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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.
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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.
This being an Urban Survival site , this article is rightfully aimed at city dwellers . We in the suburbs and country face issues with fire also . Living in Arizona we have for the most part very dry conditions , which lead to forest and desert fires . Because of lightning or human stupidity we loose thousands of acres every year . Looters , here tend to just steal and run away with whatever they got their hands on . Not that they wouldn’t think of burning something down , but Arizona is a concealed carry state , arsonists could be shot . For those of you that do live in larger cities , take heed , plan ahead , and don’t panic use logic .
Some good info, but could be better presented.
Even in urban setting fire will jump from house to house very easily with no fire dept to stop it.
I have been close to an urban house fire and the heat from only 3 houses away was very intense, just for
the one house fire, it was a multi unit fire call. They were extremely worried it would spread to other houses. It melted the siding on the house next to it.
The house on fire was not a complete loss, but it was very badly damaged.
Without fire prevention tools like sprinklers, High rises will become like candles and there will be no escape for many people. So it is best not to be living in one, during SHTF.
The number of nut jobs that will be starting fires in Urban environments is highly under rated. Not only will you have the outright Arsonists, but you have a lot of rioters and looters that seem to like to start fires also.
Then there are the careless and fool hardy, non preppers that will accidentally start fires.
So there is a triple threat in Urban environments, Post SHTF.
As far a forest fires go, desert’s don’t have trees to speak of, but the brush fires react in much the same way.
However they both differ from urban fires, in that many cases will be lightning caused. But during SHTF campfires might be a big cause also.
You will also probably see them from a long way off, giving you time to pack up and flee. In urban fires, you might not be that lucky.
It is necessary in prepping to be ready to put out fires that you inadvertently get started.
Rather than a fire extinguisher, which is a single use tool, I suggest sand buckets and some spare bags of sand. (Play sand can be purchased at most big box home stores or some hardware stores.)
As far as other people starting fires, you can only hope they will not affect you, but you should still be ready to abandon everything and Bug out at a moments notice. So keep those bug out bags handy , even after you are bugged in or bugged out, as you still might need to do it all over again.
Fire will be one of the biggest threats, Post SHTF. So you better be well prepared and have a good plan on dealing with it.