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Emergency Heat

The power is out and the ice left behind by the “blizzard of the century” encapsulates every branch of every tree, every power line, every car. The first 24 hours, you hear generators fire up all around the neighborhood. But then, one by one, they stop running: fuel has run out. And the lines at the gas station are startlingly long. You find out, too late, that the gas fireplace in your new home only heats one room of your house, and the storm has knocked out the natural gas lines so you can’t run it anyway. Drat. Now, I know some of you have wood stoves and cords upon cords of wood stacked and at the ready. But for everyone else, have you assessed your preparations to make sure you’ll be able to stay warm? Do you have sources of emergency heat? Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Seal Your Windows In the winter, you can seal your windows with plastic film to help insulate your home. You can also use it in case of an emergency to insulate a single room on its own, so you can gather your family all together and stay warm. I keep plastic film for just such an emergency.

2. Make Sure Your Emergency Heater is Indoor-Safe

Not all propane emergency heaters are indoor-safe. I found that out the hard way a few years ago by ordering a setup that was incorrect for indoor use and I had to start over. So year-before-last, I got the “portable buddy” that is safe for indoor use. It will run for hours off a single canister, is what I found. I’ve used this little heater so often, that I rarely fire up my whole-house heater. I love the warm glow and I can just heat the room that I’m in rather than wasting energy. Plus, when the lights go out, I’ve got a backup for my gas fireplace. When camping in the winter, it can be used safely in your tent or RV, too, as long as there is a window or roof vent. And if you want to take car-preparedness to the glorious extreme, keep one of these in your vehicle (we bring it with us on wintertime road trips).

3. Hunker Down in a Tent If you find yourself in a prolonged power outage in the winter, you can pitch your tent indoors to keep warm. Tents – especially ones like these – are made to keep the elements out, so you can camp in your own living room with your indoor-safe emergency propane heater and stay toasty. This is also a great way to make weathering a storm more fun for everyone.

4. Use Hand Warmers The old-fashioned Zippo hand warmers are awesome. Opt for the old-fashioned type over the instant ones, because the old-fashioned ones are refuel-able (and better in my opinion). And the fuel (lighter fluid) is inexpensive and pretty easy to find anywhere — I’ve even seen it at convenience stores. I bought a few hand warmers last winter and they got daily use. Be sure to have wicks, flint and fuel on hand for longer-term survival applications. They come with a special funnel you use to refill them, and a soft pouch that diffuses the heat nicely. Mine ran much longer than I anticipated — 24 hours once — on one fueling. Very nice. They make great bed warmers, too. I find that they were particularly nice on my semi-arthritic hands after a long day of typing away at this here keyboard.

5. A Survival Blanket is For Indoors Too

I’ve discussed types of survival blankets and their myriad uses in this post. But for winter weather emergency heating, a good quality wool blanket is a true life saver. I was given one as a gift a few years ago, and it, along with the portable heater and the hand warmers, has kept us from freezing during a big storm. It’s also beautiful and made in the USA (a perfect gift for non-preppers in your life as well as yourself). It’s so nice that I keep it at the foot of the bed when the weather turns nippy.

These are just a few ideas to help you prepare for the “blizzard of the century” – do you have emergency heat? What do you do to prepare for a big winter storm?  

[If you have any questions about these winter-storm emergency items, let me know. I'm happy to check out a tag, give you a measurement or anything you need to know. Like I said, I have the heater, the hand warmers, the plastic film, and the blanket all within reach of my keyboard. ] 

Source: Emergency heating ideas you may have overlooked →