Twenty Minutes To Button Up

Situation X comes into play: Tv and radio shows are interupted to announce that a weapon has been detonated in your city and you have twenty minutes to get into your shelter. My question is what would you do in that twenty minutes to button up your property? (Assuming that you don't have time to drive far enough to be safe from fallout)
Have you drilled this with your family?
Who is responsible for what tasks?
What is your backup plan if any particular person isn't home at the time?
Have you timed these actual tasks? How many minutes does it take to tape all windows, seal with plastic, etc?
With people at work, kids at school, and errands to run the odds are good that the entire task of buttoning up your home will fall onto one person. What do you think?
Jules

I would post the news here so I could get credit for first to post the real big story

Honestly their is a half basement under the condo, but it is partially exposed to the outside, so it would depend if it is fall out, direct radiation or bio attack.

I would also hook my vacum cleaner pointing out of bathroom fan, turn on dryer, then route air from leak in door through makeshift filter to create overpreassure system


[edit on 19-9-2007 by Redge777]

I think I'm going to sell fallout suits for a living.

Originally posted by earthman4
I think I'm going to sell fallout suits for a living.

for exactly 20 minutes you would have one heck of a market, you could fire sale the entire lot out at any price.

Originally posted by Redge777
I would post the news here so I could get credit for first to post the real big story

Honestly their is a half basement under the condo, but it is partially exposed to the outside, so it would depend if it is fall out, direct radiation or bio attack.

I would also hook my vacum cleaner pointing out of bathroom fan, turn on dryer, then route air from leak in door through makeshift filter to create overpreassure system

[edit on 19-9-2007 by Redge777]

What if you lose power? How many minutes would this take to hook up?

we'll just wrap each other in tin foil. we'll be fine.

Originally posted by julesmac8
What if you lose power? How many minutes would this take to hook up?

Power go out!! my whole plan is now gone, all my pop tarts and frozen dinners wont do me no good now, they never mentioned the power going out in the 3 days 3 ways to prepare manual. Ughhh! Now you tell me



Honestly If I had the filter, I could get it going in a few minutes with tape and plastic, I would have to use dustbuster for overpreassure.

ROTFL... alrighty Smartypants.. I can be pretty slow on the uptake but I'm new to hear and new to trying to plan. I'm serious: what all would you do in a twenty minute period? Have you practiced and timed it??
Jules

I saw a video I think it was on you tube where a guy builds a, clubhouse I guess for lack of a better term, in his basement with boxes, books, and jugs of water.

Originally posted by julesmac8
ROTFL... alrighty Smartypants.. I can be pretty slow on the uptake but I'm new to hear and new to trying to plan. I'm serious: what all would you do in a twenty minute period? Have you practiced and timed it??
Jules

honestly I have a bathroom that would be best for airborn threat, and half underground basement for radiation threat, but not fallout, it would take to long to seal it up.

I have extra water and a little can food, but no I havn't tried it out, I would be winging it.

If it was all out nuke would be only way we would get a warning, I am in high target area so it would not matter, if it is terrorist their would not be a warning. So I would basically duck and cover like our friend the turtle.

I did think of one thing, manhole sewers might not be a bad shelter in a pinch. Think about it, they are at least 6 to 8 feet deep and surrounded by lots of dirt.

[edit on 19-9-2007 by Redge777]

reply to post by Redge777

Honestly If I had the filter, I could get it going in a few minutes with tape and plastic, I would have to use dustbuster for overpreassure.

Hey Redge, stupid question here i guess but what do you mean by creating an overpressure.?
What does it do and how would you make it?

As for my 20 minutes? jeez I dont know wtf I would do.. We dont have basements where I live and I wouldnt even know if we have a public shelter or where it would be.. I sure wish it was in my budget to build a good, solid and roomy underground shelter. Maybe even doing like I've seen on the internet and something a really old friend of mine did. He lived on about 100 acres in in the East TX Piney Woods, he bought an old school bus body, minus the engine and buried it about 50 yards from his home. I know that it isnt a huge deterrent against radiation, unless you fortify it with concrete and steel but it would definitely be better than nothing and it had a generator. Its original purpose was to be a tornado shelter but we used it to party in and as teenagers, it was great spot to "entertain" our girlfriends

reply to post by julesmac8

I think it was Paul Newman who said 'If you ever have a plan, you're screwed'.
So, has everyone in the US got a list of things 'to do' stuck on the fridge door?

You know: milk, bread, oh in case of radioactivity please turn over.

I'm not sure we English have shelters (apart from 'important' people).
But we are as a nation renowned for our garden sheds.
Indeed, all our important inventions have apparently eminated from such structures.

Now our sheds are generally lapped wooden material given to healthy ventilation, so not much good regarding fallout.

Travelling to fetch the kids, nope, our roads are clogged up anyway.
Stockpiling food, nope, we love our fish and chips.

Twenty minutes to button up - most people here would go to the nearest pub and have a beer or ten.

Me, I'll just head down to the local airfield and jump in a plane.
WHO SAID FLYING WAS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?

and half underground basement for radiation threat, but not fallout,

It never occured to me that there was a difference up until reading the survival forum. (Radiation vs fallout) My next question is if you can't avoid one (fallout OR radiation) then would you want to even bother trying to avoid the other?
(Did that make sense??) Either way you're gonna get sick right?
Jules

reply to post by Kr0n0s


overpreasure system is where you keep the preasure inside higher then outside, so no outside gas leaks in. the way you do it is just have a filter attached to a pump moving clean air in, then no bad air will drift in. all your leaks in your house are like pin holes in a ballon constintly being blown up by air intake.



[edit on 19-9-2007 by Redge777]

Now, this is a serious question - so don't laugh.

If your Government has issued such warnings/guidelines is it possible to get 'radioactivity insurance' as a separate clause over and above say your normal health insurance.

I was thinking about earthquake insurance as an analogy, as I understand certain areas say in California where residents can't get it if they are in 'high risk' areas.

I'm sure all those actuaries have worked out the odds of surviving.
Premiums vs. payouts.

Twenty minutes to button up - most people here would go to the nearest pub and have a beer or ten.
*Or the end-of-world quickie* Good thoughts Tommy!
Thanks Kronos and Redge for letting me pick your brains; very appreciated!
Jules

[edit on 19-9-2007 by julesmac8]

reply to post by julesmac8


That would definetly be a first, my after cigarette lit by a thermal nuclear fireball.

TommyCrown I don't know what you have to go through in the UK for a health care claim, but here a call to make a claim would result in waiting on hold so long that the claimant would likely die of the radioactivity before the claim paid out. The insurance company would be more than happy to accept the premiums knowing they would never have to pay on a claim.
jules

IMO opinion I think there would be more warning for us here in the US unless our govt was involved or it was someone with a nuke within a city like how speculations were on 9.14.07 were even though that thread was just speculation

its hard to say, would I be ready, well depending on time of day and where you are at?

haul ass I guess, hmm

I've actually thought this through.

I have hurricane shutters, and can close the house up in 10 minutes flat, if I rush. I have plastic sheeting so I could seal up windows from inside. I have a water filter, so I'll probably have someone on water duty, filling up bottles, bowls, pots, etc. And I always have hurricane supplies on hand, so I think I might be okay if situation x doesn't happen like right next to me.

honestly though, if I didn't have my family with me, and they were stuck in vulnerable areas, I don't think I would put much effort into getting into lock down mode, I'd be more worried and concerned about getting to them.