Seven : Fuel

 

You will need to decide how you are going to get the two basics after doomsday; heat and light.

A very experienced and well prepared “prepper” may have a generator installed already at their location. This will allow them to generate their own electricity. This is a very advanced strategy and opens up its own set of problems. Firstly you are going to need a fuel to power your generator in the first place, this means a stock pile of this somewhere at your location. Secondly generators go wrong; almost constantly. You will need to be skilled at repairing equipment and are likely to need a range of spare parts at hand to do this. Finally, generators are still extremely noisy, you want your location to remain as secret and hidden as possible. A generator is going to give away your position as much as someone pointing a great big flashing light over it! To put it simply, forget about a generator.

For heat, there can be nothing simpler or better than a normal wood burning fire. Stockpile wood beforehand in a wood store attached to your shelter. Also have at least a one month supply inside your shelter. If you want to be a further step ahead have a fire already prepared that simply just needs lighting when you arrive. Remember, even though you are prepared, a doomsday event will still be a shock, don’t rely on yourself to think straight for a day or too. If you can prepare in advance, do so!

If you are going down the wood route then you will need at least three axes. Remember to learn how to sharpen an axe beforehand and have the necessary equipment all stored in preparation.

Fire lighting tools are a must. Firelighters, matches, cigarette lighters are all very useful when you need to light a fire. Never rely on rubbing two sticks together, it’s far too complex. You should easily be able to store a couple of thousand matches, which should last you many years. Matches should be stored in at least three different places. You don’t want to have a small leak in the roof somewhere and find your only supply of matches is wet. Think worst case and prepare to beat it.

You can also use your fire to cook on, although it may be difficult inside a normal fireplace. Open fires are fantastic for cooking marshmallows on, the perfect activity to unwind after a doomsday event.

For ease, when it comes to cooking it makes far more sense to invest in a gas stove set that are sold to take on camping trips. They come in a range of different sizes and you can actually set them up in a kitchen area and leave them. They are normally powered by gas cylinders, you will need to stock pile these cylinders as well. However, do take into account the dangerous nature of gas cylinders. It would probably be worth storing them a little distance away from your shelter for safety purposes. Again, knowing locations of gas cylinder stockists would be useful for the future in case you run out and you need to restock.

When it comes to light at night you have a range of possibilities. Firstly your wood fire is going to throw out a lot of light so that will immediately become a help. Candles are cheap, easy to store and last a long time. But there are a whole range of gas, oil and battery driven lighting solutions. I would suggest that you have a range of devices stored (together with their appropriate power source) backed by a very large store of candles. Flashlights are obvious solutions for walking somewhere that is isn’t normally lit up – the outside restroom for example! Just ensure that you keep an ample store of batteries and bulbs at hand.  

Naked flame is going to become the norm, however you aren’t likely to be used to it to start with. If you have a family, your kids aren’t going to be used to it either. You need to spend time educating everyone about the dangerous nature of naked flames. You must all ensure that candles are put out before bed for example. It is also probably worth investing in a range of fire extinguishers, just in case the worst should happen. There is no point in beating doomsday only to have your shelter burn down at night!