Unrealistic Expectations of Emergency Response

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Hispeedal2, Sep 15, 2011.


  1. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

  2. oth47

    oth47 Monkey+

    I wouldn't bet on help showing up at all.
     
  3. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Thanks for sharing...but it's hardly surprising...

    The bigger, the more widespread and the longer the duration of a disaster is, the less likely the infrastructure and resources of emergency responders will cope. People will have to cope with what resources they have....and if they have none...too bad so sad. Some lessons are, unfortunately, learned the hard way.....if they are lucky, they may only experience some hunger and discomfort....if not....they will have learned too late, that preparation is much easier than dying in utter deprivation.
     
    BackwoodsmanUSA likes this.
  4. fedorthedog

    fedorthedog Monkey+++

    Its funny but after the 89 quake in SF i did a lot of reading on the Gov plans for response. At that time 4 to 7 days for the arrival of aid was what they projected. When you looked at their estimates of the damage caused by a 8+ quake the only way supplies could get in that fast was by ship (if they could be off loaded) or helo. They had plans to bring in cash to allow people to cash checks and buy things but i figured out that little if anything would be for sale. This was one of those events that started me on the road to prepping to some degree.
     
  5. Wolfgang2000

    Wolfgang2000 Monkey++

    It really isn't surprising to me. Most people just don't believe in a long term infrastructure disruption. The government is made up of people from the society they serve. So why would their positions change?

    If anything the percentage of people in government that believing for a infrastructure disruption is less than the general public.

    I spent all my adult live in one lever of government service or another. Feds, State, local. The locals count on the state. The state depends on the Feds. The Feds are like "we'll deal with when it comes", or will pass it back to the state and so on.
     
  6. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

    Good points WolfGang. When you've had reliable services your entire life, its hard to imagine anything else.

    Lately, the .gov has been putting out more and more preparedness information. FEMA is fairly up front about individuals needing to be ready. They have a whole information campaign to support it. Most Monkeys probably think its missing a lot or doesn't focus on the long term enough, but acknowledgement by the .gov is a step in the right direction IMHO.
     
  7. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Yep, they DO tell people to prep, at the very least for a few days alone. But, the people still expect the FedGov to come riding over the horizon like White Knights. That 'help' always comes with a price. And far too late.
    The "Entitlement Mentality" will ultimately kill a LOT of unprepared people, when things get truly bad..... and the White Knight ain't coming..... ever.
     
    Hispeedal2 likes this.
  8. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    being raised as i was, mostly off grid, and living in an area that still has a lot of power outs, my lifestyle is the only good way to survive here
    what freaks me is more of the people here dont live like i do, they expect the gov to come save them
     
  9. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Or you may not like, what the White Night, has to offer..... LIke FEMA Camps, etc.....
     
  10. STANGF150

    STANGF150 Knowledge Seeker

    Now I've called the Law many times in the past, on a neighbor shooting his Walmart .22 in all directions, including over my house. My house is a mere 5 minutes from Sheriff's Dept. They generally arrived 2 hours later, if they even came at all. The Neighbor generally left & took family with him an hour after shooting. Twice I called Sheriff's Dept back & told them "Don't bother coming, He already left". He was mainly shooting at squirrels up in the trees but sumtimes got bored so shot at paper plates, & that apparently bored him too so he'd shoot in all directions up in the air. Now a .22 bullet will travel about a mile & a half if shot at the right angle. So what is within a mile & a half? Downtown Rutherfordton, the Nursing Home, the Hospital, Sheriff's Dept, and not even counting the numerous homes. Called the Game Warden since he was mainly shooting at squirrels despite the houses being so close around here. Game Warden said "Mans allowed to hunt on his own property". Sheriff's Deputy the last time they came told me "Unless I actually see him shooting over your home or he hits a house, theres nothing we can do".

    Now you may wonder how I finally got this intellectual Giant to put his Walmart .22 away permanently. Simple really, I went over one morning & had a talk with him. I explained to him that as close as the homes was around here it wasn't too good an idea to be target practicing or shooting at squirrels up in trees. I explained to him how devastating to him personally it would be if he accidentally hit sumone's house or a person in their yard. I explained that there are gun ranges around here to go shoot at. I explained firearm responsibility & how he was responsible for every bullet he fired and where it landed. Then I told him the next damn time he shot even in the direction of my House, I was going to take it that he was shooting at ME personally & that I would have the Legal Right to Shoot BACK!!! An that since he was within 100 yards I would not MISS!!

    He looked like I slapped the crap out of him when I told him that last part, but he paid attention to every word I said. Though it seemed all but the last part went in one ear & out the other. He did take me seriously though, prolly cuz of the Glock .45acp I was wearing on my hip maybe? [dunno]
     
    beast and Alpha Dog like this.
  11. Alpha Dog

    Alpha Dog survival of the breed

    People here are the same way they never think past the hour. Most of the time I am the only Deputy in the County and there will be one Trooper in the county and we are a very rual county river's and alot of deep forest. I tell people out in the ends of the county all the time they need to prepare for no less than two weeks. I have had calls backed up for up to three hours and even if Im not on a call some areas take me one to two hours to get from my office to them out in the ends of my county. Last year we got hammered by back to back snow storms 3 to 4ft I had to call plow trucks and go in behind the trucks to get these people out that had no food, water or fuel for heat. The people are lucky that we have a good Sheriff because he sent us in to bring these people out to the store for food and water or to pick up heating fuel or take them to a shelter we had set up and our older people we would go in get a list and money then go to the store for them. Most Sheriff's would have said they can get the fire Dept to come and get them to take them to the shelter, to much liability to have civilans in the patrol units during the storms but he understood how the older people felt about leaving their homes unprotected. I try to keep at least 3 months of supplies on hand at all times and would like to have more.
     
    Cephus and BTPost like this.
  12. ozarkgoatman

    ozarkgoatman Resident goat herder


    We are about 30 miles from our sheriff's office and they show up in about 20-30 mins and we only have on average 2 deputies on duty at any given time.

    BWM
     
  13. Alpha Dog

    Alpha Dog survival of the breed

    The thing gets me back in 2000 and 20001 we had several floods and after the first one was cleared up and thing got back to normal for a few months we had another and the same people that wasn't prepared the first time was back in line again they hadn't changed anything still no preperation for of any type of disaster. Also when these FEMA groups and RED Cross came in they just handed stuff out to anyone and everyone. They had people who lived on top of the mountains come in and get supplies. they ended up prosecuting around a 100 people three years later who lived on mountain tops and got flood recovery money. After it was over I had a FEMA supervisor tell me when I ask why they didn't question anyone about the supplies he laughed and said it's a number game. Afew days later it came out in the news paper what a good job FEMA had done with the recovery and had this huge number of people they helped thanks to Federal funds.
     
    Cephus likes this.
  14. wrc223

    wrc223 Monkey+

    People expect way too much from an overtaxed system anyway. You could be johnny on the spot with anything and everything and people would still b!tch.
    I was working nights on a medic rig about 7 years ago. A fully staffed rig with personnel IN the ambulance DRIVING DOWN THE STREET when a call comes in for a female having an allergic reaction to medication.
    We were on scene in 4 minutes and up to the apartment with full gear in an additional two. From call out to patient contact was 6 minutes and the woman who was having the reaction still could muster the breath to ask me why it took so long. I told her we were at her side in 6 minutes and she said I was wrong, she was watching us sit accross the street laughing at her for almost 20 minutes.
    It doesnt matter if you are talking one crazy lady or an entire city, county, state, or sadly... country full of people. They will always rely on their beloved government to save them no matter what they are facing and they expect that someone from said government will be there exactly at the moment they are needed.
    These are the people responsible for a lot of our cancern.
     
  15. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    My county's Fire and EMT personnel are usually pretty quick to respond, but the LEO's can be some time.
    I once was driving ona local dirt road and came upon a guy bleeding - turned out to be a cabbie who had a 'fare gone wrong', saw in his mirror as the perp tried to backstab him - he got a glancing cut int he shoulder. Perp ran off and took his cab keys and the mike.
    Minutes later I drive up in my 4X4. My old cell phone seldom worked out that way, but this time it did. I made the 9-1-1 call as the cabby sat on my tailgate, where I had put a cloth over his wound.
    Fire truck came in about ten minutes, and the EMT truck in fifteen - not bad for that far out in the county. We had to talk the Deputy in by phone, and he took over a half hour. Turns out he was new, and the ONLY sheriff deputy in Leon County who did not know where Aenon Church Road was! :rolleyes:
    The cabby refused the ride to the hospital, so the EMT patched him up, and they radioed for his dispatcher to send a tow truck for his cab.
    I don't think the perp was ever caught - seems the SD chopper was in use chasing another perp across the county!

    That episode taught me to carry a good medical kit in my vehicle.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  16. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Just in case you become your own first responder

    I usually carry a basic FAK most everywhere I go away from home, in my USB (urban survival bag).

    My USB usually has:

    A basic FAK,
    something to eat,
    something to drink,
    something to read,
    something to keep me warm,
    something the keep me dry,
    something to write with,
    a short length of cordage (to practice knot tying in idle moments),
    something innocuous that could be used as an improvised weapon,
    some small change / phonecard just in case my mobile 'phone dies.
    a camera (with flash).
     
  17. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    The police usually arrive to document the victims.
     
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