The Most Important Prepper Book of the
Decade!
by
F.J. Bohan
Of
all the subjects discussed by preppers and survivalists, there is one that has
been painfully ignored or completely overlooked. Often, it has been artfully
sidestepped because there are virtually no solutions being offered anywhere
about it. What has been written is considered rudimentary or dated at best.
It’s a subject that is notably absent from the survivalist gurus’ blogs and
websites and rarely shows up as a chapter in any of the countless books
available on preparing.
While
writing Barbed Wire, Barricades and
Bunkers, even I shamefully danced in the opposite direction from the
subject and omitted it completely. Yet, even as no one offers reasonable
solutions to the problem, preppers and survivalists boldly ask, "What
about air?”
For
the majority here on earth, air has been plentiful; however, preppers and
survivalists realize our supply of
breathable air can rapidly become limited when following FEMA or CDC
suggestions when sheltering-in-place using duct tape and plastic sheeting or
when closing up a home-built buried shelter for protection. It only takes four
minutes without breathable air and you'll be dead, leaving all the prepping,
planning, and provisions you have stored up for disasters to the looters or the
caravans of government trucks that will be loaded up with your beans, rice, and
beef jerky to feed the refugees in FEMA camps. Clearly, this is not what good
planning looks like.
Shortly
after the events of 9-11, DHS, FEMA, and the CDC all identified various
potential threats to the American public and recommended anyone caught in a
threat-affected area seal themselves inside a room in their home or office to
protect them from the hazardous particles floating in the air. The hazardous
particles identified included anthrax, radioactive/nuclear fallout (in the
event of a nuclear strike), dirty-bomb dust and particulates, bacteria, and
pandemic viruses.
Once
sealed in your home or office (having used duct tape and plastic sheeting to
cover doors, windows, and vents), you are told to stay put and listen to the
media for the "all's clear” signal to be given by officials. Once the
signal is given, you are to quickly open all the windows and doors in order to
ventilate the room.
This
plan set forth by our government has been said by many to be ill-advised or
even dangerous. Many people joked that "you might as well tape a plastic
bag over your head", realizing how limited the air supply would be for
even a small group of people sealed in a room. The only alternative offered by
FEMA is to follow another government recommendation and spend thousands of
dollars to install a safe room in your home which includes a costly air
filtration system that would maintain a constant overpressure in your safe
room.
At
least this suggestion makes some sense if you have the funds, but in today's
economy very few Americans can afford such luxuries. This leaves the notion of
safe, breathable air reserved only for the wealthy and elite.
Several
additional, yet useless, suggestions were also made to the public including the
installation of air-purifiers in your sealed room or an upgraded HEPA in your
home or office's HVAC system. At face value these suggestions might appear
worthy to some, but considering that both of these types of filter systems only
filter the air that’s already in the room both become silly notions and not
real solutions. What's the point if you're already exposed to the hazards?
In
my opinion the plan suggested by the government is problematic, at best.
Clearly, for the majority of Americans in a hazardous region, there will be
many Citizens running out of breathable air in their sealed shelters long
before any "all's clear” signal is released to the media by officials. For
these people there are only two choices. They can either open a door or window
and be exposed to the airborne threat, or they can quietly suffocate at home
with their families.
It
can be imagined that, in some instances, there may not even be a real danger -
only the report of a threat - that prompts preppers to seal their homes and
perish while waiting for the "all's clear" to be given. There can be
no doubt that their deaths would then be reported as casualties of the
"attack" or victims of terrorism.
After
much research and consideration, I developed what I believe to be an affordable
and easy fix to this problem and perhaps the only real solution to the issues
created when anyone seals up inside an airtight, confined space. My goal in
writing this book was to offer preppers and survivalists fresh information and
up-to-date ideas as to how they can truly be prepared for these types of
threats and not fall victim to shortsighted and feel-good measures repeated by
many.
In
the book I offer several affordable solutions that any individual, family, or
group can use for protection from hazardous particles in the air. My solutions
can be used for protection from anthrax, pandemic viruses, bacteria,
radioactive nuclear fallout, dirty-bomb particles, and many other hazardous
solids floating in the air.
Working
in conjunction with Paladin Press, all this information is in my new book, Emergency Air for Shelter-in-Place Preppers
and Home-Built Bunkers, now available from Paladin Press. (122 pages, $10)
After
discussing and demonstrating my ideas to several emergency management
officials, they agreed that if the information in my book was used during any
of the above mentioned emergencies while sheltering-in-place, my affordable
suggestions would save lives.
Every
home and office that has a shelter-in-place plan needs this book! If you don’t
have a shelter-in-place plan yet, you will after learning this information.
Everyone can be prepared for the bird-flu or SARs-like viruses by
sheltering-in-place and filtering the air before it gets into your shelter.
Know what it’s going to take to manage your air and breathe a bit easier while
saving thousands of dollars on a home-built system that uses the same basics
and shares the same limitations of systems costing far more than the $100 unit
detailed in the book.
In fact, the information in this book can also be applied to other breathing hazards such as the Valley Fever fungi, concrete dust (building collapse), and volcanic ash.
The
most important prepper book of the decade? Well, I think so. Consider if you’re
thirsty, you have about three to four days to find something to drink. If
hunger sets in, you can slowly starve to death for up to six weeks as you
search for crumbs and morsels along the way; but with air, it’s plan ahead and
be ready or spend the last four minutes of your life blue in the face and
scrambling for a solution to your problem before you either perish or are
forced to breath hazardous air that could lead to a rather ugly death a bit
later.
Needless
to say I am biased in considering the value of the book, but knowing I really
don’t get out too much and don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to tell you in
person, I thought I needed a banner that would get your attention. I hope I
have.
F.J.
Bohan
F.J.
Bohan is the author of Living on the
Edge: A Family's Journey to Self-Sufficiency and Barbed Wire, Barricades, and Bunkers: The Free Citizen's Guide to
Fortifying the Home Retreat. Both
are available from Paladin Press.
This article may be freely distributed,
reprinted or used, providing it is offered in its entirety with proper credits.
