of carelessness or ignorance. In my case, I would say both were true.
I am so thankful that I was lucky the pistol was pointed in a safe direction for me. I cant say that I know what was behind my target but I was in the woods so the probability was extremely small. That could have easily been deadly because I was seriously not paying attention to the risks. It is one of the reasons that I advocate for a ‘Range Safety Officer’ with even informal settings because they can intervene when not everyone is paying attention.
In case you are wondering, I don’t own that pistol anymore because I couldn’t trust it to fire reliably.
It’s interesting, I find this topic difficult to write about consistently. Maybe it is stage fright? It is the one day of the week that I should be able to plan around and I have six or seven things always lined up. Well, I have got one today.
The definition of tactical is “relating to or constituting actions carefully planned to gain a specific military end”. I think in the civilian world, we probably think of tactical as an adjective that describes firearms, magazines, ammunition, camouflage, flashlights, knives and other gear like that. Well today I’ve got some tactics and gear that I want you to consider.
That would be strategically placed fire extinguishers, an escape plan, rally points and communication plan to deal with a more likely scenario than a zombie world. You will see from the picture above that I have a fire extinguisher placed next to some flammables like gun powder and primers. That is in case I have a fire while I am smoking and reloading – just kidding, better safe than sorry.
How many fire extinguishers do you need? Good question, I have at least one on every level of my home, one in every vehicle, one in the shop, one in the garage and one soon to be one in the garden shed. They do no good if they are not convenient to reach so for example there is one in the kitchen in case of grease or electrical fire. They are generally placed where they are close to a fuel source or for life protection like in the bedrooms.
For the uneducated, not all fire extinguishers are the same they have an ABC rating system for the type of fuel or fire that they are effective at stopping. Most homeowner versions are an ABC general type. Here is a chart below for reference.
Know Your Fire Extinguisher Sign on white background,Vector illustration
I don’t think this is an adequate forum to address how to use fire extinguishers correctly. However quickly, spray the extinguisher at the base of the fire or what is burning. Think of it as a tool and not an end all. So, the use of the extinguisher should be to allow you to escape the situation, not to put out a fire.
To the end of escape, you should have a plan to exit the building in every room, particularly bedrooms. If your bedrooms are on the second floor, you need a safe way to get to the ground. In my house, the second floors are at least twenty feet above ground so in an extreme situation, jumping is possible with likely injury. For that reason, I have put safety ladders in each of the bedrooms that can be deployed to climb down to the ground.
Once out, we have two meeting spots. One is primary and the other is secondary. Unlike a business where we have countless employees and customers, once out you are pretty much safe and we don’t have to do an extensive headcount or other more complicated procedures.
To that end, it would be a good idea to have a cache of items outside of the home like tools to shut-off gas and water, flashlights, first aid, clothes, spare keys etc. You want to be able to do what you can safely to mitigate further damage to people or property if possible. You also don’t need to be freezing or wet in the middle of the night if that is possible. I have been in hotels where the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night, talk about a learning lesson for a future post.
Meet and know your neighbors so that if you have to leave without your phone you need to get help. Remember that safety is the optimum outcome, not stopping the fire. Fire department results will depend on a quick triage of the situation, likely preventing the fire from burning anything else. I live within one mile of the fire station and have had the unfortunate luck of dialing 911 several times. I have seen response time of 5-20 minutes depending on the time of day. I have even seen out of town units respond when the local department is busy. So remember that if the fire causes evacuation, that extra time isn’t going to help the situation.
First when going to bed, close the doors for an extra barrier of protection. In rooms with closed doors, touch the doorknob for heat, if it is safe to touch then it should be safe to cautiously open. In the case of smoke, get as low to the floor as possible because that will have the cleanest air. Nothing is ever a perfect situation so assessment of go, which direction, etc is unique to each situation. The training for each household member should be to get out individually and meet at the rally point for headcount.
Some other things worth mentioning are make sure you have adequate numbers and functioning smoke detectors as well as CO2 detectors. Make sure your address is visible from the street. Perform a site assessment for flammables around the property. Use temporary solutions temporarily like extension cords outside and unplug when not in use.
Have a fireproof and waterproof container for your most important documents. Make copies and store them on a cloud location or at least off premises for additional backups. Perform an inventory of your belongings for insurance purposes. You can make a video tour of your house periodically to provide a basic layout and store it offsite. Any collections or particularly expensive items may need to be insured separately to be adequately covered (like firearms).
Wow, I had more to say than I originally thought when I sat down. I think there is more here too. I will boil it down to disaster commonality in that this kind of thinking works for more than fires, but also floods or hurricanes and other disaster scenarios. So, start somewhere and put on your thinking cap to develop a plan that will work for you.
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