Fire is one of those things that everyone puts on their survival checklist. It can provide heat, lighting, and security, but it can also take those things away. Most people don’t think about what fire could do if it were to develop into a forest fire or set buildings ablaze in a densely populated area.
With the recent protests and riots, you've no doubt seen images of buildings on fire. If the SHTF, there could be fires like that in every single city. This video by Canadian Prepper discusses this danger and how to prepare for it.
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One of the largest fires in history was the Great Fire of London in 1666. This fire occurred at a time when firefighting methods were very primitive, and furthermore, there was no electrical grid. However, there also were not many deaths in the Great Fire because people were able to evacuate before the fire got worse.
The fact that there were very few high rise buildings at the time played a role in the low number of casualties. Today, we may have more advanced firefighting methods than the 1600s, but we also have numerous high rise buildings that can make it harder to evacuate.
There are numerous ways that fires can be created, either intentionally or unintentionally. If anything, fires are one of the most overlooked aspects of preparing for disaster. It’s virtually guaranteed that in a major disaster, arsonists will take advantage of the chaos to start fires around the city simply because it’s in their nature.
When it comes to bugging out of the city, you need to take forest fires into account when choosing a bug out location. It’s ideal to have a bug out location that is as fire-resistant as possible. The problem is that in North America, wildfires are a major threat because of the high number of trees in most remote areas.
The issue of both forest fires and urban fires will arguably be amplified in a major grid down disaster. This is because people will rely more on candles if the power grid goes down, and the increase in the number of candles means there will likely be a greater number of accidents…and therefore a greater number of fires.
Furthermore, without the power grid, more people will be reliant on fire to cook meals and boil water, and in the winter, they'll need to rely on fire just to stay warm. Plain and simple, in the middle of a grid-down disaster scenario, it will only be a matter of time before fire becomes a huge problem.
Fires spread fast (whether it’s between buildings in a city or between trees in a forest), and you need a way to evacuate your building or bug out location fast. Without professional firefighters nearby, you can’t rely on putting out the fire yourself because it could get too large for you to do anything.
Considering your location and having an efficient evacuation plan in place matters the most. For a more detailed discussion along with suggestions on how to prepare, watch the video below.
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