Practical Disaster Prepping Part 5 – Air

We can live three weeks without food, three days without water but we only have about three minutes of consciousness without air. Air isn’t something we usually think about with disaster preparation, but drowning is the #1 cause of storm related fatalities, most wildfire and house fire deaths are from smoke inhalation, and most epidemics are from viruses transmitted through the air. As I write this, Orange County California is battling a deadly industrial accident releasing toxic, flammable gas … and we live in an area surrounded by refineries, just saying.

After COVID we’re all too familiar with medical masks. They can be useful if we understand their significant limitations. Viruses are too small to be filtered out by even the best N95 mask. However, most respiratory infections are transmitted when someone coughs, sneezes or breathes near you. Masks can reduce the likelihood of inhaling these exhaled droplets that viruses ride on. However, studies show masks are a lot more effective if they’re WORN BY THE INFECTED INDIVIDUAL rather than those around them. A step up are paint respirators designed to protect you from fine dust and paint fumes. With better sealing and larger replaceable filters, they’re more effective at filtering ash, chemical fumes or particles carrying biological or radioactive dust.

What about fires or industrial accidents? The only thing a medical mask or paint respirator can do in a fire is filter out ash and particulates in the smoke. They do absolutely nothing to prevent you from breathing in toxic gases like carbon monoxide or hydrogen cyanide produced from fires. These gases bond with the red blood cells in your blood, preventing them from carrying oxygen and causing rapid asphyxiation. When we hear about a family perishing in a house fire, people often ask why they didn’t just get outside. Most fatal house fires happen at night with the house quickly filling with dense smoke. Try escaping your home while holding your breath. Now do it blindfolded while crawling on your hands and knees. Masks and paint respirators also can’t protect against toxic or radioactive gases from industrial or nuclear accidents. So, what can we do?

Disaster Prepping For Dummies covers several strategies. Here’s one example. You can now buy small cans of compressed oxygen from sporting goods stores or online. The size of a soda can, they provide about sixty quick breaths. Kept under a bed or in every bedside table, they increase your chances of escaping during a house fire or industrial accident. Be careful, these cans contain almost pure oxygen. Fires love oxygen, so make sure the trigger is only pushed when it’s over your nose and mouth. I’ve been asked if these work if you drive your car into a lake or river. Unfortunately, with no regulator these little cans won’t work underwater. You could, however, take several deep breaths before your car fills with water … or make sure you only drive your car into the shallow end of swimming pools ;).

Dave Stevens

Dave is a retired Navy Commander, F-18 pilot and served as the Strike Operations Officer for the Persian Gulf. He did the TED talk "How Do We Prevent Our Inevitable Extinction," wrote the bestselling Fuzed Trilogy (in development as a TV mini-series) and the newly published Disaster Prepping for Dummies.

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