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Winter calls for survival preparation now

Date: 12/11/2015

CHICOPEE – Talk with Robert Prince for 10 minutes and you’ll realize how unprepared you are for the onslaught of a New England winter.

Prince, an Army paratrooper and combat veteran, has been teaching about being prepared through seminars, college classes and his store Storm Ready 1512 Memorial Drive.

Although Prince has many of the items for sale at his store, he told Reminder Publications, “Knowledge comes before the product.”

He referenced what happened in Buffalo, NY, last winter when it was faced with six feet of snow.

“No one left the house,” he said.

Prince said among survival experts there is something known as the “72 hour rule.” He explained, “after three days everyone becomes unglued.” Fatigue sets in and people may not have the perception about their situation that they need.

He said that people should prepare to be without power for a month.

“It’s not that difficult,” he said. Prince added, “Three days [which is recommended by some people] is an egregiously low number.”

Prince wants people to imagine a situation in which electricity and sources of heat may be cut off and then plan accordingly.

The first step he said is to organize at home collecting extra blankets and quilts in one place. These, he said, should be used to cover all of the windows and doors to create a central living area, most likely the kitchen and the living room. He suggested using 1 ½ inch roofing nails as the means to affix the blankets.

“You save a lot of heat by blocking off other rooms,” he explained.

For an alternative heat source, prince said that fireplaces are not efficient unless they have some sort of insert to direct the heat of a fire into a room rather than letting it go up a chimney.

Another household item that needs to be checked are flashlights with adequate batteries, he added.

Prince suggested a non-vented propane heater that has been approved for indoor use by state fire and health officials. The stove has both a sensitive tip-over switch as well as a carbon monoxide detector. The fuel supply in two inexpensive propane cylinders can provide about six hours of heat on low.

Prince suggested people who use the stove put it on a cycle of heating a room and then turning to low or off to stretch fuel supplies.

For cooking, Prince has a propane single burner hot plate. A stock of canned and non-perishable food is important.

Prince advocates having a generator with several important caveats. The type of fuel is important. Propane is said is the safest while gasoline is the least safe.

He also believes the sound of a generator running attracts “unwanted attention.”

He said, “In chaos, lies opportunity.”

Maintaining a means of communication is very important as well and Prince recommends a combination hand crank/solar powered radio. Getting the latest information about an emergency “dispels rumors,” he said.

Prince also recommends having a store of water and suggests using a five-gallon plastic container designed for camping.

“These are events that are not if, but when,” he said.

For more information, go to http://stormreadychicopee.com.