While we may think of food, water, and shelter as being important in an emergency, we may overlook the necessity of tools.  Whether you are turning off your gas due to an earthquake or just trying to open a can of food, there are essential tools we should have.

I believe that every home should have a gas shutoff wrench.  This one comes with a zip tie so that you can tie it onto your gas meter.  No more worries about where the toolbox is or if the kids have run off with it.  Another important tool is work gloves.  Disasters create big messes and those messes have to be cleaned up.  Having good work gloves can prevent injury and speed the cleaning up process.

Another basic is a manual can opener.  Freeze-dried food in #10 cans can be hard to get to if you don’t have a can opener to open them up.  Scissors are also a fantastic all-around tool to keep in your 72 hour kit.  Another helpful tool is a folding shovel.  I keep one in my car so that if we are stuck in snow, we can dig ourselves out.  The shovel is also very compact since it folds into thirds.

Other tools you might find useful are 100 ft. of nylon rope as well as a Leatherman tool.  These can serve multiple purposes, making them essential in an emergency situation.  Having the knowledge to deal with a crisis is essential, but so are the right tools to help you deal with that situation the best way possible.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under mre. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.