Go bags

[Punaperson]

I'm just trying to bring this forum closer back to its original intent, providing useful and helpful info for our Puna neighbors. 

The Lahaina fire made me revisit my go-bag, and I've made several changes/additions that may be useful for others.  I won't get into details about most paperwork (1 exception), because that's covered in other places.

- 2 pairs of pants that actually fit: 1 work pair for clean-up, 1 'good' pair for when meeting with volunteers/officials

- 1 pair of shoes/slippers

- black t-shirts and underwear

- toothbrush/paste, and from what I hear from Maui volunteers, deodorant would be appreciated

- paper copy of important phone numbers

- towel ( a bow to 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' - who would have thought ?! )

- a bit of cash in small denominations

- an extra pair of glasses

- a pack of baby wipes to help keep clean

- a bottle of aspirin

This is by no means a complete list of what's in my bag, just some of the things I've added or adjusted.  Everything is in a zip lock bag, which also come in handy for a variety of uses.

Please feel free to respond and add items others may not have time to think of when in a rush evacuation.

Stay safe, but be ready just in case.

[HiloJulie]

I think that's a pretty comprehensive good list Punaperson.

One thing my husband and I did years ago was to make copies of everything one considers important/irreplaceable documents you obtain through life such as birth/marriage/family death certificates, house deed etc., and go rent a safety deposit/lock box at the bank and keep the originals there and copies at home.

Also, if you ever have to "order" certified original copies of important documents - order 5 or even 10 of them at the same time. 

It would be interesting to see if any so called "fireproof" boxes or the like survived the fires in Maui.

[terracore]

I think that's a pretty comprehensive good list Punaperson.

One thing my husband and I did years ago was to make copies of everything one considers important/irreplaceable documents you obtain through life such as birth/marriage/family death certificates, house deed etc., and go rent a safety deposit/lock box at the bank and keep the originals there and copies at home.

Also, if you ever have to "order" certified original copies of important documents - order 5 or even 10 of them at the same time. 

It would be interesting to see if any so called "fireproof" boxes or the like survived the fires in Maui.

A fireproof box that isn't UL or similarly listed probably could survive a camp fire that briefly gets out of hand but probably isn't going to fare better than your refrigerator in protecting things in a fire.  I bought a "fireproof" document protector cheap on Amazon and it's basically just a laptop bag for documents with fiberglass insulation.  I don't believe it would help for anything other than a brief exposure to fire.  A real fire safe description reads more like this:



The Honeywell 1114 Lightweight Fire and Waterproof Chest is independently verified by the safety organization Intertek to keep personal items safe during a fire for up to an hour—twice as long as the competition—in conditions as hot as 1,700 °F. A house fire can peak at about 2,000 °F, but this kind of heat occurs at the highest points in your home, namely the attic or at least the ceiling. It’ll be cooler down near the floor, where you keep your safe. Honeywell also says the safe will keep spray and flood water out for 100 hours. It’s large enough to hold both letter- and legal-size sheets of paper without your having to fold them. The additional protection makes the 1114 noticeably larger and heavier than other safes of similar capacities—it weighs 42 pounds and takes up the same amount of floor space as a mini fridge. But we think the price and size are worth tolerating because this safe gives your stuff a greater chance of surviving a disaster.



"Also, if you ever have to "order" certified original copies of important documents - order 5 or even 10 of them at the same time."



Most people won't ever need 5-10 copies of their birth certificate, but one official document one will unfortunately need many copies of is a death certificate.  Anybody holding a contract (like a cell phone company), or a debt (credit card company) will want an original copy of a death certificate.  As will any life insurance companies, etc.  They do eventually return them but the process may take months.  When we lost somebody the funeral home suggested getting at least 10 copies, and we used almost every one of them.

[leilanidude]

Throw in a decent knife, like a Swiss Army style knife as the can opener might come in real handy, too.

[offgridguy]

With the amount of deranged dopers and punkass thieves around I would suggest something stronger than a knife. Not to mention the roaming attack dogs and rogue cops. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.