A lot of guys enjoy the fantasy of the badass survivalist who makes it on his own in a post-apocalyptic world. If you ever played Fallout, you know what I’m talking about. You got your guns, your supplies, and your canine companion, and that’s all you need. But reality is very different. In a post-SHTF […]
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A wildfire was reported at approximately 3:00 am Thursday morning near Cold Mountain in Haywood County on the Pisgah Ranger District. Currently the fire is at approximately 106 acres.
The wildfire is burning within the Shining Rock Wilderness on the Pisgah Ranger District. The U.S. Forest Service has implemented a forest closure order for the entire wilderness area which prohibits all recreational uses, including the use of 53 miles of trails.
There are 30 firefighters working on the fire today and a crew will continue working throughout the night.
There will be heavy smoke in the area throughout Thursday night as a result of smoldering in the burn area. There is no imminent threat to structures at this time. Crews have been performing structure protection activities and this work will continue through Friday.
Agencies involved in the response include USDA Forest Service, NC Forest Service Haywood County Emergency Management, Cruso Fire Department, and National Park Service.
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Shining Rock Wilderness Temporarily Closed to All Visitors Due to Wildfire Read More »
So, Gerber’s representatives said they’d like me to check out some of their survival-related items and write up a review. I figured, why not?
You’re reading Gerber Survival Items Review, originally posted at Graywolf Survival – Emergency preparedness from a Counterintelligence Agent by Graywolf.
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Plant safety encompasses a wide variety of hazards, from slips, trips and falls and excessive noise to heavy machinery traffic and loading dock concerns.
Trends in … plant safety Read More »
With the growing trend for online shopping, next-day delivery and the retail/hospitality experience showing no signs of slowing down, businesses frequently need to recruit extra staff to meet increased demand (particularly in the run up to Christmas). A major national newspaper has reported that approximately 250,000 temporary positions will be on offer over the festive period and not just in restaurants, bars and shops, but also in warehouses and delivery.
Yodel, the courier giant recently announced they need an extra 1,500 temporary staff nationwide, including HGV class 1 drivers, warehouse operatives, van drivers and couriers to fulfil client demand. With an increased number of vans, HGVs and delivery vehicles on the road, inevitably comes a greater risk of accidents. Look back 2 years to December 2017 and there were 462 fatal or serious accidents involving goods vehicles.
What is Grey Fleet?
During these busy periods online retail companies will often use ‘grey fleet’ drivers to deliver to customers. Grey fleet is simply the term used to describe any vehicle that does not belong to the company, but is used for business travel.
According to one BBC investigation, on a typical day a delivery driver for a leading company will make 150-200 deliveries. Although most companies will advise that drivers take regular comfort breaks, the reality is that this frenetic pace of work allows very little time for breaks, often resulting in extreme tiredness.
Sadly, tiredness is a major contributing factor to road accidents but isn’t the only risk of having a greater number of ‘grey fleet’ vehicles on the road:
Grey Fleet: The risks
Because grey fleet vehicles do not belong to the company, fleet managers face a complicated set of issues when it comes to managing the safety of their fleet. For one thing, employees using their own car may be outside of the established insurance and servicing policies, meaning their vehicles are not covered for company travel. Another issue is attempting to keep track of the status of grey fleet vehicles to ensure they meet legal road requirements, including:
In addition to this, businesses also need to consider the suitability of the vehicle for work purposes. This could include the age and condition, or whether the vehicle is equipped with ABS, ESP, air conditioning and whether or not it is suitable for the journey requirements of the company.
To help avoid accidents on the road, RoSPA recommends that all delivery drivers are trained or retrained in handling risk on the road. RoSPA offers a bespoke Grey Fleet management training course which allows companies to manage their grey fleet.
The benefit of undertaking such training is a quick and simple self-certification process, which is accessible for all drivers and sends alerts automatically to individuals and managers for MOT’s, insurance, road tax etc.
For more information on our Grey Fleet Management course visit our website, email or call us on +44 (0)121 248 2233.
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A Guest Blog Post by Jim Ausfahl
Disclaimer: This material has been modified
from the public domain US
Military field manual, FM 5-80.
As a reminder, the triangle bandage is a piece of cloth, often unbleached muslin, that is a right triangle with legs about 40″ (102 cm) long, and a hypotenuse, or long side, around 56.6″ (144 cm). It is folded on itself three times to make a cravat bandage. Remember: for all wounds, the first thing to do is to control the bleeding, clean and cover the wound with gauze padding, and if it is available, some antibiotic ointment. The bandage is used to lock the gauze in place. In looking at the bandaging below, it will be assumed that has already been done. This time, we’ll be bandaging the head and its associated structures; some of these will require two cravats.
Bandaging the scalp is only
modestly more challenging than what we’ve already done. Begin by folding the long edge over itself
three times, about an inch or an inch and a half wide. Having done that, drape the bandage over the
scalp, with the right angle going down the back of the neck and the middle of
the folded part over the forehead. Bring
the two ends of the folded part behind the head and to the middle of the scalp. To minimize the risk of this slipping up, put
the folded part under the occiput—that’s the bump you can feel on the back of
your skull. Tie a square knot in the
middle of the forehead to anchor the bandage.
Then, take the right angle and fold it up, tightening the part over the
scalp then tucking the end into the folded part. If possible, and pinning it in
place with a safety pin It is much clearer if you look at the diagram below
Clearly, this bandage not only will handle the scalp, it will do well for the forehead and the back of the head as well.
There is an alternative approach
to bandaging the head, which would be used for the back of the head, the sides
of the head or the forehead or the ear.
The bandage needs folded into a cravat.
Depending on where the injury is, put the middle of the bandage on one
side of the head; if the injury is to the ear, put the middle of the bandage
over the injured ear. Bring the ends of
the bandage around the other side of the head and back to the first side,
fixing it in place with a square knot.
For bandaging the ear, the cravat should go up diagonally, to leave at
least one eye uncovered, then back to the bandage over the ear, where the
square knot is tied. The diagram shows
the bandaging done for the head; adapting this to the ear is simple.
Sometimes there is need to
bandage an eye. Doing this requires two bandages, both folded into cravats. Drape one cravat over the head, covering the good eye, so it hangs down the back of
the victim’s neck and down his face.
Take the second cravat, wrapping around both eyes and over the first
cravat, tying it in the front, over the uninjured eye. Finally, take the ends of the first cravat
and loop them over the head, tying them on the scalp so that the second cravat
is lifted off the good eye. The figure below
will help this all make sense.
Sometimes, there is need to
bandage a cheek, the area below the chin, a small area on top of the scalp or a
need to immobilize a jaw temporarily, as might be for a fracture of the jaw or
a dislocation of the jaw. A single
bandage, fold into a cravat, is needed.
Position the cravat under the jaw, with the more distant part of the
cravat a few inches longer than the near one.
Bring the far side across the top of the head to the temple of the near
side, then twist them around each other a quarter turn, so the two sides are
horizontal, one pointing forward and the other backward. At this point, the two free ends should be
about the same length. Take the ends
around the victim’s head and knot them on the other side. The process is illustrated clearly in the
figure below.
The next posting will handle bandaging the chest, hip, buttock and shoulder.
Jim Ausfahl is a physician in active medical practice, in Peoria Heights, Illinois, studying the art of surviving in a challenging environment and sharing what he knows.
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Biolite contacted me to see if I’d check out some of their products and put the word out about their preparedness month kits (you did know September is Preparedness Month, didn’t you?).
You’re reading BioLite Preparedness Kits, originally posted at Graywolf Survival – Emergency preparedness from a Counterintelligence Agent by Graywolf.
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