Home security and personal safety information including for fire, elderly, persons with disabilities, shelter, NBC, EMP, weapons, self defense, and more…
DISCLAIMER: Some of this information can potentially be dangerous, even deadly… attempt at your own risk! As such, you should always seek appropriate medical/legal/professional/expert advice whenever possible. Therefore, I accept NO liability whatsoever for your use or misuse of this information.
HOME SAFETY RESOURCES
General Safety and Security
AAPC.org (American Association of Poison Control Centers) – This site is a MUST for those with children! Plenty of information on poison safety. Look to the “Poison Prevention” link for specifics. If you’re bored (or exceedingly thorough) you might read some of the information under the “Patient Management” link; here you will find the guidelines used by the AAPCC centers to assist people when they call. Of course, this information was written by a bunch of doctors so it’s incredibly boring, but thorough. 🙂 I would also encourage you to read this list of common household poisons so you know what to look for. Poison.org is another good resource you’ll find regarding poison information. I strongly urge you to spend a bit of time there getting to know what you need to know.
22 Emergency Phone Numbers You Should Know – A good reference we should all know and have handy; can be downloaded and printed out too.
Home Security Handbook [PDF File] – Discusses home security to prevent burglaries. Includes a lengthy checklist and loads of advice from the police.
Housing and Mortgage Advice: Home Hazards – A useful article that briefly describes the major home hazards you could face and includes suggestions to reduce or eliminate them. Hazards include: falls, poisoning, fire, choking and suffocation, drowning, and household toxins. Focus is on families with young children.
CrimeDoctor.com – Very useful site detailing many things the typical homeowner can do to increase their home and personal security.
ArmorConcepts.com – Manufactures hardware to better secure exterior doors. Products include Door Jamb Armor, EZ Armor, Fix-A-Jamb, Armor Latch, and more. These products may be purchased at local hardware store such as Lowe’s, ACE, and Do-It-Best but you can learn more about them here.
Safety Resource Center – Includes quick summaries of various safety equipment, including fire extinguishers, respirators, work gloves, and eye and hearing protection. Also includes several safety articles (particularly for workplace safety) as well as a handful of safety infographics.
6 Steps to Quake-Proof Your Home – Earthquakes bring many surprising dangers, most of which are inside your home! Fortunately, you can tackle these dangers head-on in six simple steps.
Does Home Insurance Cover Natural Disasters? – Not every disaster is covered which could leave you at risk. Find out what’s covered and get quotes, if you like.
Property Crime Rates, Ranking The Most Dangerous to Safest States – Personally, I was surprised at the findings, maybe you will be too.
Bedroom Safety Resource – We spend a lot of time in our bedrooms; here’s how to make it safe no matter the disaster.
15 Safety Tips for Living Alone – Good information for anyone, whether living alone or with others.
Child Safety
SafeKids.org – Good information with regards to home safety ideas and children. This site would be especially useful to people with newborns and young children.
Sparky.org – Got kids? Make fire safety fun with Sparky The Fire Dog! There are games, videos, apps, and activities… plenty to keep them interested and learning too.
Car Seats And Booster Seats – Here’s what to know about car seat safety for newborns and younger children.
Child Safety Resource Guide – Includes plenty of links to keep your child safe, including fire safety, water safety (e.g., to prevent drowning in a pool), safety at school, food considerations (e.g., choking hazards, pesticides), drugs (e.g., medications they might get into at home), and so much more. If you’re a new parent or just need a refresher… check this out.
E-Safety Guide for Parents and Kids (to keep kids safe online) – deals with various digital threats to kids, oversharing of personal information, how social networks threaten kids, cyber-bullying, gaming, and more.
A Family Guide to Kitchen Safety – Discusses keeping kids (and pets) safe in the kitchen, what to do about fires and burns, appliances, and more.
A Kid’s Guide to Forest Fires – Includes plenty of resources for educating kids about wildfires, including assorted facts, how forest fires start, prevention tips, as well as various games, a quiz, and plenty more to keep them engaged.
Home Safety for Kids and Babyproofing – Covers children of different age groups (even teenagers) as well as the major safety concerns in each area of the home (e.g., kitchen, bathroom, garage, etc.).
How to Protect Your Children on Their Smartphone – Phones are the new “battleground” for your privacy and security and your child’s phone is no different. This is a good guide to keeping them as safe as you can on what is perhaps the most used electronic device any of us own, especially children.
The Parent’s Guide to Water Safety for Kids – What to know to keep young children safe around bodies of water, including mistakes and assumptions, safety gear, potential hazards, and more.
Medications Safety Guide – Keep your children and pets safe from accidental ingestion.
Is TikTok Safe for Kids? – Keeping up with the latest trends young children are into can be daunting; here’s what to know about one of the most popular apps today.
Fire Safety
NFPA Safety Tip Sheets – Plenty of useful fire safety information reference sheets, including about cooking, heating, candles, escape plans, batteries, and plenty more.
How to Protect Your Family from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – Discusses what CO is, symptoms of CO poisoning, most likely sources, CO alarms, and more. This is a VERY important topic that shouldn’t be overlooked!
CSIA.org (Chimney Safety Institute of America) – Discusses how to be safe when using your fireplace. Chimney fires, in particular, are extraordinarily dangerous due to the inevitable buildup of creosote. You need to have your chimney cleaned and inspected at least once a year, if not more, depending on use. Look to the “Homeowner Resources” for specifics.
The Ultimate Guide to Wildfire Safety – Includes a wide variety of useful links regarding wildfires, including facts about wildfires, safety tips and prevention, tips for seniors, kids, and persons with disabilities, and plenty more.
Home Fire Safety for Older Adults [PDF File] – A wide variety of tips for all of us, including kitchen fire safety, electrical safety tips, smoke alarms, and more… there’s even a lengthy checklist included.
Fire Safety in the Home – Includes dozens of links regarding fire safety tools, fire prevention, fire dangers, what to do if caught in a fire, resources to share with your children, and more. There really is a ton of information here and you’re sure to be better prepared for fires after you get through it all.
Fire Safety While You Sleep – Includes the most common causes of fire, important safety steps, fire prevention tips, as well as fire safety for pets and children, among other topics.
ADT Fire Safety Plan Checklist – Ensure you’ve got the basics down, including smoke alarms, escape plan, safety drill, and more. Includes a downloadable fire safety checklist.
Fire Extinguisher Safety – Includes both a video and written directions on how to properly use a fire extinguisher, where to store them, and how to choose the right one.
The Leading Cause of House Fires – Nearly half of all house fires start in the kitchen and, surprisingly, most American’s don’t know this and, worse, do things that make it more likely! Here’s what you need to know to stay safe.
Kids Home Fire Safety – Talks about smoke alarms, actions you can take to reduce fire risk, creating a fire escape plan, talking to kids about fire danger, and more.
A Guide to Forest and Wildfires – An infographic covering the basics about what you, as a homeowner, can do to stay safe.
Causes and Prevention of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – A simple guide to keep you and your family safe from a silent killer.
Fire Safety Guide and Fire Prevention – Tips, checklists, fire extinguisher information, and more.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Persons with Disabilities
NFPA Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities – Discusses, at length, how persons with disabilities (mobility, visual, hearing, speech, cognitive) should plan to evacuate their home in the event of an emergency such as fire.
Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs [PDF File] – Basic information for emergency preparedness and evacuation with focus on those who have disabilities.
Disaster Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities (from American Red Cross) [PDF File] – A slightly different take on disaster preparedness than the FEMA file above. Discusses concerns for how stress would impact a disability, creating a support network, as well as a personal “capabilities assessment” that might be worth completing.
Elderly Safety
Aging in Place at Home: The Definitive Guide – When I say “definitive” I’m not kidding. This resource includes everything I could have conceived of (and then some) regarding elderly safety at home, in general. Please do take the time to read it if you or a loved one is aging and are concerned about safety regardless of survival concerns.
Fall Prevention in Elderly (by the CDC) – Basic information for preventing falls around the home. This checklist [PDF File] offers a variety of questions you can ask room by room.
Fall Prevention Checklist and Tips (by Minnesota Safety Council) [PDF File] – a lengthy brochure (similar to the CDC checklist file above) discussing fall prevention. This brochure offers a variety of questions you can ask as well as tips/suggestions you might implement.
Long Term Care Planning Guide – It’s important for all seniors to plan for needing long-term care, but even more so for those with disabilities. This guide is a great overview for how (and why) to make a plan.
Assisted Living Cost Analysis – Breaks down costs by state, average rates by room size (e.g., single or double occupancy) and even compares the cost for types of services offered, such as the difference between assisted living, home health care, and nursing home.
Guide to Bedroom Fall Prevention – An important consideration as we age. Covers most likely reasons for falls (e.g., medical conditions) and solutions to minimize falls.
Animals
ASPCA Animal Disaster Preparedness – Pertinent info for those with pets.
Humane Society’s Disaster Preparedness For Pets – More info for dealing with pets.
First Aid for Dogs – Covers all sorts of information for a sick or injured pet, including shock, choking, CPR, poisoning, and so much more. Good stuff to know beforehand!
PERSONAL SAFETY
Self Defense Basics
USMC Close Combat [PDF File] – Lengthy publication discussing hand-to-hand combat with and without weapons.
An Infantry Man’s Guide to Urban Combat [PDF File] – I cringe to think why you would need this, but if worse comes to worse then you’d better have a clue how to act like a soldier. You might also, therefore, be interested in this manual, War Medicine [PDF File].
Imminent Threat Solutions (ITS Tactical) – Very useful website for a wide array of personal safety information. From gear, to skills, to combat… definitely check it out.
Weapons and Defense
Gun Laws and Concealed Carry for 2020 – Up to date laws and more, including reviews, FFL dealers, and more. Also, this Gun Laws by State article discusses a lot more, including open carry vs. concealed carry, firearm sales and purchases, firearm registration, stand your ground laws, and plenty more.
Arms Bearing Citizen – Firearms reviews, gun safe reviews, scope reviews, as well as information on gun safety, shooting tips, gun cleaning, and more.
SafeGuard Armor and SafeGuard Clothing – A very nice site where you can not only buy body armor, ballistic helmets, and plates but also learn plenty about how to purchase, usage, sizing, and plenty more.
Rifle Safety Reminders – List of rifle and firearm safety basics.
Handgun Drills (part 1), Handgun Drills (part 2), Handgun Drills (part 3) [PDF Files] – Over 80+ drills designed to make you a better marksman.
Civilian Marksmanship Program – dedicated to educating youths regarding repect and safe handling of firearms.
NRA – The National Rifle Association classes. Enough said.
Gun Broker – Search for guns online.
Weapons and Defense – A variety of files for download from ModernSurvivalOnline.com regarding weapon use, choice, reviews, etc.
Ammo Seek – Searches a variety of websites to find the best deals on ammunition… awesome!
Free Gun Targets – Many downloadable targets for target practice.
Local Shooting Range Finder – Enter your zip code to find a local range.
Handgun Laws, Stand Your Ground Laws, and Open Carry Laws – links and information about handgun laws by state.
US Knife Laws – Interactive map (click on your state) for updated knife laws by state. Note: Handgun Laws link above also has info on knife laws [PDF Files] as well.
A Mosin Nagant Reference – A lot of info regarding the infamous rifle with virtually everything one could want to know about it.
Online Carry Training – Never tried it but apparently you can apply for an Non-Resident Arizona CCW permit that is then legal (due to reciprocity) in about 30 other states. And the best part is that it can all be done online (the training) and permits can be done via mail in most cases.
National Carry Academy – Online and in-person concealed weapons permit courses in 3 easy steps!
Minute Man Review – Get the latest firearms, weapons, ammo, gear and accessory reviews.
The Ultimate Guide to Prepper Guns for SHTF – Huge guide to survival firearms for SHTF event, including AR-15 and more!
NBC (Nuclear / Biological / Chemical)
Nuclear War Survival Skills [online book] – Free book by Cresson H Kearny. While the content hasn’t been updated in about twenty years, don’t let that turn you off. I would imagine the principles of nuclear war survival hasn’t changed much. Besides, the author provides plenty of interesting information regarding what you can do to survive a nuclear blast. The book also includes plans to build a few items that could prove life-saving if this ever happened. FYI, you can purchase an actual copy of the book if you like, otherwise, look to the sidebar on the left for chapter links.
KIU4.com (Nuke Prep) – Another very useful site about nuclear disaster preparations. Read the info they have available when you get time. I also found their FAQ at RadMeters4U.com very informative; you can also buy radiation detection equipment here as well. And here’s a resource on What to Do if Nuclear Disaster is Imminent! [PDF File].
11 Steps to Nuclear War Survival – Condensed information regarding the basics of nuclear survival. If you have time then you should still read the Nuclear War Survival Skills book above.
5 Steps To Survive A Nuclear Attack – Understand the effects of a nuclear blast and, more importantly, how to keep you and your family safe in 5 easy-to-follow steps.
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Threats
Getting Prepared for an EMP Attack – One opinion on what to do to prepare for an EMP.
EMP Survival 101 – Another persons opinion on what would happen after an EMP and how to survive it.
Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse – More info about EMPs.
Shelter Plans
A variety of family shelter designs (all PDF Files), one of which may suit your needs:
Family Shelter Series – Basement Corrugated Lean-To Shelter PSD_F-61-2
Family Shelter Series – Basement Concrete Block Shelter PSD_F-61-3
Family Shelter Series – Outside Semimounded Plywood Box Shelter PSD_F-61-4
Family Shelter Series – Belowground Corrugated Steel Culvert Shelter PSD_F-61-5
Family Shelter Series – Outside Semimounded Steel Igloo Shelter PSD_F-61-6
Family Shelter Series – Aboveground Earth-Covered Lumber A-Frame Shelter PSD_-F-61-7
Family Shelter Series – Belowground New Construction Clay Masonary Shelter PSD_F-61-8
Home Shelter – Outside Concrete
MP-15 – The Family Fallout Shelter
Increasing Blast and Fire Resistance in Buildings [PDF File]
Miscellaneous
Sex Offenders List – Use this tool to find registered sex offenders in your area, get to know what they look like, and teach your kids to STAY AWAY from them and any stranger, for that matter.
Live Police, EMS, Fire Feeds Online – Monitor your local emergency responders free online from your computer. May be useful as another method of keeping up with local events in an emergency situation.
Emergency Preparedness Guide for Landlords – Covers a wide range of potential disasters and how to prepare for them, in large part from a landlord’s perspective.
Smart Home Security Guide – With technology becoming an ever-increasing presence in our homes and lives, here’s what to know to keep safe, including for doorbells, smart locks, cameras, digital assistants (like Alexa), smart TVs and streaming devices, and more.