Have a Plan

We all know how important it is to have an emergency action plan.

On a regular basis we should be sitting down with our families, especially children, and discussing our response to things such as a fire, what to do if there is a natural disaster, what to do if someone in the family gets hurt, so on.

One topic that needs to be discussed and one that I fear is often left out of the discussion is what to do in the event of an intruder. This goes not just for our children but also for us adults. It amazes me when I broach the topic how many people simply say, “Well I would just grab my gun and go deal with it.” To me that answer is a refusal to acknowledge a potential problem by coating our response in bravado just because we don’t want to face the issue. It’s a scary proposition, the thought of an armed intruder forcing their way into our home, the one place that we should be able to be at peace and totally relaxed.

The best way to counter that fear is by addressing it. Discuss it, come up with a plan and then PRACTICE your response. Think about where you are going to stage flashlights, if you choose to keep a firearm in your residence where is it located, do you have an extra magazine/speed-loader staged with the firearm, do you have access to a phone in your bedroom, if you have a dog(s) are they going to be in the way and under foot if you need to deal with a threat……the list goes on.

If you have a significant other that you live with one thing that I always recommend is make your response a two-person movement. This takes some practice but in the end there is no reason why you should be out in the darkness by yourself when backup is still in bed.

Our emergency action plans are only as good as our ability to put them into action. If I say to my family “in the event of a fire we will go out that window” but I never inspect the window when the time comes it may be stuck shut. Talk about these things, develop a plan and then practice how you are going to put your plan into action. Be smart, be responsible, and be safe.

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