What to have in a good safe house

So here's the situation, you've got an extra palce away from home that's off the books. You'd like to set it up as a safe house, somewhere to go when someone's looking for you, a place to keep "useful" things, or a place to go when the world ends. So, what do you put in it?
I'll post my ideas later, right now I'm interested in yall's ideas.

The basics food, water ,beds, tv, radio, guns, ammo,super models in

swimsuits,you know the basics.

good luck have fun with the post

Well , it would depend what the Safehouse was for.. Would you want to survive the Zombie Apocolypse? , Nuclear Fallout, or a meteor strike ? Either way , you need the basics! ,
Food , Water, Weapons .. Silent one's for Zombie Apocolypse, Lots and lots of ammo, Medical Kits , Tons of Tools , go and buy a couple of All in One screwdrivers, tons of battery's , Oil lamps . Gas and Oil for lamps , and more importantly some books and Cards, so you don't go insane

There is lots of stuff you should bring , but that's most of the stuff i would bring .


Porter

I would recommend getting the MRE's that the military uses. these aren't the tastiest things in the world, but they are unparalleled for maintaining survivability and they last for a really long time. The also come with a water heater, so if you're without power, you can warm your food up with a couple ounces of water.

weapons are always a good thing to have, especially in the coming times. If martial law is put into place like so many are claiming, then to have a place to make your stand, or to escape being turned into a prisoner is a nice idea. it doesn't make sense though to stock it with more weapons than you'll need, unless you plan on bringing stragglers or other escapees with you. Also, try to have a few different kinds of weapons. try to have small calibre weapons, such as .22 cal rifles for hunting small game for food if need be, shotguns with bird and buckshot ammo for hunting food, and slugs for stopping power. handguns as a back up, only .40 cal or better, as a 9mm has very little stopping power in regards to an assailant wearing a ballistics vest. perhaps a couple of assault rifles, like an AR-15, HK G36 (excellent rifle) or some other type rifle.

also have lots of extra clothing, both warm weather and cold weather, to prepare for the worst. have lots of extra underwear, socks, shoes/boots, and medical supplies. People will say that it's better to have ammo than clothes, but those probably aren't people who have had to sit in freezing weather in nothing more than a button up shirt and a pair of jeans. weapons won't do you any good if you freeze to death either.

i would say a generator would be handy, but unless you can find one that runs off of something besides fossil fuels, or you can somehow stock up on 55 gallon barrels of gas, then a generator won't do you much good.

have blades around as well. not swords or anything like that (this isn't D&D), but axes, for cutting wood to make a fire, knives for everyday cutting, and scissors. don't just have one axe either. if you bring 6 people to your little getaway resort, put those fools to work, and you'll have enough fire wood to last for a while.

as far as radios go, have one that can generate it's own power. i've seen radios that have a little crank on them where you can generate power, and they last a pretty good while. as far as a HAM or any other type of radio transmitter, it might be handy, but i'm not sure that these are really in use anymore, at least not as widely as they used to be. You can bet cellphones won't work, and if they do, it can be used to track you down, even if the phone is off in some cases, so best leave it behind.

lastly, bring your wits. you won't be doing yourself or anyone else any good if you prepare this whole escape plan and then lose your cool as soon as you get there. if you aren't the outdoorsy type, maybe look into survival classes, first aid classes, firearm safety classes, or any other type of training that could help. watching bear grylls on the discovery channel isn't going to help you escape the apocalypse, and if you think it will, you'll find out just how wrong you are as your train pulls up into the FEMA camp.

all the best,

sandman

I would get the basics. Food, water, firearms, medical equipment, medicines. I would have a truck with spare parts, scrap metal, tools of all kinds to work with wood/metal/stone etc... Communications equipment, surveillance equipment, seeds for farming, or a hydroponic set up for indoor growing in case of nuclear or bio attack. The house would be hazard sealed and the basement would be hardened and sealed.


This is just my little pipe dream.

Sandman no offense but I really don't understand when people say MRE's aren't tasty. Are there some that I don't like er yes but some are damn good. Than again I lived on worse in Iraq for a year and we thought MRE's where a crapload better than what we got day to day. Especially when the newer MRE's started to trickle down. hell I still crave the cheese packets from MREs damn good stuff. I guess you have to know what you like vs what you dont like and also knowing how to become a MRE chef matters. ie mixing foods together to get a great meal. Also the heaters and accessories can be used for many uses. example heater packet, tobasco packet, and small soda bottle = pepper spray bomb not a great one but fun for playing with. But I hope this gives you an idea of more things you can do with mre's.

reply to post by drift393


While it's true that MRE's are more satisfying than the "warm meal" provided in the field on most occasions, i was referring to the MRE's being less tasty than your conventional canned foods, such as chef boyardee, campbells soups, etc.

MRE's are more useful because an MRE provides a whole meal, versus canned food, which only provides a part of a meal, and more often than not very few vitamins or minerals.

I myself was never a fan of the cheese. i prefer the peanut butter packs, and of course, the occasional M&M packet. it's like christmas opening those things up sometimes, hehe.

flour!!!!

WATER!!!!

and a machete -

or zulu spear.... I have one and it is second only to a firearm -

Those are good answers guys, but I meant more of a espionage-type situation. Like a safe place to go if a spy is after you or something. Some of my ideas are:
-cash from different countries
-multiple passports and identities
-weapons
-explosives
-protected computer and communications equipment
-tactical gear (plate carriers, holsters, mag pouches)
-welder, torch, and other tools
-scrap metal, wood, and other building materials
-MRE's
-water
-clothes

When I read the words "safe house", I associate them with espionage, secret activities, people avoiding the authorities, people on the run, not zombies and the apocalypse.

Safe houses in the sense that I mean should have very little in them. They are way stations and launching pads. Unless they are sponsored by the government in power they are "one time use", ideally. Re-use increases risk.

A week's worth of groceries and fresh clothing at a minimum. A clean land line not associated with anyone the government would be aware of. Make-up and hair dye. Travel tickets. False ID.

Some quiet, trusted resident should live there. Someone who entertains from time to time, but not the neighbors, just strangers, business friends, relatives from out of town, people the other neighbors don't know but accept as an occasional recurring routine.

They should have an outstanding first aid kit.

No weapons.

I'm sure a professional, which I'm not, could add to the list.

Just thought of something. A police scanner.

[edit on 3-3-2009 by ipsedixit]

nice additions ipsedixit, I never would have thought of the hair dye or first aid.

One thing everyone else forgot is the safe house needs a extremely well hidden storage compartment to hide all of your survival supplies.

This is a must have with all the criminals that break into homes and cabins that are not lived in all the time.

I know of many areas with weekend cabin that every cabin has been broke into at least once and many get broke into yearly.
and the better you try to secure the building the more likely it will be seen as having something worth stealing.

There are criminal that specialize in just breaking into weekend cabins because many have generators and other items that are easily disposed of for money or drugs.

two very useful items...

CO2 Fire Extinguisher...puts out fires and can make a confined space deadly by filling with carbon dioxide, even with a respirator, if theres nothing other than CO2 to breathe then no NBC-class filter will help you

Scuba tank with mouthpiece...a lifesaver for a smoke/teargas/other filled environment, can double as a 'charge point' for pneumatic weapons, and obviously, allow you to breathe underwater if you choose to escape or store 'sensitive' items in rivers and lakes