Being self-sufficient doesn’t mean just taking care of food/water/shelter in times of abundance.  It also means being able to take care of yourself and your loved ones in an emergency situation.  I’m not talking about all-out doomsday preppers, but at least being exposed to some safe practices following emergency situations.  During Hurricane Sandy, my apartment lost power for a few days.  Luckily, we were decently prepared for that short-term event, but if anything ever happened that knocked out electricity, water, or gas, we wouldn’t have been prepared to take care of ourselves for more than a week or two, if that.  Exposing yourself to certain knowledge before an emergency can greatly increase your chances of staying safe in the following days and weeks.  This free class put on by Fernando of SurviveandthrivePhiladelphia.org and Will from PracticeSurvival.com was just that, a great intro-level exposure to some techniques that can be used to protect yourself in a situation where radiation, biological, chemical agents threaten public safety.

On November 9th, at the King of Prussia Firehouse, a few different groups co-organized a class on emergency safety for dangerous situations involving hazerdous materials, nuclear radiation, and dangerous biological, or chemical exposure.  The class was a basic overview of many techniques and tips to help increase your chances of staying safe in these dangerous situations.  It was taught by Fernando who runs SurviveAndThrivePhiladelphia.org, and Will from PracticeSurvival.com.  The class was very informative.  One of my favorite tips was for creating your own emergency survival toilet.  With a 5-gallon bucket, a trash bag, and a bag of cat litter, you can make a “litter box” style emergency toilet.

About 50 or so people attended the class.  Did I mention that they had a full bar?  Not a bad way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.